I know this is for S&W's, but I have a Colt 1911 Question

[TheHobbyist]

I have a 1911 Compact Colt, Officers Model, Series 80.

Regardless of the mag., it does not cycle all of the rounds loaded.

Sometimes it will go 2-3 before locking open--with rounds left in the magazine--and sometimes 1 or none.

Any advice is appreciated. Best regards, TH

 

[shovelwrench]

Is the slide stop locking the slide back??

 

[Rpg]

Find a good 1911 gunsmith and do what he tells you.

 

[TheHobbyist]

Slidestop is locking back. It appears as empty, with the slide locked back; yet, there still are rounds in the various magazines.

Mags are everything from Colt (OEM), Wilson, Nighthawk, Kimber, Etc.

 

[arjay]

Id suspect the slidestop.Do you have another you could try?

 

[shovelwrench]

With a loaded mag in the gun, hold the slide back and see how close the slide stop is to the bullet. Quite often the slide stop is left too long, or mixed up with one for a 9mm or .38 Super. If the bullet nose bumps the slide stop it will lock the slide. If its REAL close, or touches, you can file a little off, or just replace it.

The other thing to check is if the detent notch is in the back of the slide stop... Where the the slide stop engages the small pin protruding from the plunger tube, there should be a small indent in the slide stop itself. This indent helps hold the slide stop down until the mag follower pushes it up...

Other then that, pay close attention to your grip when your shooting. Sometimes you can bump the slide stop with your thumb and not know it, another thing the detent notch helps with, and may eliminate if deepened slightly.

If you need pics let me know, this is usually a simple inexpensive fix, and more common then you would think in a 1911.

OR, pay a gunsmith

 

[dean sr.]

With a loaded mag in the gun, hold the slide back and see how close the slide stop is to the bullet. Quite often the slide stop is left too long, or mixed up with one for a 9mm or .38 Super. If the bullet nose bumps the slide stop it will lock the slide. If its REAL close, or touches, you can file a little off, or just replace it.

The other thing to check is if the detent notch is in the back of the slide stop... Where the the slide stop engages the small pin protruding from the plunger tube, there should be a small indent in the slide stop itself. This indent helps hold the slide stop down until the mag follower pushes it up...

Other then that, pay close attention to your grip when your shooting. Sometimes you can bump the slide stop with your thumb and not know it, another thing the detent notch helps with, and may eliminate if deepened slightly.

If you need pics let me know, this is usually a simple inexpensive fix, and more common then you would think in a 1911.

OR, pay a gunsmith

And, don't forget "limp-wrist".

 

[Hapworth]

Compact (under 4.25 slide) 1911s are notoriously difficult to get running with perfect reliability.

Read this from Wilson Combat and consider if you might have an ammunition or spring issue and adjust accordingly:

Wilson Combat | Custom Gun Options

If that doesn't settle things, strongly suggest a qualified 1911 gunsmith perform reliability tuning -- not you or anyone else that doesn't have expert experience with 1911 mechanics; it's a great system, but can be one of the most finicky and not for amateur tinkerers unless it's a range toy you don't care about hacking on.

 

[WR Moore]

Besides a possibly out of spec slide stop, there's also the possiblity that it may be ammo related. Depending upon bullet ogive, a marginally within spec slide stop may be getting bumped by a specific type of ammunition.

Might also be inadequate tension on the slide stop from the spring. Have you tried another plunger tube spring & plunger set?

Agree on possible operator error.

In some cases, a detent on the slide stop to help hold it in place works. Should be deep enough to add some resistance to halt slide stop early, not deep enough to prevent the slide stop for operating. This is a process for the "good 1911 smith" noted earlier.

 

[TheHobbyist]

Obviously it is not the operator... just kidding and I checked that. Limp wristing can cause issues on these. Checked. Replace recoil springs with new. Check. Had several people shoot the 1911 in question, tried different ammo. Check. We also thought that it might be due to the gun being fairly new. < 250-300 rounds. Went to the range and shot more, with the same issue. Check.

Slide stop sounds like a good possibility. With all the issues i've had with this one (recoil spring plug cracked, a famous issue with this model Colt). The front site going AWOL (another issue). I think i'm just going to take it into a 'local' 1911 gunsmith.