Colt Failure to Lock Open UPDATE

prproulx

prproulx

I ask too many questions
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Location
The Blue Part of Ontario
My 9mm Colt combat Commander is still failing to lock open on the last shot although very infrequently.
Three incidents during 250 rounds. I had found it to be reliable with 115gr ball ammo, but it still did it.
All three failures were with three different mags, two Colt, on e Mec-Gar.

I then put a higher power recoil spring in because my empties were being launched into orbit.

At the end of my shoot I thought I'd try some Winchester Silvertips 115gr and they all functioned perfectly.

I loaded some 147gr SXT and again perfection, and accuracy too!

I thought maybe I was limpwristing but after the last shot, I dragged the slide back manually and it still wouldn't lock. The mag had to be dragged out and as I did that the slide snapped shut.

What's up Docs? I'm in love with this gun and I want it to work 100%.:redface:

finalCOLT003-1.jpg
 
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First, if it has a buffer installed, remove it. This would be the obvious one for the problem you mention.

It's not the mags, as 3 different mags having bad springs/followers would be an amazing coincidence.

It's also weird that when you removed the mag the slide closes. This is very wrong. How is the slide or the slide release for wear? Check those areas and make sure they are not ramped/worn.

Now that I think of it... I am going to assume your problem lies with the Slide Release. Try a new one :)
 
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have you looked at your slide stop?- i had the end break off mine and it functioned normally except it wouldn't hold the slide in the open position-didn't notice it as i don't normally run a mag dry anyway( tactical reload)
 
To my untrained eye the slide stop looks fine. There is very little wear on this gun.
Last pic looks odd but I really don't know what it should look like.
slideSTOP009.jpg

slideSTOP008.jpg

Here's Beltfeds of the EE. It looks different (Hope it's okay to use the pic) Is it wear or an example of the crappy manufacturing in the 70's?
COLTslidestop.jpg

slideSTOP007.jpg

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Looks to me like it might be a combination of wear on the slide and the slide stop.
(I'm comparing mine directly off your photos)
But, I'd try a new mag first.
 
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beltfed said:
Looks to me like it might be a combination of wear on the slide and the slide stop.
(I'm comparing mine directly off your photos)
But, I'd try a new mag first.
Click to expand...

Is there any chance of posting pics of yours? I can see the slide stop wear but I can't really see the wear on the slide since I have nothing to compare it to.

I'm going to order a Wilson slide stop tomorrow from Brownells.
 
mine dropped right in- and it was also a wilson- but i'm running a PURE colt, mk4, series 70- there might be issues with other "clone" frames- personally, for the money involved, i'd order 2- 1 for backup - i've got a usgi in blue for back up- the wilson ran about 50 bucks, ( out of a gun store) - the extended version- the usgi was 19.95
 
I bought a used 9mm 1911 from Armco and it had a .45 slide stop installed. The .45 slide stop was too short to lock back the slide.

I found a 9mm one on Gunnutz and there have been no problems since, except it now has trigger problem...
 
The Wilson slide stop fit perfectly. I went to the range and fired 200 rounds of 115 ball and some Silvertips.
The slide locked open every time on the last shot EXCEPT for one particular mag (Colt) that I had bought on gunbroker as new but it wasn't new. You can see the wear on the follower where it contacts the slide stop.
I had three failures to EXTRACT.
I may have to send this to one of our gunsmiths for further work.
Also the crude slide stop cut seems to be typical of series 70 Colts as this picture of a near new series 70 shows.
I guess letting monkeys use grinders to cut these notches was way ahead of it's time.
COLTseries70.jpg
 
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prproulx said:
Is there any chance of posting pics of yours? I can see the slide stop wear but I can't really see the wear on the slide since I have nothing to compare it to.

I'm going to order a Wilson slide stop tomorrow from Brownells.
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Sorry man, I sold my Colt before I saw this request. However, the new owner may be willing to help out (pm 'Westicle' here on the board)
 
Check your extractor tension, by far the most common problem for 1911's with extractor issues. It's also easily fixed by yourself.

John L. Marshall said:
The first area of attention is the extractor groove itself, where the rim of the cartridge rides up into the groove from below. The extractor, when properly fit, does not "snap" over the rim of the cartridge, but the cartridge pushes up from below as it is fed from the magazine. One of the surest ways to ruin an extractor is put a round directly into the chamber, and then drop the slide. This forces the extractor to snap over the rim, and in time will ruin the extractor’s shape or break it.

The extraction groove must be beveled at the bottom of the groove so that the rim of the cartridge is cammed gradually into the groove. In this way, the cartridge rim will more gradually push the extractor back to tension it over the extractor groove in the cartridge and it can slide up more easily. This bevel should run from the bottom edge of the extractor groove up to the midway point in the extractor’s groove. The forward inside edge of the extractor groove should be beveled out to form a slight angle; since the cartridge is at an upward angle when it feeds, this allows the rim to slide into the groove at the proper angle. The angle of the majority of the inside extractor claw should not be altered by filing or polishing. It should remain at 90 degrees or even have a slight inward grasp. The lower edge of the extractor claw should be beveled and rounded; the forward outside edge should be rounded. The top and bottom rear edges of the body of the extractor should be beveled for about an inch and ½ so as to allow "wiggle room" for the extractor within its hole in the slide. Then the tip of the extractor and the inside of the extractor groove should be polished. The initial shaping is done by small files; the polishing is done with fine sandpaper and Flitz.

Proper tensioning of the extractor is vital to reliability. Too much tension and chambering will be severely impeded or prevented. Too little tension, and extraction and ejection will be weak or non-existent. An old gunsmith trick to test the tension of the extractor is to remove the slide from the pistol, and push a round of ammo up under the extractor from below. With proper tension, the round should be held in place regardless of how the slide is turned, yet when the round is moved downwards from its center position about 1/10 of an inch, the round should drop off.

Tension is adjusted by removing the extractor, reversing it in the extractor hole in the slide, and pressing sideways one way or the other to increase or decrease tension. The depth of the extractor’s protrusion into the case area is controlled by removing a slight amount of metal from the inside of the rounded protrusion just back of the extractor claw with a file.
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Yeah - I had problems with my 1911 here - and one of the USMC PWS guys gave me some pointers on that.
Turned out the best fit - was the 1943 old barrel link -- the kit I got from Wilson none of the 5 fit better...
Weird - only in iraq
 
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