STI 6" Blank/Unique slide with *radically* oversized EJ port??

[alberic6]

Hi guys,

I'm asking this here because I figure you're the ones most likely to have seen this, if it's a problem.

I've got an STI frame that I'm (slowly) fitting with an STI Unique slide.  6", .45 ACP.  (This is one of their 'blank' slides.  No machining other than basic production.)

Got around to fitting the barrel last weekend, and discovered that the ejection port is...weird.

With the barrel hood cut back to fit up against the breech face, and the recoil lugs just dropping into the grooves, there's a .050" gap between the rear starboard face of the barrel and the forward (stb'd) face of the cheek of the ejection port.  (the wall that's just outboard of the extractor.)  The spec. for the forward extension of that wall from the breech face is .159" (-.003).

This one measures out at .110".  So it's about .050" too short, at least by the gov't blueprints.

If you put a round in the barrel, and fake it all into battery, you're looking through the ejection port at the extractor groove of the round.  A bit worrysome.

I talked to Fred Kart last week.  He said (and I agree) that it isn't a safety issue, the chamber is flared away that deep in that area anyway, so no risk of blowout. 

But it does concern me somewhat, both from a ?wtf? standpoint, as well as a 'keep crap out of action' standpoint.

I've called STI several times, but haven't gotten through to anybody who knew anything about those slides.  (half the tech team were away at a match last week, apparently.   Tried again this afternoon.  No luck.)

I mentioned it to my range buddy (who shoots Bianchi) and he reminded me that the 6" blank slides are pretty much intended to be for competition guns.   His take was that it was probably deliberate, to give more rear clearance to allow for shock-buffs or other similar things that eat up recoil stroke.  I've seen people oversize the *front* wall of the ejection port, to make it easier to clear loaded rounds, but I've never seen anybody knock off the *back* wall before.

I don't really want to just return the thing for another if I can help it.  I've already got a fair number of machine hours in it, and I'd hate to do it all again.  (Nevermind the parts that have been machined to match it now.)

is this a known thing with STI 6" slides?  Anybody seen this before? 

Thanks for any enlightenment you can share.

Regards,

Brian

PS-->Image attached, so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[Tino2212]

Are you sure its the slide that is causing this "problem" , or could it also be the barrel !

[jcc7x7]

It's not a GI slide so gov't spec's may not be relevant.

 

[alberic6]

The barrel's in spec.  I checked it against a couple of my other 1911 (45) barrels, and double checked it with Fred when we were on the phone.

Also double-checked the ejector port dimensions on my other 1911's.  It's the slide.

Regards,

Brian

 

[racknrider]

Every STI I've had looks like that. I consider it a loaded chamber indicator. 

[js1130146]

My factory fitted Trojan has the exact same gap. I never worried about it and it's never given me a problem. I think it's pretty standard for STIs

Edited October 11, 2016 by js1130146

[PatriotMRD]

My 9mm Edge has the same gap. No issues.

[dthomas1003]

The 5" Unique slide I just used on my build has the same gap. No issues.

[Tino2212]

 My Edge has about the same gap , on my 2011 Les Bear .40 and Custom  build open gun the gap is smaller. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by Tino2212

[alberic6]

Thanks guys, that's what I needed to know.

We can officially call it a feature, not a glitch.

I've got another STI slide that *doesn't* have that gap, but it's a 5" .40 classic.  So I wasn't sure what the deal was. 

Thanks for helping me double check.

-Brian