kimber 1911, 9 mm loading problem

[still]

I have a Kimber Stainless II 9 mm. The gun has the kimber mag in it and bullets do not seem to be loading correctly. I put 100 round through it and no problem. Now it seems to jam every other mag. If I have a full mag and rack a shell into the chamber. Drop the mag, the mag drops out along with a loose bullet that came out of the mag. The bullet is not allays loose sometimes it will be in he mag but barley. Any Help out there

[GregJ]

I dont have any answers, but I noticed the same thing with a Springer Loaded 9mm I used to have. I cant remember the mags, I think it did it with Tripp and a coule of other mfgrs. It ran fine, but when I dropped a mag with rounds in it, the top round would either fall out, or barely held by the mag lips. I didnt, keep it long enough to figure out what was going on with it. Good luck on finding a solution.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I put 100 round through it and no problem. Now it seems to jam every other mag.

Possible the gun needs to be cleaned and lubricated?

Same ammo for 1st 100 rounds as for now?

If you drop a mag, it's not uncommon for the

top round to be half out of the mag, from my

experience.

Good luck.

Jack

[Dave C]

I have a Kimber Stainless II 9 mm. The gun has the kimber mag in it and bullets do not seem to be loading correctly. I put 100 round through it and no problem. Now it seems to jam every other mag. If I have a full mag and rack a shell into the chamber. Drop the mag, the mag drops out along with a loose bullet that came out of the mag. The bullet is not allays loose sometimes it will be in he mag but barley. Any Help out there

I can't help much with your feeding problems since it could be caused by many things. The short overall length of the 9mm in a gun designed for a 1.270 length round has always created issues.

The loose round dropping out is not a Kimber specific problem, it is a problem with most 9mm single stacks. The 9mm round has a tapered case vs. the straight wall case for 40 and 45. Since the 9mm has a tapered case, the head/rim of the top round catches in the groove of the round below it, causing it to slide forward. When you remove the magazine, since the round has already moved forward, the nose of the bullet catches the frame/feed ramp and is dislodged from the magazine and falls out of the frame when the mag is removed.

[still]

Thanks for input so far. I have on order two Wilson Combat mags hoping that will help. If not I am still looking for help. As for an answer to your question Jack, yes it is the same ammo

[deadeye480]

Had same problem w/my Springfield 9mm, new Metalform mags w/crimp in front of mag. body solved problem. YMMV.

[Jim Watson]

Are you describing one problem or two?

It is common for the next round up in a 9mm to be dragged forward by the previous round chambering; letting it fall out or be barely held by the magazine lips. I have seen it to happen in Sig Sauer P226, not just single stacks.

If you are having malfunctions during firing - "jams" - that is a more serious problem.

Please describe EXACTLY what happens. Pictures would be a big help, with a real camera instead of a phone if possible.

Picking a good magazine by trial and error can get expensive. I don't guess you have any friends with 9mm 1911s.

A Kimbershooter here took my advice and uses Metalform .38 Super magazines with their rounded fully guided follower. It sounds backwards but it works well in his gun and two of mine. First in the list at

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=9210/sku=620038071/Product/1911_AUTO_MAGAZINES

or look down to item 620 038 081 for stainless.

My other 9mm demands the Springfield-Metalform-Leatham Front Ramp magazine recommended by deadeye480

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=20448/sku=620000007/Product/_SPRINGFIELD__MAGAZINES_for_1911_AUTO

I normally use Tripp Cobramags in 9mm Colt and Caspian but those others seem to be better "troubleshooter" magazines.

[okshootist]

I had the same problem when using rounds with a short overall length. Metalform front ramp mags solved the problem. Extra power mag springs from Wolff made the old mags usable. I haven't had the problem with new Wilson mags.

[fastarget]

I think the solutions are at hand, the metal follower is probably binding a bit so the spring tension is not applied to the round.

The followers can and should be tuned, I do this first to make sure the follower is pressing on the slide lock lever all the way up by blueing it and assembly then adjusting until is works flawlessly, then do the same thing by loading the mag and adjusting as needed for binding.

The other solution is to get a quality mag(save the cheapies for practice), we ended up with wilson etm 9mm, but there are others. In short high production mags need tuning.

[DJM725]

I’ve had the same problem with the Kimber / Metaform mags. Less with the Wilson Combat mags, but they don’t fix the problem completely.

[Gadgetmanb]

Did you ever find a solution? I have problems with both Tripp and Wilson 9mm mags. Sometimes the next bullet is pulled forward enough so that the mags will not drop.

[Pezco]

I originally had the problem with my STI 9mm 1911, but once I went to a longer OAL (i will have to check when I get home) the problem went away.

[Bob DuBois]

I have a Trojan in 9mm. I bought some of the first Wilson magazines and removed two coils from the magazine springs, to much tension against the slide running a 9 lb recoil spring. It took a little tuning on the slide release and magazine followers to get mine running.

Metalform magazines worked out of the package, several other shooters here like Metalform also. While Metalform worked, I still prefer the Wilson's but they took a little work.

Make sure the magazine is not hitting the ejector with the slide removed and pushing up on the magazine.

I've seen super mags work in other pistols, they didn't run in mine, had several from the old single stack open days. My gun likes a longer OAL, I try for 1.140 and suggest you try a run loaded as long as they will fit in the magazine, the 1.140 will run in my Glock 34 also.

These little 9mm 1911's take a little extra tuning to get them running but once you get it dialed in they are a blast.

[Joe D]

Make sure the area in front of the disconnector cut is polished smooth. My Kimber and Spartan work with any mag. I don't like the Metalform 10 round though. My bullets hit the little lip in the front of the mag. It still feeds. I just don't care for the little cut it puts in my bullet. All of my rounds are loaded to 1.150". I use a 160 gr lead bullet exclusively.

A very good low cost mag is the 10 round Check-Mate 38 Super - $20. I have since converted all of my Metalform mags over to the Tripp follower. A few minutes with a cut off wheel made the lip go away.

Edited June 3, 2011 by Joe D