1911 light strikes

[Lost Californian]

I have a Springfield Armory Range Officer compact in 9mm, and last night it had a failure to fire. Last range trip was just fine, and it has been on the nightstand ever since. Yesterday my daughter stopped by and wanted to shoot, so I took that one out for me. First round fired just fine. Nothing fired after that. All primers showed a light dimple in them. Put it away till today. Today I stripped it all the way down looking for issues. Firing pin does not appear broken, and the channel is clear and clean. Main spring looks to work just fine. Took it all apart just to be sure. Safety moves like it should. Rounds go under the extractor. Best I can tell the slide closes all the way. To my eyes everything functions like it should, it just won't go bang.

Any help on what to check would be greatly appreciated.

 

[churchmouse]

Est age/round count....???

 

[ashby koss]

IANCM (i am not church mouse) , but,
i would swap out mainspring and firing pin spring to make sure. Then double check firing pin clearances, and give a deep cleaning and re-oiling.

 

[Dean C.]

You are in the interesting world of sub 4.25 inch 1911's that can be finicky at times. As CM asked age / round count would be helpful. With the exception of my ECO I do a total spring change on my 1911's every 10,000 with recoil and mainspring at 5k intervals.

Might be a bit of overkill , but springs are a cheap way to ensure reliability.

 

[churchmouse]

You are in the interesting world of sub 4.25 inch 1911's that can be finicky at times. As CM asked age / round count would be helpful. With the exception of my ECO I do a total spring change on my 1911's every 10,000 with recoil and mainspring at 5k intervals.

Might be a bit of overkill , but springs are a cheap way to ensure reliability.

Also what ammo. I have had issues with S&B in my CZ's due to the hard primers.

 

[Dean C.]

Also what ammo. I have had issues with S&B in my CZ's due to the hard primers.

I had that issue once with Winchester large primers that may or may not have survived a house fire , though switching to a 23# mainspring fixed that issue.

 

[Lost Californian]

Est age/round count....???

Purchased new March, 2019. Less than a thousand rounds.

Bone stock. Cleaned it, oiled it.

Ammo is SIG Elite Vcrown 147gr subsonic. I fired all the light strike ammo thru my FX-9, no problems. Took some of my wife's Hornady Critical Defense Light 100gr rounds, and had light strikes after I cleaned and inspected.

I was running this ammo, from the same lot and case, prior to this problem and it worked fine.

 

[churchmouse]

Purchased new March, 2019. Less than a thousand rounds.

Bone stock. Cleaned it, oiled it.

Ammo is SIG Elite Vcrown 147gr subsonic. I fired all the light strike ammo thru my FX-9, no problems. Took some of my wife's Hornady Critical Defense Light 100gr rounds, and had light strikes after I cleaned and inspected.

I was running this ammo, from the same lot and case, prior to this problem and it worked fine.

There is an issue you need to address but I will not diagnose an ignition issue on the interwebs. The SA RO's are generally solid offerings.
How far down did you take the gun on the clean/inspect.
Can you feel anything has changed when you manually cock the hammer into lock on the sear. Is the action smooth.

 

[Lost Californian]

There is an issue you need to address but I will not diagnose an ignition issue on the interwebs. The SA RO's are generally solid offerings.
How far down did you take the gun on the clean/inspect.
Can you feel anything has changed when you manually cock the hammer into lock on the sear. Is the action smooth.

Today, I cleaned the barrel and slide.I removed/cleaned/lubed the firing pin and spring, removed/cleaned extractor. I removed the MSH, then the main spring and cleaned/oiled the spring and plugs(?). Removed the grip safety and the sear spring(?). Cleaned out frame with brake cleaner, the blew out with compressed air. Lightly oiled moving parts. Reassembled. Twice. I am unsure of the proper terminology for all the parts.

It feels normal. No grittiness, no catching - seems as smooth as it ever was. My son has better eyes, and he looked it over, also, and did not notice any parts out of alignment.Racking by hand, everything works as it should. It just won't fire.

 

[churchmouse]

Today, I cleaned the barrel and slide.I removed/cleaned/lubed the firing pin and spring, removed/cleaned extractor. I removed the MSH, then the main spring and cleaned/oiled the spring and plugs(?). Removed the grip safety and the sear spring(?). Cleaned out frame with brake cleaner, the blew out with compressed air. Lightly oiled moving parts. Reassembled. Twice. I am unsure of the proper terminology for all the parts.

It feels normal. No grittiness, no catching - seems as smooth as it ever was. My son has better eyes, and he looked it over, also, and did not notice any parts out of alignment.Racking by hand, everything works as it should. It just won't fire.

OK you have been about as deep as you can. Without actually holding it and seeing it I am reluctant to get you any deeper./ Do you know of a competent 1911 smith out your way. I am Leary of Springers CS anymore after a bad situation with them but that might be an option for you. Give them a call. It could be as simple as the main spring has laid down on you. That is what sets the hammer to work.

 

[Lost Californian]

Thanks for the advice. At least I now know that I was in the general right area. My favorite LGS may be able to help, I will see about asking there, and then probably call SA.

 

[NHT3]

Were it mine I would swap the main spring for a new one and see if that solves the problem. Wish you were closer, I'm pretty sure I have a complete main spring housing around here somewhere and it would be simple to just install it and see if that solved the problem.

 

[churchmouse]

Were it mine I would swap the main spring for a new one and see if that solves the problem. Wish you were closer, I'm pretty sure I have a complete main spring housing around here somewhere and it would be simple to just install it and see if that solved the problem.

That is what I would do as well. For free. I have several but the 80 miles between us is a stopper.

 

[WebSnyper]

Thanks for the advice. At least I now know that I was in the general right area. My favorite LGS may be able to help, I will see about asking there, and then probably call SA.

If that doesn't pan out, would be worth a call to AllenM, and seeing if he can get it in. Then just make the drive from TH to Avon which is not bad. Would be less frustration than dealing with SA if Allen has time to take a look at it.

 

[DadSmith]

Just wanted to let you all know if you are in Southeastern Indiana look up Henry Couch in Aurora, IN. He's a good gunsmith and a 1911 guy but he fixes a lot more he can even make parts for an older firearm that you can't find parts for.

 

[Lost Californian]

Were it mine I would swap the main spring for a new one and see if that solves the problem. Wish you were closer, I'm pretty sure I have a complete main spring housing around here somewhere and it would be simple to just install it and see if that solved the problem.

That is what I would do as well. For free. I have several but the 80 miles between us is a stopper.

If that doesn't pan out, would be worth a call to AllenM, and seeing if he can get it in. Then just make the drive from TH to Avon which is not bad. Would be less frustration than dealing with SA if Allen has time to take a look at it.

Thanks for the offers. I know where Allen's place is, and if that is what it takes I will.

LOL - Churchmouse, what are you doing Saturday around 4pm? I work near the airport (US40/Washington & High School Rd) and will be off work at 4. Careful what ya offer! I do appreciate the help.

 

[Robert Richardson]

How much and what did you "Lube" the firing pin with? I don't lube firing pins.

 

[88E30M50]

Is this a series 80 gun? The sudden onset and consistency of the problem makes me think that the firing pin may not be getting unblocked if it has a firing pin safety.

 

[Robert Richardson]

Take a small punch and see if you can push the firing pin thru the hole in the breech face. Make sure the pin doesn't have a small bend in it too.

 

[WebSnyper]

Is this a series 80 gun? The sudden onset and consistency of the problem makes me think that the firing pin may not be getting unblocked if it has a firing pin safety.

I'm not overly 1911 literate, but would a pencil test work to tell if this is the case on a series 80 gun? Again, if that's ignorant to ask, apologies.