I know I said I was going to buy a Glock, but couldn't help myself when...

[BAC]

OK, so I took the 1911 to the range again today while the wifey was trying her new revolver.  I'm getting frustrated with the failures to feed.  I got an FTF at least once every mag full of ammo, and it's happening with both magazines.  I was very cautious not to limp wrist the pistol or hit the magazine release.  It seems the rounds are getting hung up on the feed ramp.

I've put 100 rounds of WWB through it and it's not getting better.  How long should I try to break this thing in before returning it to the dealer to have it looked at (they give a lifetime warranty)?  It's doubly annoying because, other than not feeding, I REALLY LOVE THIS THING!  The trigger is much better already, the sights are fantastic, and as fast as I can pull the trigger (and rack the slide...grrrr) all 7 rounds hit in the 10 ring from 7 yards.  On one mag 6 of the holes were touching and the 7th was about 1/2" away.  

P.S.  I do have a Dremel, but that's out of the question.

Thoughts?

[PegLeg45]

Are they wedging against the feed ramp without coming out of the magazine (most likely) or are they getting caught on the lip of the barrel throat (if you can tell)?

If they are getting wedged against the feed ramp of the frame with the cartridge about half to two-thirds out of the mag, it sounds like the magazine lips may be a bit tight.....but normally you only have that problem with a single 'odd' magazine.

Pull the slide off the frame and insert a loaded mag and see how they strip out of the mag with your thumb to see if they hit the ramp at an odd angle.


Any way you can post pics of the feed ramp?

[BAC]

Are they wedging against the feed ramp without coming out of the magazine (most likely) or are they getting caught on the lip of the barrel throat (if you can tell)?

If they are getting wedged against the feed ramp of the frame with the cartridge about half to two-thirds out of the mag, it sounds like the magazine lips may be a bit tight.....but normally you only have that problem with a single 'odd' magazine.

Pull the slide off the frame and insert a loaded mag and see how they strip out of the mag with your thumb to see if they hit the ramp at an odd angle.


Any way you can post pics of the feed ramp?

This was the best picture of the feed ramp I could get on short notice.



I haven't been able to clean it yet.  Unfortunately I rubbed my finger against the feed ramp before taking the picture.  The lighter spots were actually horizontal lines running up the feed ramp like rungs on a ladder.  I thought maybe they were caused by the round not gliding smoothly up the feed ramp?  I didn't really see if they were getting hung up on the feed ramp or the barrel throat.  I had a camera with me (I always have a camera with me   ) but didn't think to take a photo of one of the FTFs.

Thanks for the help, Peg!

[fightingquaker13]

OK, so I took the 1911 to the range again today while the wifey was trying her new revolver.  I'm getting frustrated with the failures to feed.  I got an FTF at least once every mag full of ammo, and it's happening with both magazines.  I was very cautious not to limp wrist the pistol or hit the magazine release.  It seems the rounds are getting hung up on the feed ramp.

I've put 100 rounds of WWB through it and it's not getting better.  How long should I try to break this thing in before returning it to the dealer to have it looked at (they give a lifetime warranty)?  It's doubly annoying because, other than not feeding, I REALLY LOVE THIS THING!  The trigger is much better already, the sights are fantastic, and as fast as I can pull the trigger (and rack the slide...grrrr) all 7 rounds hit in the 10 ring from 7 yards.  On one mag 6 of the holes were touching and the 7th was about 1/2" away.  

P.S.  I do have a Dremel, but that's out of the question.

Thoughts?

You know bac, thats an easily fixed problem. I had that happen with my G19, (the pistol you originally set out to buy), oh, wait I didn't, it feeds perfectly. My advice, either get the dealer to take care of it for you if it does have a lifetime warranty (no sense messing around with something the factory will fix for free), or alternatively sell that rust bucket and get the Glock you intended to buy in the first place. It may be ugly and have no "soul", but it will always go bang and you'll never have to post an embarrasing question like "How do I make my brand new pistol shoot reliably?".
FQ13 who thinks about cleaning his Glock, remembers that I did it last year and that should be good enough, and smiles at what I see to be the ultimate answer to the Glock versus 1911 argument contained in your question.

[PegLeg45]

That's a fairly rough ramp.
Looks like a little copper on the middle area (arrow in my copy of your pic).

Here are a couple of pics of my 20 year old Colt with a 19 year old polish on it. Sorry for the low quality, but the light and flash made it hard to get the right angle to catch the surface just right. All I used was red jewelers rouge and a cotton buffing wheel on a Dremel tool.



And pay no attention to FQ....   ....it is true the Glocks are mostly good to go right out of the box, but every 1911 I've ever owned was too. The polishing on mine was just 'added insurance'. Maybe yours was just a little rougher than normal. The last 1911 I bought was a Springfield Loaded Match and it was pretty smooth out of the box and scary accurate with WWB. It has not been touched and loads everything I put in the mags.

And for the record, I polished the ramp on my Glock 27 also.  

[Sponsor]

[BAC]

You know bac, thats an easily fixed problem. I had that happen with my G19, (the pistol you originally set out to buy), oh, wait I didn't, it feeds perfectly. My advice, either get the dealer to take care of it for you if it does have a lifetime warranty (no sense messing around with something the factory will fix for free), or alternatively sell that rust bucket and get the Glock you intended to buy in the first place. It may be ugly and have no "soul", but it will always go bang and you'll never have to post an embarrasing question like "How do I make my brand new pistol shoot reliably?".
FQ13 who thinks about cleaning his Glock, remembers that I did it last year and that should be good enough, and smiles at what I see to be the ultimate answer to the Glock versus 1911 argument contained in your question.

Ummm...SHUT UP!  You're not helping.

If I do get a Glock (I'm hoping for a 23 now), I'm not going to turn into a pompous a%#, am I?  'Cause if that's the case, I'll get an XD.  

[fightingquaker13]

Ummm...SHUT UP!  You're not helping.

If I do get a Glock (I'm hoping for a 23 now), I'm not going to turn into a pompous a%#, am I?  'Cause if that's the case, I'll get an XD.  

Turning into a pompous ass is a small price to pay for owning a Glock. It is, after all, perfection. Says so right on the box, and who are we to argue with Gaston?   Seriously, I think that you can easily fix your issues by just sending it back to the factory, its probably a mag issue or maybe a problem with polishing the feed ramp. Either way they should be able to fix it and you might even get a free hat . Equally seriously, buy the damn Glock next time. Its the AK of pistols, you just can't screw it up. Excuse me for being a pompous ass , but I'll be a pompous ass that  puts my money where my mouth is. Ten bucks to the first guy who posts about a failure to feed from a well maintained Glock using factory ammo. Somehow, I think I'll keep that ten bucks in my wallet. If not, I'll cheerfully pay. I don't welsh on a bet.I wish you well with getting this fixed, and I really doubt it will take too much effort. Honestly, just a few millimeters off can cause this sort of problem. A "fluff and buff" should fix it.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

The "step" between your fed ramp and chamber looks much more pronounced than on the picture Peg posted of his.
Look close at the 2 pictures, you will see that the mouth of Peg's chamber is beveled while yours is at a square angle.
Have a competent smith polish the ramp and chamber mouth and you should be good to go.

[BAC]

I'm going to call Springfield Armory on Monday.

[PegLeg45]

I'm going to call Springfield Armory on Monday.

That would be the best first step, IMHO.