1911A1

[pop pop]

I purchased a new Remington 1911A1 a few years ago. My grandson was with me, at Bass Pro, and I told him I would give it to him when I was finished with it. I took it to him last month. They can not get it to run. Even had a "gun guy"???  look at it. He could not get it to run more than one shot. 

I never fired it because grandson wanted to be the first one to shoot it. A totally new pistol was important to him so I went with his wishes and never tried to fire it. 

I have owned 3 1911's. I know there are die hard 1911 guys, but in my experience, the other two I owned, I could not make them run good enough to trust them. 

I am going to see them next month, and will see if I can make the 1911 run??????

I have tried, but I am just not a 1911 guy! Never owned one or seen one that was reliable. 

 

[gregintenn]

Is it not feeding from the mag or what?

I’ve always had good luck with 1911s except for a Springfield EMP I bought used. It would leave a spent casing in the chamber. I bent the extractor in a bit and now it works flawlessly.

Edited April 2, 2022 by gregintenn

[Grayfox54]

Need more info on the specifics of the malfunction. Feeding, firing, extraction issues? If its been put away for a long time it may just need a good lube. Especially since its never been fired before. Might just be new gun stiffness. Any number of possibilities. 

I have a Remington 1911R1 that I bought new when they first came out in 2010. Its always run perfectly. 

[chances R]

I have one of the early Remington R1.  Runs like a champ.  Two courses with over 600 rds each and not a single problem, all factory ammo.  Gave it to my son.  Have a competent gunsmith, preferably a '1911' guy check it out.

 

[tnhawk]

17 hours ago, pop pop said:

..... They can not get it to run. Even had a "gun guy"???  look at it. He could not get it to run more than one shot....

I have owned 3 1911's. I know there are die hard 1911 guys, but in my experience, the other two I owned, I could not make them run good enough to trust them. 

I am going to see them next month, and will see if I can make the 1911 run??????

I have tried, but I am just not a 1911 guy! Never owned one or seen one that was reliable. 

 

If you have a problem with several 1911's there must be a common problem.  Were each properly cleaned and lubricated?  What ammunition were you trying to use in them?

I've had problems several times with welding equipment.  After receiving proper training the problems were resolved.

[phiferran]

2 hours ago, chances R said:

I have one of the early Remington R1.  Runs like a champ.  Two courses with over 600 rds each and not a single problem, all factory ammo.  Gave it to my son.  Have a competent gunsmith, preferably a '1911' guy check it out.

 

I also have one of the early Remington R1's and never had an issue with it at all.  I use Chip McCormack 8 and 9 rounds mags and never had a feeding issue. 

I also have a RIA officer's model 1911 and it runs great with 185 gr and 200 gr rounds.  I do have to be careful with 230 grain hollow points.  It does not feed some brands with aggressive designs on the point.  Does great with Cor Bon, Golden Sabers. and Remington Guard Dog bullets. 

[hipower]

First off...I love the 1911 platform. Secondly, I'm not the most ardent in cleaning and lubing my guns. I do get lax with it at times.

But I have been taught, and re-taught from personal experience that a 1911 must be 1...kept well lubed, and 2 realistically clean. Doesn't have to be spotless, but clean.

My biggest problem is lubing, I admit it. But the 1911 likes "wet" not dry. It doesn't have to be dripping, but if you can pick it up and get an oily feel on your hands...the odds are you are keeping it properly.

Some will run with less lube, some with more. You have to find which way yours prefers.

JMO

[deerslayer]

1911s have a well-earned reputation for sometimes being drama queens when new (and sometimes when not new).  How many rounds did he shoot?  Some owner's manuals say shoot 400 rounds before you call and cuss us.  What is it doing?  Not extracting a fired case?  Stovepiping?  Not going fully into battery?  Slide locking open every shot?  Most semi-auto handgun malfunctions are ammo or magazine related, but with a 1911, sometimes that is not the case.  Pretty much every one I have owned has had some kind of initial problem, usually minor, but they seem more problematic out of the box than other designs.  

Edited April 3, 2022 by deerslayer

[pop pop]

I don't fully know why it is giving problems. They are in S Carolina and I am in mid TN.  Going down there the first of the month and will check it out. They are using WWBox, not sure what grain bullet,  practice ammo and some federal all RN practice. I told him to clean it and lube it liberally and he did and still would not run. They took a friend with him on the second outing who has 1911s and he/both could not get it to run.  

I only purchased the pistol on a big Christmas special (430.00 out the door new after factory rebate)  and have have had little experience with that platform. I had 2 others I purchased used and they were not reliable for me, but I thought I would try a new one. All 1911 I have been around have experienced issues. Glad you guys have had better luck with your 1911s. 

[gregintenn]

I had to teach one of my kids not to limp wrist a semi auto pistol. I expect this is fairly common.

[Garufa]

I’m going with what has already been said several times...proper lubrication is key and will make most problems go away.

Grease the slide rails.  Experiment with whatever grease you might have but I use Tetra gun grease because it’s “for guns”.  Lubrication does not always mean oiling.

I have an early ‘90s Springfield 1911A1 that gave me all kinds of fits when I started using Tula steel-cased ammo in it, the dreaded lacquer coated stuff.  Greased up the rails....ran like a champ.

[JHP45]

Could be one or a combination of many things on the 1911. But you can eliminate some variables before having to go to the smith (if needed). Also pictures of the stoppages if it continues to have issues will help identify the failure and speed things up for the smith. As others have said, it could just need a break-in period.

I'd start with these two variables.

Magazine

Try different magazines if possible, especially if you can easily borrow them from your other pistols. 1911s can be picky with mags both brands and designs. Sometimes people ditch the 7 rounders that come with many of the more classic design 1911s for the 8 round versions right from the get go. Try both and check results. I'd try every mag I had available but that might be obsessive. If you use a mag each from the big mag manufactures like CMC, Wilson Combat or Tripp Research and it's still failing, it's likely not the mag.

Ammo

The first thing the smith/warranty always asks when troubleshooting is what ammo. Then they ask if you tried other brands, lots, case material, projectile etc. I like to get ahead of that so I have the information before taking anything in to a smith.

I also like to check OAL variance between the brands. I usually just put them on a table top to eyeball if one is longer than the other side by side. I had one that was really picky years back and running my ammo (even factory) through a Lee Factory Crimp die remedied the issue through the break-in and then it cleared up.

Once these two issues are ruled out, we can then move to type of jam and each solution. FTF, FTE, Stovepipe, Three Point etc.

1911s can be picky but they really are cool pistols. Labor of love.

[Grayfox54]

We're really gonna need specifics on the problem before making any real recommendations. "Won't run" covers a lot of ground.   But knowing the quality of the Remington pistols, I'm currently leaning toward magazine,  lube issues or operator error.