Suicycle Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I am running Kimber 8 round mags for the most part and about half will lock the slide back and the other half won't. This is a newly built single stack and the mags didn't have but a few club matches through them before with the previous owner. Should I be looking at a follower issue, as in spring it farther apart, or is this a magazine spring issue? The gun works fine with the factory 7 round mags that it came with before I built it in class. I also figured out that at slide lock and a fully loaded 8 rounder the slide release is extremely tough to press. I have to slingshot with support hand to charge. Should that get better with wear on the springs? I think some are actually CMC extra power mags, those will lock the slide back. They all have pads on them now so it is a little hard to sort out which is which. They 7 rounders w/o pads that are springers are flawless though... just don't use them yet. Brownells has the pads on the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I had the same issue with my 1911. I changed the recoil spring out for a 14# and it solved the issue for me. The guy I bought mine from had put an extra power 20# recoil spring in it. The way it was explained to me, is that the slide wasn't staying back long enough for the catch to engage. I'm now going to start experimenting with some lighter springs in mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oak hill Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 could be weak mag springs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 So, the slide will lock back ok with 7 rd mags, but only half the time with 8 rd mags. Is it consistently the same mags that will and won't work? How old are these mags? Does it do this both when loaded and fired to slide lock and when hand cycling the slide on an empty mag? With slide locked back and you insert a loaded 8 rd mag, you can't release the slide stop without a lot of effort. Does it do this with the 7 rd mags? Look at the slide stop, is it pressed on by the cartridge? It could be pushing the slide stop against the slide. First rack the slide back with an 8 rd mag that won't work and look at where the follower is in relation to the slide stop. The follower should be pushing up on the slide stop. If it slips over it will usually not drop free and won't lock the slide open. Causes can be bad followers, feed lips misshaped or a slide stop that's been modified and is too narrow. Does the slide stop have a detent drilled into it, where the plunger rides? Could be drilled improperly and is forcing the slide stop away from the frame which can cause problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 The 7 round mags work fine all the time. The 8 round mags that lock the slide open are the same ones. I have them numbered so I can keep up with them. They function the same when fired to slide lock as hand cycled to slide lock. The other 8 round mags function the same also, they just let the slide slam down when shot or cycled by hand. No detent is drilled in slide stop. All mags will drop free. I just went through checking what worked and didn't and droped free before last saturdays IDPA match. The side note is I believe the mags that work are Chip Mc Cormick and the ones that don't are the Kimber. The ones that do work it is extremely hard to press down the slide release when loaded to 8 rounds and at slide lock. I haven't tried to download one round and lock back and see if it was easier to compress the stack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuflehundon Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 On my current 1911, I ended up switching to all Chip McCormick mags from Wilson's. The Wilson's were the ones that I had lock up issues with. When I switched recoil springs, the wilson's worked, but I still don't use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Something is pressing on the Slide Stop and adding pressure to it with a loaded mag in place. There should be no pressure, but the slide resting on the stop, on the slide stop with a loaded mag in place. My guess is your Mag bodies are out of adjustment. The mags that won't lock the slide open might need the feed lips adjusted outward a bit. If they are bent too far in they can allow the followers to miss. Do you have another Slide Stop to try, if the one you have has been modified it might also cause the follower to miss. Also make sure the slide stop isn't being pressed outward by the follower. That can tie up a gun also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 The only modification to the SS is a slight relief made by a round jewlers file to start it in the gun when assembly. I will try another slide stop since only half my other pistol is here. Thanks for the obvious idea. I have a little more time today to look at it and will get into it and see what the mag body looks like with the two in comparison and get back at some time and also the follower. I am hoping a spring is the culprit, not to use a good rubber worm's name in vain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) Ok, I can drop the slide with a fully loaded mag with a live round or a dummy snap cap. Maybe it was just the timer screwing with me and it is firm, but I can reach it with my strong thumb to do it with just a mild effort. I remember trying hard with my support thumb and couldn't with any of the mags that locked the slide back on sunday. Gotta be the timer! The issue seems to be the followers. One style, Chip McCormick don't seem to press the lock up at all. The followers on a KimPro mag seem to be fine. They have an extra piece in the front that runs down the body of the mag, but I cannot find this style of follower at brownells. My Wilsons that have a thin steel base pad, don't know the number of the mag, have a polymer follower that barely pushes the stop up to catch. If I dump the mag the slid drops. So I believe the issue with them is the spring just not being strong enough. They have probably been loaded 3 times each and are less than a year old. Most of these mags are my old ones that I have sold to a friend and bought back to shoot CDP in IDPA and we both never shot it much BTW. He always shot with me and we always shot our glocks. I am just sorting out the issues now. I am looking for followers and springs. I think I just need springs on the wilsons, and possibly just springs on the others, but may need followers too. Edit. It was springs in the Kimber mags. I took one apart and dropped in a snap cap and put the spring back in and with the extra tension it locked back just fine. I think with fresh springs I should be fine. Edited August 24, 2012 by Suicycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) The only modification to the SS is a slight relief made by a round jewlers file to start it in the gun when assembly. I will try another slide stop since only half my other pistol is here. Thanks for the obvious idea. I have a little more time today to look at it and will get into it and see what the mag body looks like with the two in comparison and get back at some time and also the follower. I am hoping a spring is the culprit, not to use a good rubber worm's name in vain. Don't understand the "slight relief"? Is it filed towards the frame so the slide stop will slide by the plunger easier? If it is that's your problem. It is common, Brownells even sells a jig, to use the marks left by the plunger on the slide stop as it functions to drill a dimple into the slide stop at the upper mark. The reason is to keep the slide stop from working outward and give a bit more friction to it so it won't jump up and prematurely engage. Any relief towards the frame will allow the slide stop to walk out. Resulting in failure to activate the slide stop with the follower and in a worst case catching on the disassembly notch with the raised leg causing the slide to freeze in mid stroke. This may also leaving it look like the slide is locked back. Edited August 25, 2012 by pskys2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) The problem is springs. They are on the way. I dropped a snap cap in the bottom of a mag and then assembled the spring and follower and it worked fine. Just needed the extra tension. The slide stop is working fine, it is not creaping out at all. Only issues are mags not locking slide open, Brownells should have that fixed Monday after delivery. I believe the two different follower designs are fine. Log or Logman shows this mod on the 1911 forum. It doesn't affect the way the slide stop works, just helps align during assembly. Edited August 25, 2012 by Suicycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) Link to keep you from being a member of the idiot scratch club. We did this when I built the pistol in class and I have donethat to my second and third since. Maybe not quite as much as a cut as shown, but you get the idea. http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=214653 Edited August 25, 2012 by Suicycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 All are working fine now. Wolf 5% extra did a good job on all the offenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now