.45 auto

Gregg Machacek · February 15, 1999, 12:46 PM

I have a Colt 1911 series 70 government model that wont feed reliably. I have taken it to a gunsmith who polished the feed ramp.It still jamed. I took my Dremel tool and lowered the ejection port this helped alot. I took it to a new gunsmith to have my grinding straitened up and to have the slide re-blued. Would it help to have the port flared also? Any input would be helpfull. Thanks Gregg

Jim V · February 15, 1999, 01:25 PM

Gregg, I can not see how opening the ejection port would improve feeding. Flairing the port helps save cases from damage if you reload.

Which round do you have problems with? The first out of a magazine, the second shot the 5th shot or does it change? What type of feed problems are you having, smoke stack, double feed, or what? Do the failures to feed happen with all magazines or just one? Have you tried several different magazines by different makers? A lot of feed problems are the result of magazines that have been damamged or the feed lips not being formed just right. What ammo do you have the problems with? Short stubby wide mouth JHP's feed differently than 230 grain FMJ's. When the smith polished the feed ramp did he just polish or did he take a little too much off and the barrel is now sitting back to far for the rounds to feed correctly?

Do you have much experience in shooting a 1911? Are you causing the problem by allowing your thumb to rest on the slide during firing? Or are you limp wristing your shots, i.e. not keeping your wrist locked?

Does the gunsmith you are taking the pistol to know, I mean KNOW 1911's? The guy that has worked on 3 - 5 1911's is not going to have the experience of one that has worked on 300 - 500 1911's. The second smith will ahve faced the problems you are having and should have an idea how to fix 'em.

[This message has been edited by Jim V (edited February 15, 1999).]

Rob Pincus · February 15, 1999, 02:49 PM

I thought that Opening the ejection port is standard operation for making a 1911 more reliable? Does it not give the spent case more time/space to exit the weapon, making stovepipes much less possible?

Gregg Machacek · February 15, 1999, 03:34 PM

Jim The spent round with the 230 grain fmj ammo doesent clear the ejection port. The jhp ammo wont feed 90% of the time. My thumb is not on the slide. The new gunsmith is going to do more work on the feed ramp. He said the first guy did a poor job. He has vast experence with the 1911. By the way I only have three mags but I have tried several others with same results. thanks Gregg

Jim V · February 15, 1999, 05:01 PM

Rob and Gregg, I have not had any problem having cases and even loaded ammo make it thru the ejection port of a 1911 without opening up the port. Maybe I have been lucky over the past 30+ years.

I am still in the dark about the type of malfunction you are having Gregg, are you getting double feeds or is the loaded cartridge catching on the feed ramp of the barrel as it is trying to go home? Or are you having smoke stack "jams"? Is the ejector correct or has somebody fiddled with it? Does the extractor have the correct tension? Too much and it will release the empty to late and the case will catch on the new round and too little it will drop it before it hits the ejector.

For those that wish to know the Filipino dialect term for a smoke stack "jam" is
"tinigasan" pronounced tini gasan. When it happens on the range other shooters point it out by saying, "Tinigasan siya pare."

George Stringer · February 15, 1999, 07:17 PM

Gregg, usually there are two reasons for JHPs not feeding reliably. The first of course is the chamber throat/feed ramp/barrel fit. The second is the release point of the magazine lips. JHPs are normally shorter than the 230gr FMJ and need the release point further back in order for the bullet nose to rise far enough to actually follow the feed ramp into the chamber instead of jamming into it. If your smith knows his stuff as you say, you needn't bother telling him, he already knows. Flaring the port is cosmetic. If you were having stove pipe jams, in addition to lowering your port, I'd recommend a combat ejector and having your extractor tuned. George

Ed Brunner · February 15, 1999, 08:07 PM

I do not know polishing the feed ramp will make the ejection better.In addition to what has been mentioned you might check the extractor and the ejector.
Simply stated the extractor needs to hold the case until the ejector causes the case to fly away.
The recoil spring could could have an effect too.
I have had a number of 1911's and never have altered the ejection port.
I agree that a good pistolsmith is your best bet.

------------------
Better days to be,

Ed

Mute · February 16, 1999, 11:07 AM

Are the magazines new? Bad magazines are a common cause of feed problems. If you have a friend with a perfectly functioning 1911, try his mags and see if the problem goes away.

Gregg Machacek · February 16, 1999, 12:37 PM

Mute I have tried new mags and old ones. A friend has his dads 1911 that he carried in the first world war, an old springfield that has had no work done on it. I borrowed it to take the test for my concealed carry permit. It functioned flawlessly thru the test and also thru 1000 rounds of practice. I tried his mags in my gun with the same results so I dont think the problem is mag related. I do thank you for your input though. Thanks everyone Gregg

Gregg Machacek · February 20, 1999, 02:43 PM

I got my gun back from the smith. He polished feed ramp lowered and flaired the ejection port reblued the slide. I just got through shooting the gun it worked fine. Fired 200 rounds FMJ 230gr. And 20 rounds JHP with no malfuctions. If anyone needs a smith in north TX I would highly recomend this guy. All this for 20 bucks.
Gregg Machacek

buzz riley · February 21, 1999, 12:10 AM

ONLY $20 BUCKS...WOW! You had better remember that guy at Christmas. It's worth that to have the slide reblued alone.

Gun Plumber · February 21, 1999, 01:57 AM

Gregg,
Are you sure he did'nt just touch up the slide? If he refinished the hole thing, you got one heck of a deal!

Gregg Machacek · March 20, 1999, 12:18 AM

Help I took the .45 out to shoot today and had more problems. After 150 rounds it wouldnt push round into chamber. I could bump back of slide and it would jump right in.Could this be ammo? I was shooting blazer aluminum cased ammo.Any info would be helpfull. thanks Gregg

George Stringer · March 20, 1999, 12:47 AM

Gregg, it's either the ammo or your chamber is excessively dirty. If it's clean and it still happens with different ammo look for something intefering with slide travel. A burr, your grip etc. George

James K · March 21, 1999, 09:42 AM

Did anyone mention oiling the gun? A good cleaning and a light application of good gun oil to mechanism and wear surfaces could help.

Keith Rogan · March 21, 1999, 08:46 PM

George,

A gunsmith some years ago told me that lowering and flaring the ejection port would do two things - one, keep hot brass from landing on my head (and down my neck) by making ejection more consistent and two, spare my brass from getting dented upon ejection so I could reload more times.

Do you think he knew what he was talking about or is this mod totally cosmetic?

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

Art Eatman · March 21, 1999, 10:53 PM

Lowering the ejection port precludes dinging the brass. However, not all stock ports ding brass...And I've never seen brass dinged up badly enough for me to care, during reloading.

It probably helps avoid stovepipes, in some pistols. I guess it's part of a package to help reliability, along with many of the other mods and tweaks we do.

George Stringer · March 21, 1999, 11:32 PM

Keith, I have to agree with him, although I think extractor tension, the shape or angle of the ejector, the recoil spring weight to load ratio and your grip have more to do with where the empties go than lowering the ejection port. Lowering the port does help to prevent stovepipe type jams and I have had brass dented so badly that it had to be reformed prior to reloading in non ported guns. Lowering the port will prevent that as well. It's the flaring that is cosmetic. That's the little beveled area at the rear that some smiths do on them. I don't do that unless it's requested by the customer. George

Keith Rogan · March 22, 1999, 01:34 AM

Art and George,

Thanks, I guess the extra $75 or whatever it was, wasn't a total waste then. I spent $1200 on that pistol and it was fine shooter when it was all done. A year ago I bought a Kimber for half that and it shoots rings around that custom job. Accuracy is about the same but you get adjustable sights and its not finnicky about ammo.

------------------
Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

James K · March 22, 1999, 09:24 AM

Lowering the edge of the ejection port makes ejection easier and also prevents "dinging" of the brass IF the ejection angle is wrong in the first place. In other words it corrects the symptom (case hitting the edge of the port) rather than the disease (wrong ejection angle). I fix the problem by adjusting the ejector so it works right. One other thing lowering the port does if done to excess - it weakens the slide at its already weakest point. With a good forged slide, this should not cause any problem; with some of the clone cast slides ...? I have never personally seen one cracked, but have seen pictures. Why do it if it is not the cause of the problem?

February 15, 1999, 12:46 PM	#1
Gregg Machacek Junior Member Join Date: February 9, 1999 Location: Petrolia Tx Posts: 7	I have a Colt 1911 series 70 government model that wont feed reliably. I have taken it to a gunsmith who polished the feed ramp.It still jamed. I took my Dremel tool and lowered the ejection port this helped alot. I took it to a new gunsmith to have my grinding straitened up and to have the slide re-blued. Would it help to have the port flared also? Any input would be helpfull. Thanks Gregg

February 15, 1999, 01:25 PM	#2
Jim V Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 1999 Location: SE Michigan - USA Posts: 4,038	Gregg, I can not see how opening the ejection port would improve feeding. Flairing the port helps save cases from damage if you reload. Which round do you have problems with? The first out of a magazine, the second shot the 5th shot or does it change? What type of feed problems are you having, smoke stack, double feed, or what? Do the failures to feed happen with all magazines or just one? Have you tried several different magazines by different makers? A lot of feed problems are the result of magazines that have been damamged or the feed lips not being formed just right. What ammo do you have the problems with? Short stubby wide mouth JHP's feed differently than 230 grain FMJ's. When the smith polished the feed ramp did he just polish or did he take a little too much off and the barrel is now sitting back to far for the rounds to feed correctly? Do you have much experience in shooting a 1911? Are you causing the problem by allowing your thumb to rest on the slide during firing? Or are you limp wristing your shots, i.e. not keeping your wrist locked? Does the gunsmith you are taking the pistol to know, I mean KNOW 1911's? The guy that has worked on 3 - 5 1911's is not going to have the experience of one that has worked on 300 - 500 1911's. The second smith will ahve faced the problems you are having and should have an idea how to fix 'em. [This message has been edited by Jim V (edited February 15, 1999).]

February 15, 1999, 02:49 PM	#3
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	I thought that Opening the ejection port is standard operation for making a 1911 more reliable? Does it not give the spent case more time/space to exit the weapon, making stovepipes much less possible?

February 15, 1999, 03:34 PM	#4
Gregg Machacek Junior Member Join Date: February 9, 1999 Location: Petrolia Tx Posts: 7	Jim The spent round with the 230 grain fmj ammo doesent clear the ejection port. The jhp ammo wont feed 90% of the time. My thumb is not on the slide. The new gunsmith is going to do more work on the feed ramp. He said the first guy did a poor job. He has vast experence with the 1911. By the way I only have three mags but I have tried several others with same results. thanks Gregg

February 15, 1999, 05:01 PM	#5
Jim V Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 1999 Location: SE Michigan - USA Posts: 4,038	Rob and Gregg, I have not had any problem having cases and even loaded ammo make it thru the ejection port of a 1911 without opening up the port. Maybe I have been lucky over the past 30+ years. I am still in the dark about the type of malfunction you are having Gregg, are you getting double feeds or is the loaded cartridge catching on the feed ramp of the barrel as it is trying to go home? Or are you having smoke stack "jams"? Is the ejector correct or has somebody fiddled with it? Does the extractor have the correct tension? Too much and it will release the empty to late and the case will catch on the new round and too little it will drop it before it hits the ejector. For those that wish to know the Filipino dialect term for a smoke stack "jam" is "tinigasan" pronounced tini gasan. When it happens on the range other shooters point it out by saying, "Tinigasan siya pare."

February 15, 1999, 07:17 PM	#6
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Gregg, usually there are two reasons for JHPs not feeding reliably. The first of course is the chamber throat/feed ramp/barrel fit. The second is the release point of the magazine lips. JHPs are normally shorter than the 230gr FMJ and need the release point further back in order for the bullet nose to rise far enough to actually follow the feed ramp into the chamber instead of jamming into it. If your smith knows his stuff as you say, you needn't bother telling him, he already knows. Flaring the port is cosmetic. If you were having stove pipe jams, in addition to lowering your port, I'd recommend a combat ejector and having your extractor tuned. George

February 15, 1999, 08:07 PM	#7
Ed Brunner Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 1998 Location: Natchez, MS, USA Posts: 2,562	I do not know polishing the feed ramp will make the ejection better.In addition to what has been mentioned you might check the extractor and the ejector. Simply stated the extractor needs to hold the case until the ejector causes the case to fly away. The recoil spring could could have an effect too. I have had a number of 1911's and never have altered the ejection port. I agree that a good pistolsmith is your best bet. ------------------ Better days to be, Ed

February 16, 1999, 11:07 AM	#8
Mute Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 1998 Location: Diamond Bar, CA Posts: 852	Are the magazines new? Bad magazines are a common cause of feed problems. If you have a friend with a perfectly functioning 1911, try his mags and see if the problem goes away.

February 16, 1999, 12:37 PM	#9
Gregg Machacek Junior Member Join Date: February 9, 1999 Location: Petrolia Tx Posts: 7	Mute I have tried new mags and old ones. A friend has his dads 1911 that he carried in the first world war, an old springfield that has had no work done on it. I borrowed it to take the test for my concealed carry permit. It functioned flawlessly thru the test and also thru 1000 rounds of practice. I tried his mags in my gun with the same results so I dont think the problem is mag related. I do thank you for your input though. Thanks everyone Gregg

February 20, 1999, 02:43 PM	#10
Gregg Machacek Junior Member Join Date: February 9, 1999 Location: Petrolia Tx Posts: 7	I got my gun back from the smith. He polished feed ramp lowered and flaired the ejection port reblued the slide. I just got through shooting the gun it worked fine. Fired 200 rounds FMJ 230gr. And 20 rounds JHP with no malfuctions. If anyone needs a smith in north TX I would highly recomend this guy. All this for 20 bucks. Gregg Machacek

February 21, 1999, 12:10 AM	#11
buzz riley Member Join Date: January 27, 1999 Location: KY Posts: 47	ONLY $20 BUCKS...WOW! You had better remember that guy at Christmas. It's worth that to have the slide reblued alone.

February 21, 1999, 01:57 AM	#12
Gun Plumber Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Posts: 44	Gregg, Are you sure he did'nt just touch up the slide? If he refinished the hole thing, you got one heck of a deal!

March 20, 1999, 12:18 AM	#13
Gregg Machacek Junior Member Join Date: February 9, 1999 Location: Petrolia Tx Posts: 7	Help I took the .45 out to shoot today and had more problems. After 150 rounds it wouldnt push round into chamber. I could bump back of slide and it would jump right in.Could this be ammo? I was shooting blazer aluminum cased ammo.Any info would be helpfull. thanks Gregg

March 20, 1999, 12:47 AM	#14
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Gregg, it's either the ammo or your chamber is excessively dirty. If it's clean and it still happens with different ammo look for something intefering with slide travel. A burr, your grip etc. George

March 21, 1999, 09:42 AM	#15
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Did anyone mention oiling the gun? A good cleaning and a light application of good gun oil to mechanism and wear surfaces could help.

March 21, 1999, 08:46 PM	#16
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	George, A gunsmith some years ago told me that lowering and flaring the ejection port would do two things - one, keep hot brass from landing on my head (and down my neck) by making ejection more consistent and two, spare my brass from getting dented upon ejection so I could reload more times. Do you think he knew what he was talking about or is this mod totally cosmetic? ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

March 21, 1999, 10:53 PM	#17
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Lowering the ejection port precludes dinging the brass. However, not all stock ports ding brass...And I've never seen brass dinged up badly enough for me to care, during reloading. It probably helps avoid stovepipes, in some pistols. I guess it's part of a package to help reliability, along with many of the other mods and tweaks we do.

March 21, 1999, 11:32 PM	#18
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Keith, I have to agree with him, although I think extractor tension, the shape or angle of the ejector, the recoil spring weight to load ratio and your grip have more to do with where the empties go than lowering the ejection port. Lowering the port does help to prevent stovepipe type jams and I have had brass dented so badly that it had to be reformed prior to reloading in non ported guns. Lowering the port will prevent that as well. It's the flaring that is cosmetic. That's the little beveled area at the rear that some smiths do on them. I don't do that unless it's requested by the customer. George

March 22, 1999, 01:34 AM	#19
Keith Rogan Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 1999 Location: Kodiak, Alaska Posts: 1,014	Art and George, Thanks, I guess the extra $75 or whatever it was, wasn't a total waste then. I spent $1200 on that pistol and it was fine shooter when it was all done. A year ago I bought a Kimber for half that and it shoots rings around that custom job. Accuracy is about the same but you get adjustable sights and its not finnicky about ammo. ------------------ Keith The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan

March 22, 1999, 09:24 AM	#20
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Lowering the edge of the ejection port makes ejection easier and also prevents "dinging" of the brass IF the ejection angle is wrong in the first place. In other words it corrects the symptom (case hitting the edge of the port) rather than the disease (wrong ejection angle). I fix the problem by adjusting the ejector so it works right. One other thing lowering the port does if done to excess - it weakens the slide at its already weakest point. With a good forged slide, this should not cause any problem; with some of the clone cast slides ...? I have never personally seen one cracked, but have seen pictures. Why do it if it is not the cause of the problem?