1911 Clip jams

[Doug.38PR]

I bought a 1911 A1 .45 clip at a Gunshow in Houston yesterday that holds 17 rounds for about $15. Extends about halfway down from the bottom of the gun. I tried firing it today and the clip elevator got stuck. It tilts forward and scrapes along the inside of the clip and gets stuck.

Can this be fixed in any way?
Thank you,
Doug

[James K]

If I were picky, I would say that it is a magazine, not a clip, but I won't do that .

Tipping of the follower (what you call the elevator) is pretty common with extended magazines, usually because the maker cuts the magazine "tail" down to get more rounds in. You might try taking the magazine down and bending the follower or replacing it with a follower out of another magazine, if you have a scrap one.

I will say, though, that $15 is not a lot to pay for a magazine, and I suspect yours is not the highest quality, so that may be only the beginning of troubles. Another problem you might check for is failure to have a stop on the magazine to prevent it from being inserted too far in. This is done by the floorplate on a regular magazine, but if there is not some kind of stop, the magazine can jam in the gun and be nearly impossible to remove.

Jim

[Dave Sample]

Ditto what Jim said.

[Doug.38PR]

Now that you mention it, the fellow at the gun show that sold it to me said that the magazine takes 15 rounds. It was only upon loading it today that I found it to take 17 instead of 15. I assume by "tail" you mean the spring that is underneath the follower. I'd like to put a new spring into it if I can. I can't see how you can break the magazine down. All three of my magazines (the 7 round ones and the 17 round one) don't seem to be able to come apart, they look wielded together. Am I wrong?

[Doug.38PR]

Whew! I just found out how the follower and tail comes out......shooting up just past my ear a few inches from my eye

[James K]

The follower is bent at an angle. The top part is roughly parallel with the feed lips of the magazine. It bends down at the rear and that part is at the same angle as the rear of the magazine. That part that bends down is the follower tail. If the spring is the right size, and the tail is long enough and at the right angle, the follower tail is trapped and will not tip.

Now I'll tell you how to remove the follower in a 1911 magazine without putting yourself in danger (new eyes being almost as scarce today as good GI parts for the 1911).

Use a wood dowel (the eraser end of a pencil works) to push down the follower until it is past the second or third inspection hole. Now insert a drift punch (a nail works) through the hole under the follower but between the follower and the spring. Turn the magazine upside down and tap it until the follower falls out. Then, keeping your thumb over the top of the magazine, pull out the punch. (Ouch! Maybe use a pad next time.) Note that the spring has a front and back and also a top and bottom.

The spring can then be removed and the magazine cleaned. Reassemble by pressing the spring in (the dowel or pencil again), trapping it with the punch, then inserting the follower, tail first. Once the follower is in position, cushion it with the thumb or a pad, and release the spring.

I kid you not, it is a lot quicker to do than it is to describe.

Jim

[Doug.38PR]

I see the problem. It's not the tipping of the follower....as the spring spirals down, one of it's corners somehow gets a little caught in the lock hole where the magazine locks inside the gun ( the little rectangular hole on the right side of the magazine.)
Strange.