I have a Model SW1911 TFP, approx round count of 300, about every 50 rounds a shell fails to completely enter the chamber, a slight push of the slide is all it takes to lock the bolt in place. My reloads are worse 1 out of 8, new ammo 1 out of 50. I only shoot 230 grain FMJ ammo. Any ideas???

A few things to check

Recoil spring
Dirty chamber
Out spec ammo
Firm grip
Extractor tension

Good luck

+1 on what CQB45 said. I would like to add lube. Get some oil or grease on those rails and that will help.

How new is the 1911? If you only have 300 rounds through it, it isn't even broken in yet. After you get 500 to 750 rounds through it and is well cleaned and lubed it shouldn't have a problem.

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Gun is very clean, factory Federal & Remington ammo along with my reloads, 4 different shooters all have the same trouble.
I see different recoil spring "weights" in the Midway catalog, do I go up or down? Also is the extractor tension adjustable?
Thanks for the help.

Are you a "new" 1911 shooter & owner?

The reason I ask is that it's not unusual to see some folks use less lubrication on 1911's than is generally needed. The exterior of the barrel tube, guide rod (if the long version is used) and the frame & slide rails ought to have enough lubrication that it can be seen and felt. Run those long rails dry and the gun can start to heat up and slow down, even failing to go fully into battery. A bit on the link can help, too.

While I've run various oils and lightweight greases in my own 1911's, I often use a "slurry" of one of the better synthetic oils & greases in mine. The last couple of them I bought (SW1911SC 5" & a Colt XSE stainless Government Model) both ran without any bobbles after being cleaned and lubricated before their first range trips. I typically run anywhere from a couple hundred to upwards of several hundred rounds through both of them when they're set aside for range sessions, and neither of them have become sluggish or reluctant to cycle strongly or go into battery.

I don't use reloads, though, but only run new factory ammunition in mine. They've both run well with assorted FMJ and 4-5 different JHP loads I've carried for duty at one time or another.

Some pistols don't like to run well when they receive very little in the way of lubrication.

Also, did you clean your magazines before using them? If magazine bodies contain excessive packing/shipping oil, they can attract fouling, debris and whatnot and start to become a bit sluggish in lifting the ammo load fast enough for optimal feeding.

Just a couple thoughts.

I can't begin to count the number of guns that have been brought to me over the years for some reported problem ... and it turned out the only real problem was that the owner/user hadn't cleaned the gun properly, and more often than not, hadn't lubricated the gun properly. (Sometimes they'd put oil everywhere it wasn't needed and should go, but not where it was needed.)

__________________
Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

You are correct, I have been very conservative with oil, heading the S&W instructions

Well, while I agree that it's annoying to have oil sprayed and splattered back onto your shooting glasses, there's been a saying among some competitors using 1911's that if you aren't getting sprayed with oil, your gun isn't lubricated good enough.

The tops and sides (overhanging and inset) of the frame and slide rails need to be wet enough to keep those long rail surfaces running without starting to rub as the gun heats up. The front half of the barrel needs to be wet enough to not rub and hang up inside the bushing. The recoil guide rod isn't as critical, but armorer's of S&W 3rd gen guns are often told to rub a drop or two of oil around the full length of the guide rod bodies, or at least use whatever is left over on their finger tips on the rod bodies (after rubbing a good healthy drop or two of oil around the barrel tube exterior, with special attention to the muzzle end, which is what has to tip and seat within the bushing).

Naturally, you don't want so much oil on the surfaces that it runs off under gravity, wicking off onto the holster or inside the gun where it's not intended to end up.

I tend to treat 1911's like armorers are told to treat Sig Sauer pistols (which were referred to as "wet guns" several times during the Sig armorer class I attended). Armorers are told not to over-lubricate pistols with excessive amounts of lubricants, but that they still ought to be able to verify the presence of sufficient lubricants by looking at the lubed surfaces and seeing it, and/or touching them with their finger tips and being able to feel the oil. (That was actually a 2-part fill-in question on the written test, asking how to verify the presence of sufficient oil, with the accepted answers being something like "sight & touch".)

Anyway, if you can't see or feel oil on the frame & slide rails, the muzzle, guide rod and where the link pivots, how can the surfaces working against each other "feel" reduced friction?

One of the advantages of using one of the modern lightweight synthetic greases is that it won't run, wick away or evaporate like the oil-based lubes. However, the inherent "disadvantage" is that it pretty much needs to be applied by the user (fingertip, Q-tip, etc) to all the surfaces where it needs to go, since it won't "run there" like oils do.

One of the problems with trying to describe the application of lubricant is that different folks all have their own interpretations of words like "sufficient", "liberal", "conservative", "excessive", and so forth.

Granted, I've had to resolve far more problems resulting from excessive application of lubricants to many pistols by owners/users than the opposite, but then I've had my fair share of fixing problems for other folks resulting from insufficient lube, too. You don't want excessive lube going where it ought not to go (carrying fouling & debris with it, to settle and congeal in nooks & crannies from which it can't run back out) ... but neither do you want a hot gun without enough lube to let it run when you really want it (or NEED it) to run as intended.

Another old saying is that dirty/wet gun will generally run better than either a clean/dry gun or a dirty/dry gun.

__________________
Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

I just stripped the gun and lubed with a synthetic grease, looking forward to a test run. I learned alot, thank you.

Is it the same magazine?

__________________
Never Forget

No, same thing happens with different ones

I have a 1911 PD (new ) and I had the same problems that you speak of in your messages. I had a gunsmith look at it and he did a few things but my problem was still not solved and seem to get worse. I called S&W and returned it. They had it for about a week and I took it to the range and worked much better. They replaced the barrel. I have had it to the range a few time and I have only had to push the slide forward a few times. I have only had maybe 700 rounds fired and I use 185 gr. fmj for target. I still feel that it is not broke in yet.

Thank you for your service!

__________________
USAF 66-70
B-52s "We Deliver"

Various, same results

I replaced the recoil spring ($2.98 from Midway) and bought a Chip McCormik mag, now only 1 FTF out of 100 rounds (my 230 FMJ reloads).