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I'm just curious, is my gun the only 1911 that runs flawlessly?
Since its break-in period (500 - 700 rounds), how many failures have you had with your 1911?
Please elaborate:
What gun were you shooting?
Had it been cleaned and lubed recently?
How many rounds between cleanings before choking?
What ammo did it choke on?
Please, don't tell us about your "friend's" gun or the "friend of a friend's" gun. I want to hear directly from 1911 shooters.
Thanks,
WM
I'm shooting with a Kimber Compact CDP II. I've not had a failure of any kind in 2800 rounds.
WM
I have two S&W's and one Kimber and the pistols have never failed to fire and I shoot 99% lead reloads. I had a crimp die set wrong one time and had some failure to feed but that was no fault of the pistols. I kept track of the rounds up to 2,500 and said this is crazy:rolleyes:. I would say the one pistol is getting close to 3,500rds and one about 2,000rds. The newest is a Kimber and has about 400rds through it. :smt023
In terms of kinds of ammo, I've shot:Quote:
Originally Posted by Baldy
150 rounds of CCI Blazer 230 FMJ
20 rounds of Hornaday P+P
150 rounds of Independenc 230 FMJ
250 rounds of PMC 230 FMJ
200 rounds of Remmington 185 MC
450 rounds of Winchester White Box 230 JHP
50 rounds of Remmington 230 HP
The other 1500+ rounds were handloads, mostly with either 185 grain Remmington Golden Saber JHP sitting on top of 5.1 gr of 700X, or Rainier 230 gr FMJ on 4.8 gr of Bullseye.
WM
My Kimber Ultra CDP II in .45ACP had some FTF and FTE issues when it was new. These issues have pretty much resolved after magazine changes, although I still have an occasional problem. I use mostly WWB 230 grain ammo at the range (to save a few bucks) and Federal Preminum 200 JHP for carry ammo. The WWB ammo is very dirty ammo so after about 200 rounds the gun seems to not perform as well and the FTE's start to happen. It now has about 1,000 rounds through it. My guns are cleaned immediately after every trip to the range. If they are not used I make sure they are well cleaned and lubricated before storage.
I have two Kimbers
1. Kimber Custom Target II - probably close to 6000 rounds, third mainspring, one broken grip panel replaced, has FTF or FTE about 20 times over it's lifetime.
2. Kimber Raptor II - approaching 2000 rounds, has FTE about 4 times over it's lifetime.
I seriously can't believe that some have voted that theirs have never failed. Sounds like wishful thinking or excuse making... like "Oh that was the rounds I was using, not the gun" Not saying people here are saying that, but I've shot with people who've told me their gun never fails, and then I watch it choke and they explain it off as bad ammo, or something. All mechanical devises fail eventually.
Zhur
PS. I love my Kimbers.
Well, I am asking about performance after the 500 to 700 round break-in period. I had 12 Failure to Ejects in the first 600 rounds, including some I would like to blame the ammo on - it didn't seem to like Federal, Hydra Shok or Monarch.Quote:
Originally Posted by zhurdan
I've had no failures since then, and I have experimented some with different types of rounds.
I've also replaced my springs per Kimber's recommendations, and cleaned it between shoots, if that makes any difference.
Oh, and I seldom use the Kimber mag that came with it.
Also, I seldom shoot more than 100 rounds at a time when I go shooting, so I'm also wondering if there is an upper limit of rounds shot in a single session before the failures begin.
WM
WM,
I was going to mention something about the Kimber magazines, they go into a bag that sits in my "sell this" pile.
As to weather or not there is an upper limit to firing, I'd say that it is possible, but I've shot mine in strings of 300-400 in a session shooting steel and haven't seen any more or less issues. I did see a video about a pretty rough torture test...
Todd Jarrett
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
1000 ROUNDS, and no stoppages. I'd say that if you shoot, let it sit, shoot some more, let it sit, you'd probably have more issues than if you just continued shooting as the gunk would have time to get all crusty.
I would never do that to one of my guns, but damn!
Zhur
At the Gunsite class I attended recently, the one Para in class began puking on day one. Two of the three Kimbers starting puking on day two, and one made it "all the way" to the third day before it too started puking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wandering Man
The harder you shoot guns, and the hotter they get, the more likely they are to puke. Most people seem to baby their guns, but when you get to quantities like 1400 rounds in five days, you just can't baby your gun. I do not know what cleaning regimen any of the 1911 shooters were using during the course.
I will say that the Colt Commander I carried for years worked pretty well, but not as reliably as my more modern guns.
For more than four years, while I was competing in IPSC/SWPL, I put about 1,000 rounds through one or the other of my competition 1911s each and every weekend. One's a Colt, one's an Essex/Colt hybrid.
During that time, I used up three magazines because their feed-lips got bent or mangled in the process.
I suffered one (count them, one) broken barrel bushing (the spring-finger kind). I also lost (while deep-cleaning) one link pin.
I replaced the recoil spring in each gun, once, each.
And that's it, folks.
Keep a well-built 1911 clean and lightly lubricated, and it's almost as indestructible as a tank (that is, a direct hit from an RPG might take it out, as might a tank-size land mine or a largish artillery shell).
That said, I'm not entirely certain that modern-made 1911s qualify as "well built."
Thanks. Nice videos.Quote:
Originally Posted by zhurdan
I'll be sure to wear gloves when I take my 1911 out to the range. :smt033
WM
I have a series 80 mark iv colt officers that i bought used in or about 1993.. I have put about 400 rounds through it and idk how many the previous owner did. It has an ambidextrious safety. I have had 4 ftf. all 4 of these were last winter. conditions.....cold (20deg f) snowy. gun had not been lubed, shot,oiled, or handles in almost 10 years (since i got married.hmmmm). I took it out and ran 100 rounds through it in a week and produced those 4 failures. I can't blame it on the gun. When i cleaned and lubed it after the first 50 rounds, no problems in the next
50 (about a week later). I carried this gun every day for 4 years.
Oh yeah, 2 of the magazines were brand new after market (star?) mags. 2 factory. the failures were 3 with a new mag, 1 with factory.
Ammo - ummmmm.....well.....my friends father had checked out a little too much from the armory, and well, you know.....they can't return that after it is checked out......so..........um.
Hard to figure why anybody would buy a 1911 styled pistol when they are jamomatics.:smt022
I currently have six 1911's (a seventh on the way) and I have never had a failure with any of them. Probably because I am a maintenance nazi. I obsessively clean and lube each gun after every use.
I did receive a lemon once that never did fire right. It was a complete loss right out of the box and seized up after just a few rounds. Colt replaced the entire gun without question.
800+ rounds through my Kimber TLE with absolutely no failures at all.
300+ rounds through my Kimber Ultra CDP and I've had half a dozen FTE's, probably due to my limp wristing as I was trying different grip techniques.
In my springfield mil-spec Ive had 3, but only with aftermarket mags. (colt 8 rounders), everything with the stock mag has been perfect. I need to get maybe some wilson combat or chip mccormick mags for it.
just out of curousity, how did the Glocks perform as far as reliablilty?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Barham
Six Glocks in the class. Total of two failures to feed, both with the same gun (a 17). I was unable to diagnose the problem from afar, unfortunately. The owner was clearly a competition shooter, so I do not know if his Glock was stock or modified.
The other five Glocks, two XDs, one HK, one M&P and four Berettas worked perfectly. One of the Berettas choked once, but it was with a Check-Mate magazine, so I can't hold that against the pistol. It ran fine once the student put the Check-Mate magazine where it belonged: in the trash barrel.
yah, them aftermarket mags can get you jammed up. I dont see why you would get them instead of spending the xtra few bucks on the factory ones that you know will perform well. I mean, its not like the aftermarket ones are 5 bucks and the factory ones are 500. I'm speaking of more modern designs like glock, xd, sig, ect... 1911's are a whole different story, because the aftermarket is about the only place to get a decent mag.
Well, as far as Glocks are concerned, 3Reds has managed to have 6 FTEs on her Glock 19, purchased new a little over a year ago.
But, we're only discussing 1911s here.
WM
Limpwristing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wandering Man
Maybe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Barham
But then she never caused my Ruger P89 to choke, or my Beretta Storm (when I had it) - both 9mm.
For that matter, the Kimber never choked under her soft touch either. Not that she has shot it very often.
WM
I've had my SA for years and there have been no malf that I can attribute to the gun only some of my less than perfect reloads, which there aren't too many.
I've had 1911s for 40 years and only problem I've had is with some of my reloads and bad mags. US&S 1911A1 (retired), Colt 1991 Commander, RIA Tactical & new RIA Compact Tac. Got some "plastic" pistols too and they work fine too. Maybe it's "geezeritus" but I shoot 1911s better than any of the "plastics".:smt1099
I bought a 1911 Springfield a few months ago and have had only three failure to eject jams. I've shot over 350 rounds through it and only cleaned it twice, once when I got it and once before I replied to this post. Great pistol, previous owner abused it since 2001 with a whole heap of range sessions.:smt1099:smt1099:smt1099 American Muscle Car of the Auto Pistol:smt076 anything less than a 45.