Model 41 Slide Release/Ejector question

[MJK-MOD-547]

I hope the 41 owners that are having the same problems read this post.

maurola said it all.

I think a regular maintenance item for a 41 should be to clean all the holes in the bolt and extractor hole every 1,000 rounds.

When I did mine the holes were gritty. the spring was also impeded and didn't move well in the hole I polished mine and the springs slide smoothly. Same with the firing pin hole.

I try not to get any oil or cleaners near the face of the bolt.
It's real easy to push debris in the holes if you using a brush to clean the face.


brosky, I'll bet you fixed your problem.

 

[cmj8591]

Hi Brosky. Are you shooting in a gallery league?

 

[brosky]

Hi CMJ. Yes, I just started shooting last year in the Ocean State Pistol League Precision (Bullseye) competition. I'm a member of Massasoit Gun Club in RI and that is the team that I shot on. I had never done any real one hand shooting other than some close targets during self defense classes over the years, but I can say this has been a very humbling and interesting experience over the past 15 months. I shoot with and against many, many excellent shooters right up to High Masters and they are all terrific people to learn from. I'm happy where I am for just starting but I have a lot to learn and plenty of room to improve as I learn what I need to know to improve.

 

[brosky]

And MJ, I will add a cleaning of those spots after every 1000 rounds. I should have mentioned that the pipe cleaner that I used to clear the groove was a bit dirty, but after the soaking that I did, there was some crud material probably washed out in that process.

 

[oldsalt444]

My personal recommendations that worked in my 41:

1. Clean the chamber with a .25 cal bore brush bent in an "L" shape. The slightest bit of dirt in there will make a good gun jam.

2. Install a lighter recoil spring. Wolff springs work fine even when installed backwards. I use a #6 and shoot CCI SV.

3. Sharpen the tip of the extractor with a small file. Don't overdo it.

4. If you have a buffer, remove it.

5. Get new mags and polish up the lips with a dremel tool to remove any sharp edges.

Another issue that is common with 41s is that the bolt can somehow get out of spec and needs replacement. S&W had to do that with my gun, but it was built in 1958. I know other shooters who had the same problem with newer guns.

 

[brosky]

Thanks for the additional tips to add to my "to-do" list. I have been using a larger brush on the chamber, don't use any type of buffer, had the Wolff 6lb spring in and it did work well for a while with CCI SV, which I happen to like. I now have a 6.5 spring in awaiting testing of the now movable extractor spring and pin.
All I need is for this Covid thing to pass and for the ranges to open up again, along with all of the other businesses in the country.

 

[brosky]

I finally was able to go to a range that is open and fired about 174 rounds through the gun and it performed FLAWLESSLY!!! More on that one last round at the end.

In addition to everything previously done, I did polish the chamber just a bit more, mainly because I was bored out of my mind and looking for something to do after dry fire training.

Today I did things just a little differently so here was the process.

I wiped down 30 rounds of CCI SV, 30 Rounds of Aguila Pistol match and ran both of those through the gun, first with ten rounds of each in slow fire and then I fired as fast as I could trying to make it jam, but there were no problems. I went back to the boxes and ran the other unwiped 20 of each remaining and those were fine. I ran 20 rounds of Geco and then 20 of S&B HV-HP. No problem with either but the S&B was like shooting Mini Mags, so those will stay in the safe for another gun. Lastly and just for the heck of it, I ran 20 Remington Target through and they actually ran well. During the process a friend had another brand that he asked me to try and the fifth round failed to feed but he was having the same exact problem with his 41 so I declined the offer to shoot anymore of those. Forgot the brand but they had virtually no recoil so I think it was just too weak.

Just to be sure of the gun I shot 10 more rounds of CCI SV and it was perfect. It's home, cleaned and checked and ready for dry fire tomorrow.