Small STI Eagle Issues

[hankfan79]

I recently purchased a STI Eagle from www.budsgunshop.com The pistol has ran about 98% since the day that I got it. There were a few hiccups when shooting it. I am not a 2011 or 1911 person so I don't have any idea on what causes certain issues to arise. I have about 3 issues of not returning fully into battery.

Despite that, I gave the pistol to a fellow shooter to modify the slide release to close upon mag entry. I know this is not 100% reliable but if it works 80%..then that is just less time I have to use my left thumb to close the slide. This particular shooter noticed that the slide stop was shorter then normal. He compared it to several of his STI's and notified me of this. His are older STI's and might have been something new that they do. Who knows?

He also tuned my magazines because he said they were WAY out of spec. He said something about the feedlips. He also said the extractor had ZERO tension to it. He explained that he used a tool to measure this and that it didn't even have enough tension to remain on the tool. He also stated that the trigger reset was heavy at about 3lbs vs normal reset of about 1 lb.

Are these normals issues for NEW STI's. Why would they sell/produce magazines that are out of spec?

Please break things down Barney style because I am still trying to understand the 2011.

[davidwiz]

Sounds like the gun you bought was used hard and not cared for by the previous owner. I would take it to a reputable gunsmith who knows wide-body 1911s and have them look at it.

[twodownzero]

What division are you shooting this gun in? Ideally, your gun should never go to slide lock. I'm not exactly sure how one would modify the slide stop for the results you desire anyway, but so I'm curious about what this shooter claimed he was doing.

Magazines vary a lot. People pay big money for tuned magazines. They are the Achilles heal of this pistol, especially once you start adding extended basepads, different springs, etc. If he tuned your mags properly, you'll probably notice far fewer issues. If not, I can't imagine a place where more problems could be created, except.....

The extractor. A properly tuned one will eliminate a lot of issues with 1911s. A screwed up extractor can cause a lot of problems.

A light trigger isn't something most gun manufacturers will install at the factory. That's something best left for a gunsmith or home trigger job. Lighter isn't necessarily unsafe, but too light definitely is. Tweaking of the sear spring is pretty common on this design to get the desired trigger pull. Bob @ Brazos Custom has an article on this at his website.

My best advice is:

1. Shoot your gun and see how it runs. You'll know right away if it's reliable or not.

2. Make sure that anyone you allow to work on a 1911 or 2011 knows what he is doing. this isn't a Glock and it's not the kind of gun you can just take the Dremel to and expect it to run 100% unless you understand exactly how everything works. I learn something new every time I take mine apart.

[hankfan79]

It was purchased NEW.

I didn't state the trigger pull....it was trigger reset.

I should have mention that this STI is used primarily for IDPA.

Edited August 5, 2010 by hankfan79

[DWFAN]

I wouldnt worry about the slide stop. I dont know that making it close upon mag insertion is the best bet though. My M&P does it unintentionally, its nice sometimes.. but if it doesnt strip the next round I just lost the stage. (its happened)

STI mags need tuned.. its the nature of the beast. I dont know if they are supposed to come tuned or not, but I would expect to spend some time with them to get them 100%.

3 of my 4 1911's I have had to adjust the extractor at some point early in their life. Just another one of those things that comes along with the single action joy.

[davidwiz]

If you bought the gun new and you are having problems with it, I would send it back to STI for warranty repair. However, if someone else has started working on it, the factory STI warranty is probably void.

[MikeFoley]

Bud's doesn't normally sell STI's, but I cannot talk about that here. I just went to their site and there are none for sale at this time. If you want to discuss how to make this gun 100% and what is "normal", call me or one of my staff at 800-387-4045 and we'll help diagnose it for free and give you contact info for the factory should you need it!

[twodownzero]

It was purchased NEW.

I didn't state the trigger pull....it was trigger reset.

I should have mention that this STI is used primarily for IDPA.

The trigger pull, trigger "reset," and the pressure needed to de-activate the grip safety all come from the same place...the sear spring.

STI has a lifetime warranty. They will make it right if your gun has issues.

Edited August 5, 2010 by twodownzero

[hankfan79]

Roger that. The gun runs pretty good. I just wanted to know if the extractor issue and mags are common issues. These are small things I noticed. I would not bad mouth STI as I am impressed with their work. I am happy with it by far.

I spoke with someone at Buds when I purchased it. This was the first of more to come they said.

This IS a STI for sale as of this moment now. It is a .45 ACP Eagle.

It is here: http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/777

I purchased the 9mm that you see as sold.

Edited August 5, 2010 by hankfan79

[MikeFoley]

When I go to their main page and handguns and the STI logo, it is an empty section. When I type in STI it finds nothing, yet your link takes me to a page that I can refresh. Oh well, either way, if I can help you, let me know.

Edited August 5, 2010 by fomeister

[hankfan79]

That particular Eagle has been on there for awhile. I don't think anyone knows that it is there. I just happened to stumble onto the 9mm which was just what I had been looking for. Guess I got lucky.

Their price is lower than what I can find anywhere.

Edited August 5, 2010 by hankfan79

[MikeFoley]

I just find this disclaimer when I go there:

Sorry, but our sales practices do not comply with STI's requirements. We are unable to offer STI firearms at this time.

Please try the following comparable quality manufacturers instead:

Kimber Nighthawk Les Baer Wilson Combat

[hankfan79]

I still see it! Where are you looking sir?

Following the link I posted.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/777/products_id/411540928

[joecichlid]

One thing I am wondering is how far out of battery is the gun hanging up at? How full is the magazine when this happens? If it is with the magazine full it could be magazine is a little tight and causing the slide to slow down going into battery. Does this issue happen with reloads, factory ammo or both? If the gun runs 100% on factory ammo but hangs up with the reloads that could be a cause for the problem. Any idea what weight recoil spring is in the gun? If it is too light that can cause this problem.

As you can see there are a lot of causes for this kind of problem, the hard part is nailing down the cause. Good luck and let us know how things go.

Joe W.

[hankfan79]

It was during normal fire with factory ammo. I think the extractor caused the problem. All it took was a slight bump with my hand to go fully into battery. The entire gun is factory so I am going by what the STI website says when I say a 12lb spring. I will not know until my next trip to the range. Might be a week or so.

Thanks for everyone's input.

[G-ManBart]

What division are you shooting this gun in? Ideally, your gun should never go to slide lock. I'm not exactly sure how one would modify the slide stop for the results you desire anyway, but so I'm curious about what this shooter claimed he was doing.

They make sure that the face where the plunger contacts is perfectly smooth and add a little radius where it contacts the slide (going off memory) so that when you seat the mag firmly it bounces the stop off the slide and releases it...bad idea in my book.

Actually, a lot of people totally disagree with disabling the slide stop...pretty much everybody shooting SS, Production and L-10 has a functioning slide stop right? Limited should be no different, and he's going to use it for IDPA anyway. The problems most people cite are possibly jamming the mag in the gun, or breaking the ejector off from over inserting the mag. I don't recall the last time I saw either one actually happen (it can, but it's uncommon). A few minutes adjusting the followers will prevent locking back with one round left, so that concern is taken care of easily as well.

What does happen a lot is that they run the gun dry, drop the hammer on an empty chamber, maybe rack the slide and drop the hammer on an empty chamber again, drop the mag, put a new mag in, bring the gun up and try to drop a hammer which is still down, then rack the slide and get back to shooting. Typically that's a good 5+ second time killer (or much more)....I see it at virtually ever match and it kills their stage results. A functioning slide stop would have saved those folks a lot of pain. Yeah, we should all plan our reloads, but get off on a texas star or a bunch of other steel and next thing you know...the plan is gone and ugly stuff like that happens. R,

[twodownzero]

When did you see me say anything about disabling the slide stop, G-man?

My slide stop works just fine. My slide locks back all the time when I forget to reload. I don't know where you got the idea that it doesn't.

Ideally my gun will never lock open because it'll never be empty. Rest easy tonight in knowing that if I do shoot it empty, it locks open just like my single stack or production guns.

[G-ManBart]

When did you see me say anything about disabling the slide stop, G-man?

My slide stop works just fine. My slide locks back all the time when I forget to reload. I don't know where you got the idea that it doesn't.

Ideally my gun will never lock open because it'll never be empty. Rest easy tonight in knowing that if I do shoot it empty, it locks open just like my single stack or production guns.

If you're going to add a qualifier that you don't run the gun empty, that changes things, but it wasn't in the earlier post. It's that whole absolutes thing...they're always <chuckle> confusing.

Don't worry, I'd rest easy regardless of how your slide stop is set up I added that part mostly because it's a thread for someone new to the platform...sort of let them consider both sides before they decide. R,

[joecichlid]

Hummmm A lose extractor shouldn't cause it to not go into battery all the way, if the extractor is too tight it would. You might try to find out for sure what the weight of the recoil spring to be sure, they don't always put in what the sight may say it should have, usually do but every so often a light one might slip through. From there I would try going up a pound or two and see if that clears it up.

Unfortunatly this is one of those things that the smith would need to duplicate to try and get it corrected with the right answer. Hopefully it is a very easy fix.

Joe W.

[boo radley]

IMO, I think it's a mistake to monkey with the slide-stop so that the slide drops when inserting a magazine. In IDPA you're going to slide-lock on almost every stage, and it's hard enough getting the 9mm Eagle and magazine combination working properly in this regard w/out adding another variable.

Believe this or don't believe this, but you will save yourself much pain with this gun by buying SV magazines or tubes and the *purple* follower. This combination has worked for me 100% of the time in my Eagle.

[hankfan79]

I know about going to slide lock. I am a Master shooter so I have a little experience there. Just with a Glock.

The mags function properly. The idea is not to have to use my left thumb to close the slide. That is all.

If it doesn't work. No big deal.

[stinsonbeach]

I know about going to slide lock. I am a Master shooter so I have a little experience there. Just with a Glock.

The mags function properly. The idea is not to have to use my left thumb to close the slide. That is all.

If it doesn't work. No big deal.

In my - humble - opinion there is only one place for "tuned" Eagle mags: Dawson Precision.

A set of 4; tuned & numbered are not that expensive, considering what tuned mags cost.

Dave Dawson use to be STI's top man...he knows his stuff & if that is your problem? Problem solved.

Get 'em.

-jb