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Post by CXM on Sept 22, 2018 15:05:20 GMT -5
I just acquired a Series 70 Mk IV made in 1973-4. The pistol is in very good condition and apparently little used... but has one thing that bothers me... that being the slide fails to lock back with some magazines... though I have not tried all magazines I have established it won't lock back with Chip McCormick or Colt Mags but it will lock back with Mec-Gar mags.
From that I concluded there must be a problem with the slide lock so I put a new slide stop in the pistol... So it should work fine... right? Nope same problem... works with some not with other brands...
Naturally this is somewhat frustrating... so I thought I'd ask if anyone has any ideas about what to try next?
Any suggestions is appreciated...
V/r
Chuck
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Post by abninftr on Sept 22, 2018 21:42:09 GMT -5
I'm not a 1911 expert, but magazine problems like yours usually have the same cause. I suspect what is happening is that the follower on the chip McCormick and Colt mags are not pushing up the slide lock, but the Mec-Gars are. Compare the geometry of the mags. See if the slot on the side of the mags are the same depth and that the step on the followers are come up to the same relative point.
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Post by Carolinaman on Sept 23, 2018 11:21:28 GMT -5
Hello Chuck, I am not an "expert" either and so don't pay attention to what I am about to say.  I agree with abninftr that it "sounds" like a magazine related problem. However, I would also pay attention to the cleaning and lubrication of the slide stop detent and spring tunnel. It could be contaminated by hardened/old lubricant. I've never encountered that problem with the close to a dozen 1911's I've owned over the past thirty years. Also, take it to the range and shoot it to find out if the problem resolves itself. You can't hand cycle the 1911 as fast as how its going to function being actually shot. I am assuming here that your observations are based on hand cycling the action? Like I said, I don't know a whole lot; but advice is cheap!  Chris |
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Post by gt40doc on Sept 23, 2018 12:46:59 GMT -5
Chuck,
Remove the slide and bbl. and re-insert the slide stop. Then slowly insert different mags into the magwell and look at where the mag "button" is striking the slide stop. That may give you some information under direct vision.
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Post by HRFunk on Sept 24, 2018 12:17:03 GMT -5
You might also want to look at the recoil spring and make sure no one put in an "extra-power" spring. If the spring is preventing the slide from moving all the way to the rear, or if it's causing the slide to come forward too soon that could be causing the problem too.
Howard
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Post by abninftr on Sept 24, 2018 14:25:06 GMT -5
That could be the case only if the slide didn't come back far enough to allow the follower to come up. There would also be failures to feed if that was the case.
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Post by sams1 on Sept 24, 2018 15:40:04 GMT -5
I agree with the rest that this is most likely a magazine issue and a magazine spring issue at that - after you've checked out all the recommendations above, I would remove the mag spring and 'stretch' it a little and try to see if it solved the issue. If it did help the situation, I suggest you replace the springs with new mag springs.
Worth a try...
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Post by craig on Oct 27, 2018 12:53:05 GMT -5
 The 3 COLT 1911's I've owned were disappointing, perhaps because they were used orphans - but clean, with low round count, that lured me in. In my experience any machine can be repaired - except those apparently. But mine (the last one especially) had reliability issues I could not overcome, even 2 different smiths could not make it reliable. Worst problems were frustrating feeding cycling issues. Magazines, Springs,& other parts were tried. Hearing I was "limp writing it" was the last straw excuse for non-repair. I made enough on the last vintage late 60's Colt 1911 - to purchase my new Ruger SR1911, & new RIA Compact Officers 1911. Oddly enough,they both worked perfectly from new, & still do after several years of preference improvements, & use with my Chip McCormick & MecGar mags. My "limp wrist" magically healed itself - now that I'm older & weaker. None of my handguns have the problems my 3 Colts gave me. I realize there is no help here for your problem, & I apologize for the rant. The lesson I learned, was that brand allegiance sometimes can make you think you're the problem, in addition to costing to much money & frustration. But I am a guy that is delighted with my good functional affordable clones, Russian, & Cold War Technology - so please just consider the source & forgive me. |
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Post by CXM on Oct 28, 2018 7:54:48 GMT -5
Craig... It is hard to argue with a Rock Island 1911 type. I bought one a few years ago and find it to be easily the best and closest clone of the WWII vintage 1911A1 pistols I have found... and I have owned quite a few. I had a Springfield 'government' model made about 25 years ago... it shot well, but the frame was out of spec for a 1911...the frame was slightly larger than the WWII animal and as a result some after market grips (Houge rubbers)were very hard to get on the Springfield... The frame was made in Brazil by IMBEL so I assume they had some difficulty in converting English measurements to metric and thus the variance. I don't know if IMBEL still makes Springfield's frames, but if so I'd avoid them. I have had some S&W 1911 types too... and they were uniformly good and worked just fine... but while it worked and was reliable I don't care for an external extractor on my 1911s. The 'smiffs shot like a 'house-a-fire' accurate and drop dead reliable... and the Scandium frame Commander size S&W was a pleasure to carry... Anyway, I could go on but I'll leave it with the observation that the Rock Island is a fine pistol and super value for money... amazing what a 10 year old Filipino kid with a block of steel and a file can do (Actually, I understand ARMSCOR bought surplus tooling from Colt's when they went to more modern stuff. V/r Chuck View AttachmentThe 3 COLT 1911's I've owned were disappointing, perhaps because they were used orphans - but clean, with low round count, that lured me in. In my experience any machine can be repaired - except those apparently. But mine (the last one especially) had reliability issues I could not overcome, even 2 different smiths could not make it reliable. Worst problems were frustrating feeding cycling issues. Magazines, Springs,& other parts were tried. Hearing I was "limp writing it" was the last straw excuse for non-repair. I made enough on the last vintage late 60's Colt 1911 - to purchase my new Ruger SR1911, & new RIA Compact Officers 1911. Oddly enough,they both worked perfectly from new, & still do after several years of preference improvements, & use with my Chip McCormick & MecGar mags. My "limp wrist" magically healed itself - now that I'm older & weaker. None of my handguns have the problems my 3 Colts gave me. I realize there is no help here for your problem, & I apologize for the rant. The lesson I learned, was that brand allegiance sometimes can make you think you're the problem, in addition to costing to much money & frustration. But I am a guy that is delighted with my good functional affordable clones, Russian, & Cold War Technology - so please just consider the source & forgive me. |
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I agree with abninftr that it "sounds" like a magazine related problem. However, I would also pay attention to the cleaning and lubrication of the slide stop detent and spring tunnel. It could be contaminated by hardened/old lubricant. I've never encountered that problem with the close to a dozen 1911's I've owned over the past thirty years. Also, take it to the range and shoot it to find out if the problem resolves itself. You can't hand cycle the 1911 as fast as how its going to function being actually shot. I am assuming here that your observations are based on hand cycling the action?
