I'm new so I am allowed 1 dumb question....

[DisVietVet]

Years ago (2003) I purchased a new S&W all stainless 1911. I had to wait a few months before it came out but I snagged the first a local gun store got in. I bought S&W because by gawd my dad had one and his dad had one and his dad had one. They were the best, period, end of conversation. I did not shoot it literally for years because I was working in a lot of countries, China, Russia, Sweden, India, Australia, etc., etc. Finally I retired, came home, and joined a local shooting range.

Since beginning my re-initiation to guns I have grown to love that old S&W 1911. I put on new sites and a new trigger with a 3 lb pull. I shoot **** with the gun. I love it. I have embarrassed a few folks wearing "official" gun jackets with patches all over them. I can outshoot the piss out of my plastic fantastic guns with the 1911 and it has less recoil than my .40.

Enough of that BS. Today I had the failure to eject that S&W has a recall on for the early models. I've put maybe 20,000 to 25,000 rounds through it with no problem. I had finished a couple bricks today and could feel it getting dirty and then it happened on one clip. I cleared it and shot a few more clips before calling it a day and it shot reasonably well.

So you have my whole life story so I can ask this one question. For those S&W1911s that had/have ejection problems did the problems begin right off the bat or did the problems tend to show up later as the gun was used? Curious minds want to know.

 

[joeintexas]

If you bought the 2003 model you got the large billboard slide. I did the same thing, when I saw S&W had a recall on that model, mine was one of he first 500 made, I called them, told them I had not had any problems but wondered should I send it in to be checked, they said yes. I figured they check it out and repair any problems they might find. What they did was simply replace the entire slide, but with a small billboard one. I know a lot of folks don't care for the large billboard but to me it was what I bought and it added nostalgia to it. If you like the slide you have you might want to think twice about sending it in, of course that's if it is in good working condition and just needed a good cleaning. Good luck. Sorry for the long post.

 

[FifthWheel]

Maybe change the recoil spring and see how it functions.

 

[stansdds]

So I take it that the jam was spent brass stuck in the ejection port. First failure in over 20,000 rounds? If so, I would not worry about it and that level of reliability exceeds military standards. I do recommend replacing the recoil spring every 5000 rounds. Recoil springs are cheap, slides, frames and barrels are not.

 

[arjay]

Besides the springs I'd take a close look at the extractor too

 

[Maddog 521]

A good inspection and cleaning along with changing the springs might be the answer here.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Rpg]

If you send it in for the slide replacement fix you'll lose your new sights.

Smith will likely also undo that nice trigger.

The gun you get back won't be the sweet shooter you sent to Smith.

Sounds like a great gun just the way it is.

 

[jmace57]

I've been here for years, and I can confirm you are allowed a lot more than one dumb question! Welcome to the forum!

 

[GaryS]

It's usually dumb NOT asking a question.

I've been here for years, and I can confirm you are allowed a lot more than one dumb question! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Doug M.]

Go find Hilton Yam's recommendations on 1911 maintenance, and his article(s) about testing that model, and work your way through the analysis process. If you have not yet replaced the recoil spring, you have had amazing service, and I would bet it is overdue.

 

[BC38]

Welcome to the board. Don't worry about asking "dumb questions". The folks around here are really tolerant and the questions would have to be really REALLY dumb to elicit a negative response.

Just a caution though, be careful with the colorful language. That kind of thing IS frowned upon and may incur the wrath of the moderators who work so hard to keep this one of the most civil places on the 'net.

Again, welcome aboard.

 

[Barrie]

Welcome from Canada as well. Glad to have you with us.

 

[RobertJ.]

Greetings from the Oregon Coast!

 

[S&W Oldtimer]

Welcome from Va.

 

[JH1951]

Welcome to the forum from Pennsylvania.

 

[DisVietVet]

I love the gun and is a joy to shoot. One big problem I have is that the wife loves the gun too. She just doesn't want to shoot any of the other guns. Who would dream a 70+ year old woman would be rocking a 1911 and out shooting her husband! I am seriously looking at the Performance Center SW1911 for us but really want a 1911 long slide while keeping the .45 caliber. If Smith came out with one I would camp at the door of my local gun shop to get one.

Another question, has anyone put a 6" barrel on a standard 1911 frame? Fusion Firearms has the barrels.

 

[Abflyboy]

I would not sent it back. 1911's are cheap and easy to fix.

Extractors get weak or broken and let the spent case drop onto the incoming round from the magazine or hit the side of the ejection port.

Ejectors get chipped or broken and cause erratic movement of the case out of the ejection port.

Recoil, firing pin, hammer springs are all due for replacement.

It's all simple stuff to get your gun tuned up to 100%.

 

[Wise_A]

Recoil, firing pin, hammer springs are all due for replacement.

It's all simple stuff to get your gun tuned up to 100%.

^^

I'd start with the recoil spring. Although I'd wager the failure was as likely to be caused by ammunition or the gun just being dirty.

Another question, has anyone put a 6" barrel on a standard 1911 frame? Fusion Firearms has the barrels.

You can. The extra inch of steel hanging out of the slide isn't super-likely to interfere with the unlocking process. But you're going to have to have the new barrel fit to the gun, which is a gunsmith job.

The question is--why? You won't be gaining the forward balance or increased sight radius of a longslide. And it's not going to increase accuracy at all.

Check out Bullseye 1911s. You'd be hard-pressed to find even a single longslide in use anywhere, in a sport where "accurate" means shooting sub-1.5" at 50 yards.

 

[DisVietVet]

I feel sure the problem was it needed cleaning. Of course I will take advice here and replace parts that need replacing. Wise A, you are absolutely correct. Sometimes I require a hammer to the right temple to start thinking but I still want a SW1911

 

[Wise_A]

Heh, don't get me wrong, I totally understand irrational gun desires. Especially longslides.

Converting to longslide is a bit of a chore--by the time you're done you might as well have splashed out for a much more expensive gun. I think there are two basic ways to go about it, outside of having a pistol custom-built:

(1) Just go out and by a longslide. Springfield Armory has built a few, but they're not currently part of the regular product line. Rock Island Armory has done one, if you're looking to keep it cheat. At the high end, there's the STI Trojan, various Fusions, and a Kimber or two. Out of all of them, I'd rather have the SA. If you're willing to expand out to 10mm, there are a lot more available.

(2) Buy a regular 1911 and have an LS in a different chambering built for it. At least then you'd get a gun in two calibers. The problem is, I think the only switch-top that makes sense is 9mm and Super .38. So you'd buy a 9mm 1911 (which is a ton of fun by itself) in Gov't-size, and then send it out to be fit for a 6"+ Super .38 barrel and slide. Longslide 9mm 1911s are notoriously unreliable, btw.

Or, really--a 9mm 1911 by itself is really interesting to shoot.