Do 45acp 1911s need to cleaned often?

Thorsbear

Thorsbear

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First off, yes I like to clean my guns after the range religiously, however I'm finding that my WW2 Colt 1911 seems to be very sooty after the range. The brass appears to be sooty as well and if I shoot over 100 rounds thru it Im getting occassional failure to eject. Even the muzzle is sooty, very strange as my TT33 looks lie new after 300 rounds using steel case surplus ammo.

I'm shooting blaser brass and Remington Eagle. Could it be the chamber is worn out?

The gun itself is extremely accurate and had been updated years ago with trigger, bushing, sights before people valued war surplus pistols.

Love the gun, just shocked at how few rounds before fouling.
 
Try changing ammo types. Winchester 230 gr ball white box or American Eagle 230 grain ball are good clean rounds to try. If you can afford it try a box of Hornady (another clean round with consistent performance) give that a try.

Bargain basement loads use dirty inconsistent powders.

I've shot 1911s for years and was not aware of any exceptional cleaning required.
 
Excessive cleaning is not required. Firearms are designed to accept a certain amount of grime, some more than others. I did a personal test with a non rail SIG P226 to see how many rounds before not cleaning it started to affect reliability. Over 5000 rounds and more than a year of shooting, no failures of any kind. Finally cleaned gave in and cleaned it.
 
npbra said:
Excessive cleaning is not required. Firearms are designed to accept a certain amount of grime, some more than others. I did a personal test with a non rail SIG P226 to see how many rounds before not cleaning it started to affect reliability. Over 5000 rounds and more than a year of shooting, no failures of any kind. Finally cleaned gave in and cleaned it.
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Yup, my CZ gets cleaned once a year, and normally before the big match. Just add oil, to break down the carbon.
 
Some current cheapo ammo are quite dirty.

When I used Titegroup with Liquid Alox carbon would quickly build up in the barrel bed, causing FTF's.
A buddy of mine who thought that his Gold Cup didn't need cleaning got the gun to jam when buildup in the slide rubbed on the barrel.
 
I have had no issues with my 1911's even after several hundred rounds, but I usually clean them after 500-600 rounds whether I have had any issues at all
 
Hey everyone, good to hear that the soot covering the gun is normal, but if the brass is getting sooty then the chamber is too. The gun is very reliable until after 100-200 rounds then failure to eject starts happening.

I'm not shooting steel case ammo so the brass should be expanding to seal. Do you think there could be increased tolerances in the chamber causing the soot and then the soot causing shells to stick?
 
silverfoxdj said:
I have had no issues with my 1911's even after several hundred rounds, but I usually clean them after 500-600 rounds whether I have had any issues at all
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This is what I was expecting for a 45. Can you purchase replacement drop in barrels for a M1911A1 Army or do they need to be fitted to work?
 
PSE said:
Try changing ammo types. Winchester 230 gr ball white box or American Eagle 230 grain ball are good clean rounds to try. If you can afford it try a box of Hornady (another clean round with consistent performance) give that a try.

Bargain basement loads use dirty inconsistent powders.

I've shot 1911s for years and was not aware of any exceptional cleaning required.
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The Blaser Brass that I was using wasnt that impressive but I was also shooting the american eagle. Nice ammo but was still failing to eject after 100-200 rounds. What do think about Sellier and Belloit ammo?
 
Soot is a sign of low pressure. That is why your Tokarev is clean: the 7.62x25mm is a snarky, high pressure round, and therefore the powder tends to burn quite cleanly.

As others have said, try different ammo. But there is only so much that can be done, the .45 Auto is a rather low-pressure cartridge, even at its limits.
 
Thorsbear said:
This is what I was expecting for a 45. Can you purchase replacement drop in barrels for a M1911A1 Army or do they need to be fitted to work?
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There is no such thing as a drop in 1911 part. And the soot on the case, is normal. My Springfield even does it, and it got match barrel.

Like BattleRifle said, Its a sign of low pressure. I see the same thing on 9mm, when people load them to the bare min.
 
Strip the frame and slide; carb cleaner and a toothbrush in a bucket; spray oil then compressed air to rid excess; reassemble and enjoy, this is the way;
 
I clean after every visit especially when I have no intention of shooting anytime soon . Some guns only shoot 1-3 times a year.

The others I shoot every 1-2 weeks so I clean those 1911s at the end of month. Even those could go quite a bit longer. Depends on round count per visit but like others have said. They are ment to be shot quite a bit before cleaning along as there oil.
 
45ACP and cleanliness

I found, over the years, the powder used in .45ACP loads made a big difference. For awhile, back in the day, Win 231 was a "go to" powder for 200 gr LSWC loads. But also a very dirty powder that made things "sooty" very quick.

OP, try some different ammo & see if it makes a difference.

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NAA.
 
I agree that W231 can be dirty, but if charges are increased even a bit, it makes a considerable difference. Also, lubing a 1911 may be more important than cleaning it.
 
My Dad went 6000 rounds in his 1911 with no malfunctions or anything. He was wanting to see how many rounds it would take before things got dirty enough to malfunction. He had a major match coming up and cleaned the pistol before going because he didn't want to chance a malfunction at the match.
 
Interesting, I found W231 to be less sooty than Titegroup. In peoples experiences, what powder runs the cleanest for 45acp at a factory-ish velocity (830fps)?
 
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