Stuck Slide on AMT 1911, Live round in chamber.

[rburch]

Ran into a new one for me yesterday.

My sister's boyfriend mentioned at the cook out he was hosting that his AMT was stuck.

The slide is about a 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch back from being locked into battery, with a live round in the chamber.

But it won't move in either direction.

He said he tried to field strip, but once the guide rod, spring and slide stop are out the barrel is still stuck.

I tried using manual force on it but I'm just not strong enough to force the slide back.

With a live round almost chambered, nobody is all that interested in using a hammer & nylon punch on it.

My only suggestion was to find a competent gunsmith in the area willing to work on it, but he hasn't had much luck in that department.

Any ideas on how to at least render the round inert while it's chambered?

I thought about WD40 or PB Blaster, but getting it to the primer has me stumped.

[Slopemeno]

Here's how to clear stuff like that.

Place the gun (muzzle pointing in a safe direction) with your right thumb under the beavertail, and your right fingers up over the top of the slide. Place your left hand the same way, and close your hands with all your strength. Push the muzzle against a padded surface. This position gives you tremendous leverage to draw the slide back about 1/4", which is all it will take.

Likely- the ammo in the gun is the culprit.

[Jim Watson]

Might be an A-Merc case or other grossly out of spec.

Some of these can be cleared manually but not by just tugging on the slide.
Take a hard overhand grip on the slide with the left hand (if righthanded); hold HARD.
Then SLAM the right hand hard into the butt.
I have popped several stuck oversize rounds or expanded cases out that way.

If that doesn't work, the next thing to try is to clamp the butt in a vise and whack the breechface above the barrel hood with hammer and punch.
Do NOT run a rod down the barrel and do not mess around at the muzzle.
Find a vise located where a shot won't hit anything valuable.

If that doesn't work, you may have broken parts jamming it up and need a real gunsmith BAD.

[g.willikers]

The cause probably is a fat case, with a bulge not allowing the cartridge to chamber all the way.
The method that has served me well is:
Place the muzzle against a soft, but sturdy surface, like a wooden work bench.
Make sure the actual muzzle is clear of the surface, just in case the round goes off, so it has a clear path in a safe direction.
Make sure the ejection port is pointed down and away from any body parts.
With a good grip on the gun, well away from the ejection port, put your body weight behind it and push the gun against the bench.
Using this method, I've never had one not cooperate.
Good luck.
Oh yeah, and make sure to wear eye protection.

[rburch]

I'll pass the info along.

What's the thought on just soaking the whole thing in a bath of wd40 or similar penetrating oil for a bit just to kill the primer?

Good idea for extra safety or overkill?

[g.willikers]

Not a bad idea, can't ever be too safe.
And all that lube might help, too.
But none have ever gone off for me, though.
As an added precaution, stop pushing on the gun just as soon as the cartridge is loose of the barrel chamber.
No need to risk hitting the primer against something.

[Navy joe]

Well if the slide was back far enough to pop the firing pin retention plate you could remove the pin too. I vote for find sturdy wooden surface, apply front of slide(below the barrel) at speed.

[mrt949]

A good sugestion on the firing pin .

[Aguila Blanca]

Betcha it's not the ammo. My ears perked up when I read that the BF had tried to field strip the pistol. My guess is that he did something wrong and now has the barrel wedged up under the slide with the lugs directly opposed, rather than toothed together as they should be.

I wouldn't touch it. I'm sure I could fix it, but (a) I wouldn't be willing to take on the potential liability, and (b) if the guy has to pay to get his gun fixed, maybe he'll become motivated to learn how to field strip it correctly.

[cuba]

Drop it in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, that should render the primer safe, then have at it.

shoot safe, shoot straight, and have fun

[rburch]

Betcha it's not the ammo. My ears perked up when I read that the BF had tried to field strip the pistol. My guess is that he did something wrong and now has the barrel wedged up under the slide with the lugs directly opposed, rather than toothed together as they should be.

He was shooting when it locked up, said he had put about 50 rounds through it before it failed ,his failed strip was his attempt to get it fixed.

He knows how to strip it down.

He's taken it down to bare frame and slide multiple times.

[scottl]

I've read other posts like this on other forums.Sometimes it's the ejector that's the culprit by coming loose and wedging against the slide.

[Aguila Blanca]

If the slide is partially out of battery, can you (he) get a large, straight screwdriver blade between the aft end of the barrel hood and the breech face, and try turning that with a wrench? Or is there enough clearance to get a small screwdriver or pick down through the ejection port on the right side and pry the extractor outward so it can slip over the rim of the case and release the slide?

[Hog Red]

i had the same problem with a S&W Tactical 45 with Wolf ammo. Never had it happen with any other ammo. I was able to push back on the slide with it placed against a piece of wood and pushing the frame forward.

[HisSoldier]

What's the thought on just soaking the whole thing in a bath of wd40 or similar penetrating oil for a bit just to kill the primer?

"Box o Truth" did a test of various penetrating oils ability to neutralize primers, surprisingly ineffective.

[rburch]

Odd, I've seen more than one primer fail after being exposed to it.

[Oysterboy]

One time I had my Sigma 9mm fail to go to battery. My slide wouldn't budge so I went out in my backyard with a rubber mallet and tapped the slide shut. Then I was able to eject the round. The reason I had problems is that the cartridge had a wrong bullet on it.

That might be your case or that the bullet came partly out of the casing.

[Jason_G]

Was there ever a resolution to this?


Jason

[JohnKSa]

Drop it in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, that should render the primer safe, then have at it.

I've had a .22blank survive going through a wash/dry cycle in the pocket of my jeans and still fire.

I wouldn't completely rely on any method for deactivating the primer in a loaded round of ammunition.

My slide wouldn't budge so I went out in my backyard with a rubber mallet and tapped the slide shut.

If it's just a tiny bit out of battery and you have a safe backstop, this method can be used on striker guns. I wouldn't advise it if the gun is significantly out of battery (you can just get things jammed a lot worse than they are) or when dealing with a hammer-fired gun (you don't want to be banging on the rear of a hammer-fired gun with a loaded chamber).

The workbench approach, described by g.willikers, is very effective, particularly if the gun doesn't have a full-length guiderod or if the guiderod is removed. It has the added benefits that it doesn't have much potential for making things worse, it is unlikely to damage anything and it is fairly safe.

[warningshot]

AMT was it? I saw plenty of problems like this back in the late 1980s & early 90s when S&W started coming out with dissimilar metals as to the slide and frame. Glad to see many manufactures don't build them like that much anymore. The problem started in the 1970s when AMT first came out.

The problem or cause is proper lubrication. Lubrication is critical. Unlike metals..galling. The result is...what you got. The BF shot apprx. 50 rounds before all this happened...not bad...not bad. I tried almost everything already mentioned. Good Luck.

AMT....When Colt and Springfield blue carbon steel just wasn't good enough anymore. CoCa Cola Stock...SunnyVale California rental properties...ha...who cares. Apple Stock? Heck, they weren't invented yet.

[rburch]

I've sent a few suggestions to him, but haven't heard back.

I know he was looking for a gunsmith, but he's an engineer and is in the middle of a project at work, so his free time is rather limited.

I suggested the soak it in penetrating oil first, figure even though it's not 100% that it will kill the primer it can't hurt.

And who knows maybe the extra lube will help free everything up.

I also suggested removing the guide rod and pushing the slide against his work bench.

Having my sister over for dinner tonight, I'll talk to her about it then.

[rburch]

So finally heard results on this one, he used the press down on a stable surface method and the round popped out. So that issue has been resolved, but he noticed the barrel cracked at some point of the situation.

[Lost Sheep]

I cme late to the party, but thought this idea might have some merit:

I would have first determined for sure whether or not the round still had a bullet in it. It is just possible that the round had already been fired.

A cleaning rod put down the barrel and measured would tell you (if it went all the way to the web of the casing) that the shell casing was empty. In that case, there is no danger of a discharge.

If it is confirmed there is a bullet nose located appropriate to the overall cartridge length, then you probably have a live round in the chamber and appropriate cautions must be taken.

If it is found there is a barrel blockage somewhere forward of the chamber, that is a whole other kettle of fish. It could be that you have a bullet just forward of the chamber and a live round jammed up against it. In that case, if the live round goes off, there is no safe direction.

Just another thing to try if anyone comes up against a similar situation.

Lost Sheep

[1911Tuner]

May be a broken link not pulling the barrel out of the slide, and got squirreled around and won't let the slide run forward, either. Push down firmly on the barrel hood while tapping on the muzzle with a plastic mallet to see if the barrel will drop...then try to pull the slide back. If you can get a friend to help, you can do all three at the same time.

If it's 1/8th inch out of battery, there's no real danger of the gun firing. With the slide that far back, the hammer face can't reach the firing pin. It gets caught by the bottom of the firing pin stop, and if the trigger isn't being pulled, the half-cock notch will grab it anyway.

[ET.]

Originally Posted by rburch:

So finally heard results on this one, he used the press down on a stable surface method and the round popped out. So that issue has been resolved, but he noticed the barrel cracked at some point of the situation.

Hummm, my guess is that the barrel might be cracked!!!!