SA Champion 1911 - FTE problem!

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  • BennyBlown2v

    Plinker
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    Jun 1, 2008
    122
    18
    Zionsville, IN
    Went and put 100rnds Winchster range .45 through my SA Champion 1911 today, even on the first few mags, straight from being cleaned and lubed, I had many FTE's. It seemed to do it worse on the first round, and the last round of each mag. I heard some bad things about 8rnd Wilson Combat mags causing FTF and FTE issues, but I only have one 8rnd WC mag, and the other one is a standard 7rnd WC mag and it seems to do it just as bad if not worse.

    What could be causing this? Bad brass? Bad mags? Gun needs adjustment?

    Also, the slide doesn't lock back when empty - is this because of illfitting mags?

    Any tips/help would be appreciated, thanks guys/gals! :rockwoot:
     

    BennyBlown2v

    Plinker
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    Jun 1, 2008
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    Oh yeah, also when the casing do eject they are all over the place! Some go out to the left 5ft or so, but some only go 1ft and towards the shooter. I think I shot an entire mag where everyone hit the top of my head...

    Thinking about that makes me think maybe it's just an extractor issue? Or perhaps the loads aren't potent enough for whatever springs this gun may have (I'm guessing stock, but I can't be sure). Are there any good extractor upgrades I can do? I cleaned it but it really wasn't that gunked up...seems kinda "soft" and not a hard edge on it though, if that means anything I don't know.
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
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    Mar 18, 2008
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    If you're having failures to eject, my first guess would be extractor tension. Do you know how to measure if it's right? If not, find someone who can take a look at it in person who does.

    It might also be the ejector. Sometimes they need a little bevel on one side to help them kick the empty to the right instead of forward where the slide can hit it on its way back.
     

    obijohn

    Master
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    Mar 24, 2008
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    Terre Haute
    rhino is right on this one. also your extractor might be "clocking" or rotating in the slide. this also causes the ejecting everywhere that you mention. in my experience, springfields have soft extractors and they need replaced. i have no real recent experience, so springfield may have fixed this problem.
     

    BennyBlown2v

    Plinker
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    Jun 1, 2008
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    Zionsville, IN
    OK cool, thanks. I'm not gonna mess with trying to tension the extractor myself, I don't wanna put a bad bend in it or something stupid. I think I'll replace it with a hardened extractor, any brand recommendations??

    In the mean time I'm going to try bevel/polishing like this picture:

    extractor.gif
     

    rhino

    Grandmaster
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    Heh. You'll have to adjust (bend) any extractor you buy. FWIW.

    Here are brands I would trust:

    Ed Brown (go for the "hard core")
    Wilson (go for the "bulletproof")
    STI
    S-V
    EGW

    The "clocking" my illustrious brother mentions can be fixed with an oversized firing pin stop in some cases (which will also take some fitting). A little bit of it is common; too much and you have problems!
     

    BennyBlown2v

    Plinker
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    Jun 1, 2008
    122
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    Zionsville, IN
    Heh. You'll have to adjust (bend) any extractor you buy. FWIW.

    Here are brands I would trust:

    Ed Brown (go for the "hard core")
    Wilson (go for the "bulletproof")
    STI
    S-V
    EGW

    The "clocking" my illustrious brother mentions can be fixed with an oversized firing pin stop in some cases (which will also take some fitting). A little bit of it is common; too much and you have problems!

    Thanks! Yeah I realize I'll have to adjust the tension on a new extractor, I'll get my cousin to do it, heh. I've been reading up on adjusting it myself also, and I might try adding a tiny bit of tension myself, but without an accurate way of measuring it I'm going to be exceedingly conservative in my adjustments.
     

    AllenM

    Diamond Collision Inc. Avon.
    Industry Partner
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    Apr 20, 2008
    10,387
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    Avon
    Is this a new gun?
    or is it possible your are limp wristing it a bit.
    The FTE sounds like an extractor but not locking back after final round could also be break in time on the gun or possible limp wristing.
    I had to run a box of hot hollow points through a Kimber I have till it started working well.
    Dunno.
     

    ashylarry

    Expert
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    9   1   0
    May 9, 2008
    902
    18
    Greencastle
    Is this a new gun?
    or is it possible your are limp wristing it a bit.
    The FTE sounds like an extractor but not locking back after final round could also be break in time on the gun or possible limp wristing.
    I had to run a box of hot hollow points through a Kimber I have till it started working well.
    Dunno.

    Not a new gun. He bought this from shay, which he took as a trade on some training, so who knows what it is. I would rule limp wristing out, three others including myself and paul shot the gun and it would do the same to all of us.
     

    Shay

    Master
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    Mar 17, 2008
    2,364
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    Indy
    I'm sorry to hear you are having reliability issues with this 1911. It was traded to me as a "reliable 1911" but I never shot it during the time that I owned it.

    My first guess would be mags or extractor (seems like you are already investigating both of these).
     

    BennyBlown2v

    Plinker
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    Jun 1, 2008
    122
    18
    Zionsville, IN
    I'm sorry to hear you are having reliability issues with this 1911. It was traded to me as a "reliable 1911" but I never shot it during the time that I owned it.

    My first guess would be mags or extractor (seems like you are already investigating both of these).

    Heh, won't worry about it - simple fix I'm sure. I might have fixed it already by cleaning/polishing/adding some tension to the extractor - but I don't know till the next trip to the range :draw:Worse comes to worse I'll order a new mag and a new extractor.
     
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