After 10 years my Colt Government let me down.

[Will Carry]

        I usually run my self defense ammo through my guns when I go to the range, just to see if they would feed. Yesterday my 1911 had two failures in two magazine of high tech high dollar self JHP defense rounds. One round jammed in the top of the barrel. Another round failed to return to battery. I poked the first one with my finger (holding the slide) and the second I just pushed the slide forward. I then shot 200 rounds of WWB FMJs without a hitch. For 10 years that pistol has not failed to fire once, using all different kinds of ammo.  What should I check? Magazines I use are Chuck Mcormick and Colt. I did not check the ammo. These high dollar rounds go in and out of all of my 45acp handguns. I have seen distorted casings and bullets before. Hmmmm?

      I had the range all to myself. It was great. I get a little nervous when the range is crowded. They don't have a Range Warden, they have cameras, which isn't the same. My shooting was terrible! I couldn't figure out what I was doing. Finally I figured it out while shooting my single action .357. By then I have 10 rounds left. I put six in a two inch circle and then 4, at 7 yards. That mo better.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Will Carry

[Sunfish]

Put a new 21 pound recoil spring in it and re try the ammo that failed to feed. 

[nightrunner]

How old are the mags? Same issue with a new magazine? Depending on the style of the bullet, the shape of the bullet combined with a slightly weakened magazine spring could cause it. I’d try a new magazine, I’ve always had best luck with Wilson’s. Maybe switch to a different defensive ammo.

[Sidecarist]

Recoil spring is the first place to look. If you use a recoil spring buffer stop. They are ok in competition guns, but unnecessary in a defensive gun. A 1911 link style lockup is more sensitive to spring rate than the later browning systems used by most other pistols.

Magazines and lubrication/cleaning also an edc gun can have all sorts of debris find their way in.  Give it a good cleaning including the inside of the mags.

[gregintenn]

Shoot ball ammo in it like God and John Browning intended.

Seriously, you are probably due to replace some springs. Were I to replace the slide spring, I'd also replace the hammer spring as well. They sort of work together as a team. Magazine springs are a cheap and easy thing to replace and mark off the list of potential problems as well.

Edited December 23, 2017 by gregintenn

[DaveTN]

Dirty? Contrary to popular belief guns don't like to run dirty, especially 1911's.

2 hours ago, Will Carry said:

 I have seen distorted casings and bullets before. Hmmmm?     

In new out of the box ammo? 

I would strip and thoroughly clean the gun, properly lubricate it, make sure there is no scratches or issues with the feed ramp, maybe replace the mag springs if they have been stored for years with ammo in them, get some high quality JHP's like Federal HST or Hydra-Shok, and then see what happens.

My guess is it was either bad ammo or just needed cleaning.

 

[ken_mays]

I don't see what actual brand of ammo you used.  Sometimes truncated cone projectiles like the Hornady Critical Defense won't roll over the feed ramp and into the chamber consistently.  In that case, easiest thing to do is switch to an elliptical ogive bullet that mimics ball ammo.  

 

The out of battery issue may have been the result of an inertia feed and your nudge may have snapped the extractor hook over the rim.  Next time that happens, pull the slide back to see if the round is under the extractor.  Inertia feeds happen because the force of the slide hitting the frame during recoil is jarring the round out of the mag before the slide can return and strip it off.  New mag springs would be the first thing I'd try here.  

Another possibility is that your rounds are hitting the inner lug of the slide stop while coming out of the mag   The round has to bump its way past, robbing energy from the chambering cycle.   This often manifests as a tactile "ka-chunk" as the slide returns,   Check the slide stop for signs of copper rubbing.

Otherwise the the usual wear items need to be checked.  Extractor tension, recoil springs, mag springs.  

[peejman]

Has the gun run this ammo flawlessly before?  If not, find ammo it does like. 

If it has run this ammo fine previously, id look at the magazines and possibly springs in the gun if it's got a bunch of rounds through it. 

[leroy]

1 hour ago, DaveTN said:

Dirty? Contrary to popular belief guns don't like to run dirty, especially 1911's.

In new out of the box ammo? 

I would strip and thoroughly clean the gun, properly lubricate it, make sure there is no scratches or issues with the feed ramp, maybe replace the mag springs if they have been stored for years with ammo in them, get some high quality JHP's like Federal HST or Hydra-Shok, and then see what happens.

My guess is it was either bad ammo or just needed cleaning.

 

Best advice so far... Make sure the chamber is squeaky clean and look to see if ya see any scratches on the hood (...the top of the barrel chamber...)...  I think Dave is most likely dead right... A thorough cleaning of the barrel and makin especially the chamber shiney may fix the problem...

good luck and let us know...

leroy

[Garufa]

I would properly lubricate, as in grease the slide rails, before trying anything else...if you haven’t done so already.  I use Tetra grease but that’s just who I am.  I cured similar issues on my old SA 1911 by doing that very thing.

[Will Carry]

I keep all my weapons clean I spend more time cleaning my firearms than shooting them. The self defense ammo was 240gr Winchester Supreme elite XP or something or other and Golden Sabers in 185gr.  The ammo I have seen defective out of the box is Winchester White Box. I found distorted 45acp round once. The feed ramp is polished nicely. I keep the slide rails lunbricated with just enough grease but not too much. I'm very particular about cleaning and lubricating my guns, although nobody is perfect .... at least I'm not. I have blown through most of my self defense ammo so I will try some HST and Hydro-Shoks. If that doesn't work I will replace the recoil springs and mag springs, or just get some new mags. 

I was at a gun show about ten years ago and was planning on buying a Taurus 1911. It was new then and claimed to have features you would only find in a custom 1911. I found the Taurus 1911 and picked it up to inspect it. The blueing looked awful! Red flags went up and I put it down. Then I looked over and saw this Colt Government model series 80 in stainless. A bigginers 1911. It was Purdy! and only a couple hundred bucks more than the Taurus. It was so uterrly reliable and accurate I never bother to try and customise it. I did learn how to reassemble it blindfolded. (from field stripping not total disassembly).  I greatly appreciate the advice and do not assume I know anything about 1911s. I would rather you tell me things I already know (it never hurts) than have people think I know something I don't. 

[nightrunner]

FWIW, Federal HSTs are the new updated version of Hydrashocks. HST and Speer Gold Dot are some of the best defensive pistol ammo available and well established and tested by LE.

I favor HST personally 

[Smith]

FWIW, Federal HSTs are the new updated version of Hydrashocks. HST and Speer Gold Dot are some of the best defensive pistol ammo available and well established and tested by LE.
I favor HST personally 

Don't think so. Hydroshock's have been around some time and HST's are the renamed/marketed Black Talon's iirc.

[Garufa]

18 minutes ago, Smith said:

3 hours ago, nightrunner said:

FWIW, Federal HSTs are the new updated version of Hydrashocks. HST and Speer Gold Dot are some of the best defensive pistol ammo available and well established and tested by LE.
I favor HST personally 

Don't think so. Hydroshock's have been around some time and HST's are the renamed/marketed Black Talon's iirc.

You do not recall correctly.  Black Talons were from Winchester.  

[nightrunner]

26 minutes ago, Smith said:

3 hours ago, nightrunner said:

FWIW, Federal HSTs are the new updated version of Hydrashocks. HST and Speer Gold Dot are some of the best defensive pistol ammo available and well established and tested by LE.
I favor HST personally 

Don't think so. Hydroshock's have been around some time and HST's are the renamed/marketed Black Talon's iirc.

As said, Black Talons were Winchester. The Ranger SXT is a rebranded Black Talon without the Teflon coating. And still one of the top performing JHPs on the market. That’s how advanced Black Talons were for their time.

Yes Hydrashocks have been around for a long time, the new HST is the “next gen” version of them.

[Smith]

You do not recall correctly.  Black Talons were from Winchester.  

Yeah, obviously you are correct! HST's are phenomenal and my choice. Work great even when I don't know who makes it.