5906 not locking back on empty

[Flat]

My first trip to the range with this 1991 5906 and it failed to lock back on empty 5 of 11 times.

It came with 2 15rd mags, 1 with a black follower and 1 with an orange follower. The orange follower mag is so worn that I have to manually pull it out of the gun so I didn't even bring it to the range.

I used the mag with the black follower and when I took it apart and compared it with the orange follower it was slightly different in design.

I also had 1 failure to extract and a round tried to load in behind the spent casing.

This is a simple case of needing to replace the springs and followers right?

 

[Palmetto Sharpshooter]

It sounds like you need some better magazines but, you should check your thumb position first. Most of the time when I see this issue, its actually people inadvertently placing their thumb on the slide stop and preventing it from engaging.

 

[handgunner356]

The orange follower is the newer design, allows 15rds instead of 14 in the mag. New springs would be a start, a good cleaning and lube can't hurt. Also the ammo you are using can play a big part on extraction and slide lock. If the ammo is too weak it won't fully cycle the slide to the rear, not hitting the ejector well enough and not allowing the slide lock to come up. Try a couple of different brands and if you're still having double feeds you may need to send it in for a extractor replacement, it's a factory fitted part.

 

[Flat]

Thanks for the suggestions. I use a thumbs forward grip so they are nowhere near the lever so I don't think that is it but I will pay attention to that next trip to the range. I just ordered some springs and followers too so I will update with a range report as soon as they come in.

 

[10 X]

If you can manually pull back the slide and have it stay open, the problem when firing is that the slide is outrunning the mag spring. So, yes, the solution is/are new mag springs. I like to get the +5% ones from Wolff.

If the slide does not stay open manually, you likely have worn follower problems.

 

[GJH77]

If you can manually pull back the slide and have it stay open, the problem when firing is that the slide is outrunning the mag spring. So, yes, the solution is/are new mag springs. I like to get the +5% ones from Wolff.

If the slide does not stay open manually, you likely have worn follower problems.

I have a 6946 that does something similar, not locking open on an empty mag most of the time, but not all. It is not consistent with which mag, out of 6, this occurs on either. My difference is that when it does not lock open, the mag is still in the gun, and I pull the slide back it will not catch and stay open. If I drop the mag and simply reinsert it, pull the lide back, it does stay open. Every time, no matter which mag I use.
I sent it back to the warranty center, they checked it, agreed it had a problem, worked on it, and I got it back, no change.
It was suggested that I need to use +P ammo as maybe the springs were all changed at some point, but I have not tried that. Any thoughts here?

 

[10 X]

GJH77-from your description it sounds like the followers are not catching the slide stop because they are binding or forced to the right. Are there any marks on the ammo that would indicate if the slide stop is pushing the round to the right and therefore the follower to the right. If that is the case, the slide stop is a little long. You would need to look at this feeding new live rounds manually in the gun.

If no such rubbing is happening then ammo is forcing the follower a little to the right on its own. The slide stop needs to be a bit longer.

If there is a lot of wear on the followers that could be another cause.

Anyway, a couple of things to consider.

 

[Class III]

Another thing to consider is the recoil spring. Is it the original factory weight spring or has it been updated with a heavier spring? If it has been updated with a new spring the extra compression weight may be enough to slow the inertia of the slide enough that the slide stop is not engaging. I've never seen it happen on a 5906 but have seen it happen on a 1911 that was set up with a 26 lb recoil spring. BTW the standard weight recoil spring for the 5906 is a 14 lb spring but heavier spring are avaiable from Wollf up to 22 lbs.

Class III

 

[Flat]

I got a new follower and spring and still have problems with the two factory mags. I just picked up a mec-gar 17 round mag and it works perfectly so those two factory mags will see their way into the trash can. Problem solved.