This happening with some frequency with 2 different model S&W 3rd gen .45's?
This starts to push the bounds of coincidence a bit, don't you think?
I mean, I've picked up not only my own issued or personally-owned 3rd gen .45's, but many other issued models, and only had a very few of them exhibit feeding issues that were related to the guns in some manner (and which were all resolved by parts replacement). Having someone with 2 out of 2 3rd gen .45's with feeding problems is something I'd consider a bit weird and unlikely, although not impossible, but that's just a personal opinion based on my own experience (and I'm only one person
).
It also makes me think that the common factors between the 2 guns exhibiting the "problems" would potentially seem to be the shooter and/or the ammunition.
Tell me it's not handloaded ammunition being used ...
If so, I'd run the guns with one or another good quality factory ammunition made by one of the major American ammo companies before I necessarily started to attribute blame to the guns.
Granted, I used to be a handloading enthusiast for many years, but I've also had the unfortunate experience of observing many, many feeding & functioning problems occur on ranges where folks were using hand-loaded ammunition in defensive pistols ... or the use of unknown brand "gun show bargain" ammunition or some factory ammunition made to seemingly less consistent quality standards or reduced power levels. Virtually all of them involved exclamations by the owner shooters of how they'd never had such a problem before, or at least not very often.
Maintenance and/or shooter grip technique can also have an influence. BTW, it is possible to see someone exhibit a grip stability/unlocked wrist issue (what some folks like to call limp-wristing, even when shooting from a Weaver stance). I see it done by folks often enough. Even involving the occasional young and large, strong man. It often only requires a momentary instant of distraction or relaxation the grip, or allowing the wrist to flex instead of remaining locked.
If this were something consistently happening at the end of a magazine load, and several magazine loads into the range session, I'd almost be inclined to wonder if the shooter were sometimes becoming distracted or tired by the time he/she reached the end of the magazine load, or that point in their session, albeit without realizing it.
The potential maintenance issue influence can include insufficient or improperly applied lubrication.
For one thing, S&W .45's have a couple of sets of frame rails. The main/longer ones and the ones in the dustcover (which are more pronounced in the TSW frames). This is different than the shorter sets of 3 frame rails seen in the 9 & .40 models.
Glocks don't have the same large & long surface area of frame rails found in S&W .45's, ( or 1911's, or Sig's, etc, for that matter), but have very small frame rail tabs which run in the slide rails. Not a lot of surface area to rub against the slide rails. That's what helps them be able to run well with just a drop of lubrication applied to the tabs, or within the slide rails (in addition to the generous tolerances compared to other makes/models which have greater amounts of frame rail/slide rail contact, and which might be tighter when it comes to tolerances).
I've seen a number folks experience occasional "feeding problems" when shooting S&W 3rd gen pistols. When you're working with afew hundred people that isn't unexepcted. The trick is discover why it's happening.
While a mechanical issue can sometimes arise, especially in older guns, the significant amount of the problems I get to see are usually caused in some manner by the shooter (includes user maintenance practices as well as grip technique), followed by some ammunition issues.
Insufficient lubrication, whether the guns are clean or dirty, seems to happen more than you might expect ... but they're usually easily resolved by a quick trip to the cleaning station and some appropriately applied lubrication.
The times when a gun has been excessively lubricated, and the excess lubricant has migrated when not intended to go and has accumulated enough fouling, debris and whatnot to cause functioning problems, requires an armorer detail disassembly & cleaning. That's another problem, though.
I usually tell folks using 3rd gen .45's to lubricate them like they do 1911's or Sig's. Seeing someone apply a very carefully controlled and very spare drop to each frame rail usually seems to coincide with a lot of the folks who experience feeding problems with insufficiently lubricate, or rather dry guns, whether clean or dirty.
The frame rails ought to be wet enough to spread the lubrication along the whole contact surface, so you can see it and feel it, on the top as well as the sides of the frame rails, and on the front (dustcover) set of rails, too. This doesn't mean it has to be excessively applied, or should run off and drip into a puddle, but just enough to cover the friction surfaces.
A bit rubbed around the guide rod.
Around the barrel, especially at the muzzle.
A small drop on each side of the hammer where it moves and rubs within the frame. (Not too much so that it will run off the hammer under gravity and go elsewhere in the frame.)
A drop or two on the top/front of the barrel hood, where it meets the front of the slide's ejection port. This allows it to seep into the "junction" of the barrel hood & ejection port, and decrease friction when the slide unlocks and then returns to battery and locks. See those rub marks on top of the barrel hood? Think about gun getting hot from a few fast mag loads, and the potential for increased friction when the slide and barrel are trying to go finish going into battery.
I've seen an unfortunate number of instances where users disassembled the magazines for cleaning and either "lubricated" the magazines (which should be clean but dry), or else they assembled the magazines improperly. This has unfortunately often included installing the mag spring in the wrong orientation, which can happen if the mag catch plate slips off the bottom coil and the folks don't remember which end is which in the springs which can only be installed in one way.
Just a few weeks ago I even saw someone who had the WRONG mag spring in one of their duty mags, and apparently either didn't recognize it or didn't think it was unusual. Seeing how many of the folks like to spread the parts of their different model/caliber S&W pistols on the table at a cleaning station, often allowing the parts from different guns to mingle, it makes me wonder who the other person might be who has the wrong spring in one of their mags?
Granted, it always possible the wrong spring ended up int he mag when it was assembled at the factory (since I've seen a number of new factory mags with the springs installed upside down in .45's).
Naturally, not being there to see your gun and ammunition, and how you shoot it, I can't presume to know what's happening with your .45's.
It's still possible that there might be a mechanical issue work in each gun (although it would be an interesting coincidence to have this be the cause in both guns owned by the same person at the same time), and it would certainly be appropriate to call S&W and discuss it with them (if you can reach a technician, getting past the folks answering the CS phones).
I've seen one or two slide stop lever assemblies that seemed to have rough machining on the pins, on which the barrel rides going back into battery, and which holds the slide & barrel on the frame. I came across one which seemed to have an oblong shaped pin, but I've been told that's something they'd virtually never expect to see happen (and they'd really like get it back at the factory and examine it if I ever find one again, since I tossed that one in the trash after replacing it).
Slightly out-of-spec chamber or barrel? Sure, it might happen. It can be checked easily enough by the techs by eye and with their laser measurement equipment back at the factory. I've even seen an occasional "tight" chamber on a few 3rd gen guns, but they weren't produced in the last several years (after they made some changes in their barrel manufacturing, I'm told).
Maybe a tight barrel tab? Yeah, I've had that happen, but not many times ... and again, with older 3rd gen .45's and that was with a couple of CS45's, not 4513TSW's, 457's or 4566/4566TSW's.
Tightly fit extractors or a too heavy of the extractor spring tension problem in both guns? Again, not impossible, and something easily enough checked with the right tools.
These are some things that would be checked by an armorer or a technician, and there are other things that could be checked, as well.
But it might be reasonable to try and eliminate the common influences shared between the 2 guns, meaning the factors introduced by the shooter and the ammunition being used.
Just some thoughts.
![barrel_hood[1].jpg](https://cdn.smith-wessonforum.com/attachments/24/24201-cdc369799a890cc1fc4738c06bdfa40d.jpg?hash=gGWT19LiDn)
Originally, I had received two new magazines of which the spring was installed backwards and due to a previous post you showed some pics of what it was suppose to look like so, I disassembled and reinstalled correctly. 
