Need Help 9mm 1911

[jam-man]

I am attempting to get a Springfield 9mm 1911 to run reliable. I purchased the gun about 2 months ago and it was built by Ed Brown back when he was doing custom work. The gun will run reliable with FMJ, however HP is a whole another story.

The problem is nose down jams into the feed ramp. The worse part is they are very hard to clear.

Well here is were it gets a little complex. When I first got the gun it had around a 8 pound spring. So I changed it to a 14 spring. It would feed HP completely reliable. Problem solved, so I thought.

Well, tried some support hand shooting. Had several failures to extract and the gun would not lock back on an empty mag. I was really locking out with my support hand. So I tried a 14 pound spring and clipped a couple of coils. Trying to find the right combination, no success.

Next I purchased JP Mag Release that set the mag higher in the gun. Fitted it were the mag just barely clears the slide and it helped.

All of the above helped, however the gun is still not 100% reliable with HP. I failed to mentioned that the nose down jams occur from slide lock reloads. Any advice would be appreciated thanks in advance.

[yoshidaex]

are all your mags causing the same jams? i'd buy a new mag spring or a new magazine and see if that helps with the feed issue.

as for your recoil spring, 14 lbs spring for a 9mm 1911? i use a 14 pounder in a 45 acp.

Edited January 1, 2008 by yoshidaex

[Bergie]

Is there a reason you want to use a HP bullet?

I have never used hollow points in my gun but round nose 124 gr. feed flawlessly.

I use a 10 or 11# recoil spring.

Good Luck

[Joe4d]

Well if you figure it out let me know. My Commander 9mm non ramped uilt on a fullsize CAspian does the same thing. It isnt the magazines, long loading, short loading, heavy spring light spring, 38 super or 9mm mags. It just wont shoot hollow points and incase you havent checked it wont shoot truncated cone either. Mine will shoot WWB all day long but probably only run 90% on hollowpoints. I solved the problem by not shooting hollowpoints. For the times when I am traveling back and forth and it went from match use to defensive use I loaded Corbon Powerballs, which did run well. I know it is agravating and little problems nag us but think about it do you really need hollow points ?

[Jim Watson]

My little 9mm Ultra Compact feeds JHP... now, after some grinding to convert the integral ramp into a feed ramp. My 'smith is not a fan of integral ramps and was not bashful about cutting that one to approach the angle and contour of a conventional gun.

MixMaster A - the lightweight fullsize 9mm produced by swapping S.A. parts - was not altered as radically because we did not plan on it getting hollowpoints for IDPA ESP. But it has fed the ones I have shot in it.

Or just buy Powrball plasticnose like Joe.

[jam-man]

Same no matter what mags I use. The mags are a new and metal form. I just ordered a SpringField Mag with the front spacer, I will see if any what affect it has.

The 14 pound spring is what is rated for a 1911 9mm, that is why I tried it out first. I agree it is too heavy, however it will feed HPs. I have read the recoil springs thread and have currently have a 11 & 10 pound spring on order. I may clip some off one of them if they seem like to much poundage.

I have considered POWRBall and EFMJ, I just have a hard time paying +1,000 for a pistol that will not function with HPS.

BTW it has a barsto barrel with an a one piece feed ramp. Thanks for the advice.

[Greg in VA]

Sounds like you need to adjust the extractor...........

Greg in VA

[DanM]

I had the same problem with mine. The only solution I've ever found is to give up on the HP's and to just run 124grn MG CMJ's. Are you using the Springfield mags with the crimp in the front?

[HSMITH]

Set the lips to .355" wide on the mags, parallel and on center. Polish them so that the round releases smoothly. Check the extractor tension, probably too high. Take the shock buffers out if you have any in it, and see what it does with a 10 pound spring.

[Tony S45]

jam-man:

While all of the advise listed above is certainly useful, the key may be in your second post. You state that you just ordered a front spaced mag from Springfield. Are your current mags all rear spaced?

I've owned a 5" 1911 Springfield in 9mm for about four+ years and it will not run even FMJ ammo reliably with the rear spacer mags; however, the front crimped/spacer/mini-ramp mags from MetalForm which are now issued with each new Springfield, did the trick for me. If all of your current mags are rear spaced, just shoot FMJ until the new front crimped mag comes in and then fire away with JHP! Could be part of the answer.

My Springfield has a #9 recoil spring per factory specs. I also run a shoc-buff. Have heard about folks running up to #14 recoil primarily for a change in the recoil impulse but reliability is the ultimate consideration. If it's not reliable, it's a paperweight!

Edited January 1, 2008 by Tony S45

[jam-man]

Thanks for all the advice.

Yes I am using mags with the spacer in the rear. Just ordered a new Springfield mag from Brownells. I hope it does the trick.

How could you tell if you extractor has to much tension?

BTW I have polished out all my mags and they are slick as glass.

I think I will ordered a 9 pound recoil spring also.

Thanks again for the help.

[G-ManBart]

Thanks for all the advice.

Yes I am using mags with the spacer in the rear. Just ordered a new Springfield mag from Brownells. I hope it does the trick.

How could you tell if you extractor has to much tension?

BTW I have polished out all my mags and they are slick as glass.

I think I will ordered a 9 pound recoil spring also.

Thanks again for the help.

To check the extractor, take the slide off and the barrel out. Hold the slide upside down and feed an empty case under the extractor rim. Turn the slide right side up and see if it holds the case. If it will hold the case in place, but slides out easily with finger pressure you're in the right ballpark. If the case falls out before you get the slide turned over all the way, it's too light. If you have to push hard to get the case out, it's too heavy.

[jam-man]

Thanks for all the advice.

Yes I am using mags with the spacer in the rear. Just ordered a new Springfield mag from Brownells. I hope it does the trick.

How could you tell if you extractor has to much tension?

BTW I have polished out all my mags and they are slick as glass.

I think I will ordered a 9 pound recoil spring also.

Thanks again for the help.

To check the extractor, take the slide off and the barrel out. Hold the slide upside down and feed an empty case under the extractor rim. Turn the slide right side up and see if it holds the case. If it will hold the case in place, but slides out easily with finger pressure you're in the right ballpark. If the case falls out before you get the slide turned over all the way, it's too light. If you have to push hard to get the case out, it's too heavy.

Thanks for the advice, this is the method that I have been using. I didn't know if there was another method. Thanks again

[superdude]

the nose dive feed failure is a common problem in 1911 single stack magazines. the worst offender is 9mm Luger because it is a short, tapered case. I am in the process of writing an article on this subject matter. note that everyting in a 1911 single stack mag has this problem. and for clarification other magazine designs have the same problem to one degree or another, its not just 1911 guns.

the magazine manufacturer or follower design have virtually no influence on this problem. i've looked especially close at the 45 ACP and 38 Super cartridges. no brand stops or even slightly improves the problem. i know, that's not what you want to hear, but the data tell a clear story.

the spacer system is one way to help. The Springfiled design magazine with the integral feedramp might help a little. i have one and can only say that the feed ramp is mightly small.

but the best advice is to use just round nose bullets. they might provide you will 100% reliability.

some relevant information that will help you to understand this problem can be found on my website at:

http://www.38super.net/Pages/Overall%20Length.html

wish i could offer an easy cure. converting it to 38 Super would help since it is a straight walled case. even the 9X23 is a little better than 9mm. it is also a tapered case but it's longer. but both of those options will cost you more money for the brass. afterall, 9mm luger is the cheapest and most available brass out there.

good luck

[buddy_fuentes]

I wanted a 1911 9 mm to shoot steel, some years ago. I bought the Springfield Stainless Loaded from a Indoor Range/Gun store. I took it in the back and it would not feed more than two or three rounds without a stoppage. After about two hundred rounds of this the Store Manager brought another Springfield out of the case and said he would let me have it instead. Hmm, that one coughed through a box of Mag-Tech solids and that was enough for me. I got him to take a Kimber Target II out of the case and it ate everything. I took it instead. It has had many thousands of rounds through it and it is everything you could expect from any pistol. I run a 12.5 or a 14 pound spring and never have any problems with any load regardless of the magazines used.

A guy working at the store bought the first pistol I had shot and gave everything a good polishing including the rails. His gun is very reliable now. I suspect that some guns come from the factory with rough edges and need a bunch of attention to get them to run correctly. Or maybe a few thousand rounds to smooth them out. I just don't possess that much patience.

I would try to polish up everything and if that didn't work it would be off to a good gunsmith.

Buddy

[bountyhunter]

are all your mags causing the same jams? i'd buy a new mag spring or a new magazine and see if that helps with the feed issue.

as for your recoil spring, 14 lbs spring for a 9mm 1911? i use a 14 pounder in a 45 acp.

Stock spring weight for a full size 1911 shooting factory 9mm ammo is 12#. 14# will do what he said: fail to lock back because of short stroke.

[bountyhunter]

I am attempting to get a Springfield 9mm 1911 to run reliable.

It would feed HP completely reliable. Problem solved, so I thought.

All of the above helped, however the gun is still not 100% reliable with HP.

1911's are notorious for not feeding HP's, and usually the feed ramp has to be adjusted to get them to feed right... and then they may not feed FMJ 100%. Not sure if your feed ramp has been cut?

[bountyhunter]

Sounds like you need to adjust the extractor...........

Greg in VA

Good point: whenever a 1911 is a cranky feeder:

1) check extractor tension, then contour extractor groove lower edges to gett smooth "roll up"

2) polish feed ramp

3) polish breech face

[bountyhunter]

Thanks for all the advice.

Yes I am using mags with the spacer in the rear. Just ordered a new Springfield mag from Brownells. I hope it does the trick.

How could you tell if you extractor has to much tension?

BTW I have polished out all my mags and they are slick as glass.

I think I will ordered a 9 pound recoil spring also.

Thanks again for the help.

To check the extractor, take the slide off and the barrel out. Hold the slide upside down and feed an empty case under the extractor rim. Turn the slide right side up and see if it holds the case. If it will hold the case in place, but slides out easily with finger pressure you're in the right ballpark. If the case falls out before you get the slide turned over all the way, it's too light. If you have to push hard to get the case out, it's too heavy.

Thanks for the advice, this is the method that I have been using. I didn't know if there was another method. Thanks again

Tie a lead of dental floss tightly around a spent brass case, as near to the rear groove as possible without going in it. Take the slide off, and fit the brass into it exactly where it goes when it chambers a round. Hold the slide up level and use a trigger pull gauge hooked through the end of the dental floss to pull the brass straight down out of the extractor's hold. proper tension is in the 15 - 22 ounce ballpark to pull it out.

Edited January 2, 2008 by bountyhunter

[19852]

I also have a Springfield 9mm 1911. It has been 100% reliable with the supplied Metalform/Springfield mags so I use no other. I replaced the super duper FP spring with a normal XP spring and a FP from Ed Brown. I also changed out the super extra power mainspring to a 19# Ed Brown. I using a 14# recoil spring that failed to lock back at first but after it broke in it is totaly reliable. The gun feeds everything including 9mm MB 130gr, SWC.

[jam-man]

Thanks again for the help.

Couple of quick things.

The gun is slick as glass. Cycles like it is on ball bearers. I can comb my hair in the feed ramp. And I have put over 1500 rounds through it.

I checked the extractor using the first method mentioned. It seemed to be in specs. Thanks for the method mentioned with the dental floss. I don't have a trigger pull gage, however I am going to stop by my local gun shop and see if I can use theirs to fine tune the extractor.

I will update everyone once the parts arrive. Thanks again for all the advice.

One last thing the article provided by Superdude is excellent to say the least. Thanks again for everyones valuable time.