9mm 1911 double feed

[ktm300]

I have a double feed issue. I have been chasing this for a while. My ejector was broken, that helped. I ended up with some Dawson mags those helped.

Yesterday I was shooting SC state and had 4 double feeds on the first 4 stages. I had shot the gun the day before about 300 rounds with no issues so I asked myself "what changed". I went from my practice ammo (same load same bullets etc) where the cases are just not polished as much. I polish the crap out of my match stuff so it runs through the press better and I get a little better accuracy.

Well I switch back to my kind of not so shiny practice ammo and the issue goes away for the last 4 stages.

Kind of makes sense as the 2nd round is slipping under the first one and jamming it. More friction between the round and the feed lips keeps it in place a little better??

Does this make any sense to anyone else.

SS nationals in 6 days, guess I have to load a bunch of practice ammo.

[Postal Bob]

Yes, makes sense. I had a similar issue, whereas nickel plated brass gave the problem. The top round in the mag is popping out of the feed lips when the slide hits the back. Then the slide strips another round, while the first one is sitting loose in the receiver. I didn't realize this was the problem until a live round actually popped out of the gun when the slide hit back.

This is caused by weak magazine springs, or a weak recoil spring. If the mags are new, like in my case also, then look at the recoil spring.

In my 9mm I kept switching back and forth between a 9 and 10 lb spring. In the beginning, everything worked fine with an occasional double feed with the 9lb. So I used the 10lb. Then at some point after about 2,000 rounds, I was getting constant double feeds. Everyone told me it was the extractor, but nothing involving that fixed it. And I didn't think it could be the recoil spring as I only had 2,000 rounds on it. But I bought a new one anyway. And believe it or not, the old one was so weak compared to the new one, it felt like it was 7 or 8 lbs. Apparently the lower the weight spring, the faster they wear out. As soon as I put in the new 10lb spring, all my double feeds went away. If I put in the 9lb, I'll get an occasional double feed.

So check your recoil spring for wear, or put in a heavier one.

[ktm300]

OK that makes sense, I am going to try it. I have a lot of recoil springs of various weights. Now that I can reproduce the issue with the "pretty" brass it should be simpler to fix.

[ktm300]

SS Nationals came and went with zero failures. First match back after that using the same ammo and two stages, two double feeds. Each time I took the mag out of the rotation. Now with those two mags out of the rotation I shot a match today with zero failures,

I am going to spend some time with the ones that work and the ones that don't and try and isolate the issue.

[Postal Bob]

Also, check your mag springs for fatigue, and the spacing of the feed lips. I had one mag, where the feed lips had spread open a little. And make sure the follower isn't hanging up inside the mag body. If it drags a little, it'll leave the top round loose against the feed lips, and cause a double feed.

[wonderboy]

a little too late maybe... its 2020!!! but let me chime in my experience as well... im having double feed issues also on my 2nd round using the mecgar/1911/9mm/10rounder...  the polished and shiny case maybe the culprit and maybe not.  what i did, was to crimp the feed lips and press on the upper of part of mag to tighten the hold of the mag on the 1st and 2nd round.  seems to have the solved the issue... but lost confidence on mecgar already.  

[mpssrh]

Thank you for reviving this topic from 2015. The prior posts have provided insight into a situation I also have experienced. Despite lengthy and detailed Internet searches, I never uncovered this particular thread (and that probably is a matter of not selecting the right words in initiating the search).

 

There are those who object to reviving old threads, but I have been amazed at how often previous information has proven helpful. Finally, thanks for the interesting (and novel) thought that the polished and shiny magazine case may be a contributing factor in your double-feeds.