1911 - unsupported chamber vs ramped-supported

[Carlos]

Here are (hopefully) two photos of 1911 barrels; one showing a traditional, common, non-ramped barrel which lacks any chamber support at all:

The second photo shows a ramped 1911 barrel that has full chamber support:

A ramped barrel is not needed for low-pressure rounds like the .45 ACP or the .38 SPECIAL (yes there were 1911s in that cal.).

But, many calibers run pressure of 35,000 to 45,000 PSI - including 10mm, .40 cal, 9mm, 38 stupid +p, etc. I feel that all 1911 barrels in the latter chamberings should be ramped/supported chamber barrels.

[superdude]

nice photos, and an important distinction to make to shooters who are not yet familiar with the terms and usage.

another site for feed ramp photos and a brief explanation can be found:

http://www.38super.net/Pages/supported.html

superdude

[Kingman]

clark did sell the .38 special 1911's with ramped barrels. Being that it was the old man Jim that was one of the people who really pushed this. I wish I had one.

Besides ramp's seem to make the feed ramp a bit easier.

[tightloop]

Here are (hopefully) two photos of 1911 barrels; one showing a traditional, common, non-ramped barrel which lacks any chamber support at all:

The second photo shows a ramped 1911 barrel that has full chamber support:

A ramped barrel is not needed for low-pressure rounds like the .45 ACP or the .38 SPECIAL (yes there were 1911s in that cal.).

But, many calibers run pressure of 35,000 to 45,000 PSI - including 10mm, .40 cal, 9mm, 38 stupid +p, etc. I feel that all 1911 barrels in the latter chamberings should be ramped/supported chamber barrels.

[zhunter]

Funny, but my gunsmith has chosen to build my .45 Single Stack with a ramped barrel.

He said, he wanted the extra support, knowing full well the gun was only gong to shoot 170PF ammo

[Kingman]

Z I would never build a gun without a full ramped barrel at this point. Main reason for most people is just it is easier to get more reliable feeding with all types of ammo. Even that weird semi wadcutter stuff.

Plus once you bump the pressures, it becomes more of a safety as such.

[G-ManBart]

I've got an old .38 Super barrel (Bar-Sto) without a ramp that has almost as much support as the supported barrel in the pic. It's somewhat dependant on the manufacturer as to how much or how little support they have. I put well over 65,000 rounds of 180PF loads through it without a single problem. I talked with Bar-Sto at the time and they said to save money and not bother replacing it with a ramped barrel (their own) because the amount of support was almost identical. It fed perfectly (empty cases were no challenge) and I don't recall ever having a failure to feed.

With that said, I'd still go with a ramped barrel every time:)

[Carlos]

I've got an old .38 Super barrel (Bar-Sto) without a ramp that has almost as much support as the supported barrel in the pic. It's somewhat dependant on the manufacturer as to how much or how little support they have. I put well over 65,000 rounds of 180PF loads through it without a single problem. I talked with Bar-Sto at the time and they said to save money and not bother replacing it with a ramped barrel (their own) because the amount of support was almost identical. It fed perfectly (empty cases were no challenge) and I don't recall ever having a failure to feed.

With that said, I'd still go with a ramped barrel every time:)

Excellent point! Original post is somewhat over simplified; there are non-ramped barrels that offer more chamber support than others and I am certain there are rambed barrels that have been modified by well-meaning gunsmiths to the point where much of the support has been ground away. Also, the use of newer brass such as the improved .40 brass, better single based powders like V V, and the lower power factor all combine to make a ramped barrel less necessary that it once was - though I believe that there is no such thing as too much case support.

[G-ManBart]

I've always been pretty surprised at how some of the "fully supported" barrels really aren't when you look at them. I can't imagine that it's all that much harder to make them supported as much as possible, but I'm not a barrel maker, so it's just a guess.

"though I believe that there is no such thing as too much case support."

Hard to argue with that!

[Dave Sample]

I have at least two 1911's with ramped barrels. I have never tried the "rambed barrels" but I am sure they are Kewl! I used them in a .38 Super race gun and my 5" LW PPJG carry gun to overcome the aluminum feed ramp problem that happens when you try to feed certain kinds of ammo through them. I could care less about the "Supported Chamber " aspect as I think of that as a non issue.

[Carlos]

As far as case support in non-1911 guns (specifically, the high pressure 9mm) here is another photo:

From Left to Right: Glock 17, H&K USP, Walther P99, Steyr M-9

Obviously the Steyr offers not only excellent case support but also greater strength due to the chamber wall thickness.

Edited August 6, 2007 by Carlos