Ammo problem I've never encountered before

[sinac84]

They also weren't originally designed with polished feed ramps, Interchangeable sites, 8 round magazines, full length guide rods, stainless steel anything, night sites, commander hammers, checkering, ambidextrous safeties, extended slide releases, enlarged magazine wells, full dust covers, threaded barrels for compensators or other muzzle devices, etc....

IT'S CALLED PROGRESS, UPDATED DESIGNS, etc...

Please Post a Valid Point

Geez... i just answered the man's question and gave my opinion. Settle down grasshopper.

Besides, my first post in here was a recommendation for ammo that would probably feed better. No need to flame all over the place.

Speaking of "progress", seems like all those "upgrades" just made the 1911 less reliable. I'm all for making something better but not at the expense of reliability in a defense gun.

 

[2001SportTJ]

Mainly Kimber. I've owned a ATI that was crap. Not all 1911's are bad, I just don't trust them the same way as I do a Glock or M&P. The 1911 was never originally designed to feed JHP. So, why would I trust it with JHP when it's been proven time and time again not to be anywhere near as reliable as a Glock. I'm sure protective measures can give some input from all his years of teaching classes that a Glock has had a much better track record of reliability than 1911's, especially the subcompact models.

If I were to own a 1911 it would be a full size because they tend to be more reliable. It would be a "fun" gun, not a defensive gun. 1911's tend to be more accurate though so there's that.

Please list the brands and models that gave you issues. Were they new or used? Did they have any aftermarket parts?

 

[Flashover16]

Ok, now lets be nice!
first there are a lot of things the 1911 (Original ) wasn't designed for!
Like a safety and 230 grain bullets!
The Calvary insisted on the safety so they wouldn't shoot their horses as they rode and fired, the Army also insisted on 230 grain projectiles, they actually insisted on 250 grain projectiles and John told them to take a hike, he originally speced the weapon out for 200 grain projectiles.
Anyway , I own some 15 different 1911's, and some 8 different manufactures, they run in size as defender, officers, commander, and Government, all feed hollow points, actually they all feed anything thats in the correct caliber.
guns (1911's particularly) are just like automobiles , they have steadily become more user friendly and over laden with improvements, but if properly assembled and maintained they pretty much all are just as reliable as the old original 1911.
Now if you move into competition pistols then yes they become more picky/finicky as they have much tighter tolerances than general use 1911;s.
OH, and just as a side note, quite a few weapons were not designed to use modern ammunition, hollow point or otherwise as it wasn't around at the time, plus true combat weapons are forbidden to use expanding point ammunition even today.

 

[Bane]

 

[Flashover16]

are you still using the slide release, or are you slingshotting now? a full mg will have the most spring tension on the top round, and thus exercise the most friction upon it. the gas operated cycling of the weapon is much more forceful than dropping the slide with the slide release. essentially you are meeting the most tightly packed round in the mag with the least amount of chambering force. that's why it's just the top shelf round that's getting hung up.

AHHH, not that it really changes things much but 1911;s are recoil operated not gas operated!
many times if one looks at the top round in a full magazine then removes a few rounds and look , you will notice that often with chambering problems there is a different angle that the round sits in the magazine, usually adjusting the lips just a tad will allow the top round to sit at a slightly higher angle and there fore will feed fine, just like the lower rounds in the mag.
Hope this helps.

 

[Flashover16]

If I were to own a 1911 it would be a full size because they tend to be more reliable. It would be a "fun" gun, not a defensive gun. 1911's tend to be more accurate though so there's that.

I don't know?
maybe you just have bad luck with 1911's in general?
these are pretty reliable, and not to bad as to accuracy either!

 

[greg vess]

I have a Taurus and a Springfield Loaded A1 and both will feed hollow points without fail. For a self defense round try some polymer filled HP defense rounds. The tip is filled with a polymer that will eliminate some of the squared off effect on the HP rounds. A lot of semi-auto pistols are particular about ammo and trying several different manufacturers is not uncommon. If polishing the feed ramp doesn't do the trick try the polymer tipped ammo that should do the trick. It is pricey but just run a box of it through the gun just to see if it will feed properly and keep it for your defense ammo. Then just run the FMJ ammo at the range. Also remember to seat the mag properly with a firm smack with the palm of your hand. I have a few different mags and some require a good slap to seat properly. I find that on my guns the Wilson Combat mags work the best. They don't require any additional force to seat. All guns are different and they like what they like. You just have to find what they like. That can sometimes be a little frustrating.

 

[sinac84]

Please list the brands and models that gave you issues. Were they new or used? Did they have any aftermarket parts?

New Kimber Pro Tactical ii- FTE, FTF, brass to the forehead
Used Kimber Ultra TLE ii- same as the Tactical
Both new Citadel compact- had 2 of them they ran better than the Kimbers. Got the occasional FTF but maybe 1 out of 100 rds.
RIA Tactical compact: 1 or 2 ftf
New ATI compact: brass to the forehead and FTF

Glock: none
M&P: none
Bersa: none
Walther PPQ: none
Sig P229: none
Kahr CW9 and CW45: none
Sig P250: none
Springfield XD: none
FN FNS & FNP: none

The Citadel was most reliable of all the 1911 builds.

 

[2001SportTJ]

New Kimber Pro Tactical ii- FTE, FTF, brass to the forehead
Used Kimber Ultra TLE ii- same as the Tactical
Both new Citadel compact- had 2 of them they ran better than the Kimbers. Got the occasional FTF but maybe 1 out of 100 rds.
RIA Tactical compact: 1 or 2 ftf
New ATI compact: brass to the forehead and FTF

So you base your personal opinion of the 1911 off 4" and a 3" Kimbers and a few budget 1911's...I figured this much. True commanders are 4.25" guns and the 1911 was never meant to have a 3" barrel. There are reliable 1911's out there that have 3" and 4" barrels but they normally require some tuning to get them to run right, and they require strict maintenance schedules. Most people don't know how or when to do regular maintenance...How many rounds are you supposed to go on 3" 1911's before you change the recoil spring? How about the 4" guns? How many rounds until you are supposed to change the mainsprings? Do you know how to properly tune a 1911's extractor?

There are exceptions to everything though. I carry an Officer size 1911(DW ECO) in the warmer months and a fullsize 1911 in the cooler months. I also know how to properly maintain them and keep them running right. If you want a gun that you can just pick up and shoot and never clean it, 1911's are not for you. That's not to say that some 1911's won't run dirty. I ran over 1,500 rounds through my Kimber TLE II before I cleaned it(I didn't even wipe it off or oil it). I was trying to see how long it would take to get it to choke, but my OCD kicked in and I ended up cleaning it before it did. My DW ECO has been reliable from day one and I have about 1,000 rounds through it now and I have only cleaned it once.

My Brother-in-law's old G26 had erratic ejection issues and would sometimes even eject brass to the left. I had a G19 that would eject brass directly into my forehead and it didn't like 147gr ammo. My old G30 would choke on 185gr ammo and had FTRTB issues. Does that mean that all Glocks are crap?

If you would like to meet me at the range some time and shoot some real 1911's() I'd be happy to let you shoot some of mine. We are fairly close to each other and I always like meeting fellow ODTers. Let me know man and maybe we could set up a meet and greet/range session. I've been wanting to check Georgia Gun Club out. Maybe we could set up a meet and greet there?

 

[bearpugh]

I really wanted too but the RIA's and Citadel 1911's has always been more reliable than the higher end ones. I have a little bit of respect for those builds.

tho it makes folks mad. i agree.