Need help with a jamming 1911

fightinghamster

fightinghamster

Regular
Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
20   0   0
Location
Newfoundland
So during the panic I managed to get a norinco np29 9mm 1911 I bought it as a frame with extra parts, previous owner said it needed a barrel, grips, and a trigger if I remember correctly. However when it arrived it was a complete gun, yay for me right, this norinco is rough with a capital Fu€&£d clearly been passed around a while and had a few bad owners, so I’m making this my first gunsmithing project.





My problem comes after shooting for the first time, using standard blazer 115 grain I could get through 2 rounds and it would jam on the third, and I mean jam the whole slide I would lock up solid, I had to pound the back of the slide with a block of wood to close it and cycle the action to eject the spent brass, thinking that’s a random occurrence I load up and try again… same result, two rounds fire, cycle, eject, third round fire, jam solid get the block of wood, I tried a few more times with different ammo and my other mag with the same results








I also picked up a norinco np28 9mm double stack 1911 during the panic, I know 1911s usually need hand fitting but both being 9mm norincos I decided to try the complete upper from the np28 on my jamming np29 and low and behold not only did it fit, it shot and didn’t jam I managed to get through a mag without a jam, got a couple stove pipes but better than locking up, so the experiment continued

I first tried the np28 barrel in the np29 slide, should be noted the np29 has a full length guide rod and the np28 has a regular 1911 guide rod and spring cup( the actual name escapes me) and I now get 4 rounds off before it jams solid, I try the np28 guide rod and spring cup and barrel, same result, I should have tried the np29 barrel in the np28 slide but I forgot during my last range trip.

A few more things of note

The slide to frame fit up is extremely loose on the no29 like I know a little wiggle is fine and might even help reliably but it feels excessive to me
The barrel has no markings on it except for MP where the link pin is I only know it’s 9mm because the mags say it and 9mm fits the chamber

So here’s where I’m stumped
Where do I start, should I try and snug up the slide to frame fitting ?, get a different barrel link?, get a whole new barrel?( there’s some damage on the crown so I’ll need a new one or do some crown work to it regardless)

Any help is greatly appreciated as I’m just dipping my feet into this stuff and I’d like to eventually be able to do work on other people’s guns, there’s no gunsmith’s on this side of the island and I love picking at stuff, the eventual plan for this piece is a silver cerakote and a blued slide in 9mm and a second longer slide In 40cal
Here’s some more pictures of this rough beauty











 
Snider shooter said:
Swap your parts out one at a time. Sounds like the fellow had parts and decided to put it together and something isn’t fitting properly. Changing multiple parts is just transferring the problem to your second gun.
Click to expand...

None of the np28 parts are staying on this gun, the double stack is far to beautiful and in way too nice condition for my conscience to let me do that, I’ll try some different parts combinations the next time I get to the range
 
I had a similar situation with two firearms of the same make. One was utterly reliable and stock, the other had been someone's project .... The project gun was temperamental. It would fire but not cycle and feed. As mentioned above, I swapped in known good working parts, and it functioned. Then progressively I returned the project parts until it stopped behaving. Trouble shooting 101.

Something else crossed my mind. Many handguns need a firm grip. Recoil and spring impulses need to push against something. That is the shooter. If you are afraid of the gun and babying the recoil, that is nothing any of us interested commentators can correct.

Edited to add - all semi auto handguns like to run wet. The wetter the better. A dry gun with friction problems is not going to cycle.
 
slug said:
Perhaps a long or wrong recoil spring.
It happened to me once and a shorter spring fixed it.
Click to expand...

I thought about that after my last range trip, honestly the full length guide rod is ugly imo and is getting replaced regardless along with the spring, next range trip I’ll try some different springs I ended up with
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
I had a similar situation with two firearms of the same make. One was utterly reliable and stock, the other had been someone's project .... The project gun was temperamental. It would fire but not cycle and feed. As mentioned above, I swapped in known good working parts, and it functioned. Then progressively I returned the project parts until it stopped behaving. Trouble shooting 101.

Something else crossed my mind. Many handguns need a firm grip. Recoil and spring impulses need to push against something. That is the shooter. If you are afraid of the gun and babying the recoil, that is nothing any of us interested commentators can correct.
Click to expand...


I am new to owning handguns as I only started buying them during the panic but I’ve shot them semi regularly for a few years before owning, I’ve also managed to acquire a wide range of calibers and makes including 5 1911s, the only handgun I’m not all that comfortable shooting is my bersa 380 but I’ve shot it the least so that’s expected, I’ve got 300 rounds through the np28, about 15 through the np29 and 150 through my tisas a1 in 45acp, I don’t think I’m scared of it and I’d like to think my recoil control is adequate but more range time is always needed

Also all my guns are wet, over greased and under worked is my philosophy with all equipment
 
Last edited:
I would buy a barrel link kit. They are relatively cheap and contain different size / length barrel links.

I am by no means a 1911 mechanic but have built a few and sometimes the lockup between the barrel and barrel hood can be an issue when it comes to feeding and going into battery
 
Markit said:
I would buy a barrel link kit. They are relatively cheap and contain different size / length barrel links.

I am by no means a 1911 mechanic but have built a few and sometimes the lockup between the barrel and barrel hood can be an issue when it comes to feeding and going into battery
Click to expand...

Definitely on the list, I’ve got another 1911 frame that will eventually be a terminator long slide copy so having extra parts won’t be bad
 
Can you see peening on the locking lugs? Many 9-1911 have a very poorly timed bbl and the result causes jamming, also ruining said barrel quickly.

Practically, on the two I have had, only a small part of the chamber "top" would lick the first slide lug during recoil.
The barrels "headspacing" was also way too short, allowing it to slam against the slide, which at that point wanted to move backward during firing, peening it.
In other words the slide might then recoil alone above the barrel and jam on it.
 
Last edited:
If you want to understand the platform, the Kuhnhausen manuals are worth the money.

<https://gunbooks.com/books/colt-45-automatic/>

<https://gunbooks.com/books/us-m1911-m1911a1-pistols/>
 
Wendell said:
If you want to understand the platform, the Kuhnhausen manuals are worth the money.

<https://gunbooks.com/books/colt-45-automatic/>

<https://gunbooks.com/books/us-m1911-m1911a1-pistols/>
Click to expand...

Beat me to it. I got my Kunhausen from Brownells MANY years ago.
 
take them or send them to a 1911 gunsmith
norinco guns are usually pretty good , but, a gunsmith will make them better
parts are an issue because most importers never bothered to buy them in recent times
 
Just a thought but John Browning designed the 1911 for use with 230 grain hardball ammunition. No expert but have seen more than a few with feeding problems that worked like a top with hardball.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom