I have a question for the 1911 guys, I have a Sig Tac Ops that is failing to return to battery on the last 1/4. The gun used to run 100 percent but has been having difficulty lately and doesn’t seem to make much difference how clean or lubricated it is. I am assuming the recoil spring is getting tired on it as it’s probably digested about 1500 rounds or more by now. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement recoil spring or spring kit for it, I know these are a flat spring and may not work with a Wolff spring. Any help greatly appreciated.
Sig 1911 FTRB
- Thread starter Blue_Fish
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Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
Was the gun new? 1500 rounds from a new gun will not tire a recoil spring.
I’ve seen this before in a SIG and a S&W. Mine happened after shooting about 100 rounds and sporadically. I just push it back into battery and it works. I’ve found that it comes from a dirty chamber, yes, even from 100 rounds. When I disassemble and try and just drop a fresh round into the chamber, it will get stuck and must be pushed in. The round will drop in easily when the chamber is clean. It never happens with the first few mags, right?
I never tried to solve the problem and sold the guns instead. Gave up being a 1911 fan!
I’ve seen this before in a SIG and a S&W. Mine happened after shooting about 100 rounds and sporadically. I just push it back into battery and it works. I’ve found that it comes from a dirty chamber, yes, even from 100 rounds. When I disassemble and try and just drop a fresh round into the chamber, it will get stuck and must be pushed in. The round will drop in easily when the chamber is clean. It never happens with the first few mags, right?
I never tried to solve the problem and sold the guns instead. Gave up being a 1911 fan!
Yes, sounds like the exact same issue, I might have to try sonic cleaning it or something but I will test the barrel disassembled and yes only after the first couple of mags. I may have quite a few more rounds through it, hard to say as I’ve owned it for a number of years and bought it new. Just don’t shoot it much because I prefer the striker fired pistols.
Reloads or factory ammo? My Sig 1911 chamber is on the tighter side. I've had to pickup a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die for my press and plunk test my ammo batches. So far, no more issues. The only other time I had failure to retun to battery was when I was using FireClean and FrogLube that made my slide sluggish after it's been sitting in the safe for about 3wks unused.
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
Reloads will be same or worse depending on the powder used. I used factory reloads through mine and same issue.
Tight tolerances on higher end guns can have reliability issues vs the cheap Norincos.
Like you, I prefer my Glocks!
Hummm, could be carbon buildup, I know mine gets a fair bit. I usually clean it with a bronze brush. Haven't had feeding issues in a while. Try the plunk test with some of the factory ammo?
1riot1ranger
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Clean the extractor channel and check the extractor tension.
1riot1ranger
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary, AB
You should remove the extractor and clean the channel as part of your regular maintenance. Unless you are using a very clean burning powder, some amount of gunk will accumulate in and around the extractor. This buildup - and/or small chunks of brass - will inhibit the flex of the extractor mimicking the symptom of an over-tensioned extractor.
Definitely try a new standard-weight recoil spring. It's possible that it was out-of-spec to start with (mistakes happen), and it's possible that it's just used up. Running a heavier recoil spring might make it more reliable, but if it does that's treating the symptom, not the disease.
Assuming your ammunition is in-spec and the pistol's timing and extractor tension is correct, it sounds like you have drag somewhere. "Tight" pistols need to have smoother running surfaces in order to function reliably.
Rough surfaces hold more fouling, so it never hurts to carefully polish all surfaces that the unfired cartridge runs against on the feed cycle: Mag lips, barrel / frame feed ramp (don't know which one your pistol has), relevant extractor surfaces, and chamber mouth.
Additionally, you can polish the running surfaces where the extractor bears against the slide. Also the complete interior of the chamber. Aside from reducing unnecessary friction in the feeding system, polishing these surfaces will mean less buildup of fouling in general, allowing longer stretches between cleaning.
Hopefully this will take care of the issue. If not, polishing the lockup surfaces might help, but you've got to be super careful with that.
Assuming your ammunition is in-spec and the pistol's timing and extractor tension is correct, it sounds like you have drag somewhere. "Tight" pistols need to have smoother running surfaces in order to function reliably.
Rough surfaces hold more fouling, so it never hurts to carefully polish all surfaces that the unfired cartridge runs against on the feed cycle: Mag lips, barrel / frame feed ramp (don't know which one your pistol has), relevant extractor surfaces, and chamber mouth.
Additionally, you can polish the running surfaces where the extractor bears against the slide. Also the complete interior of the chamber. Aside from reducing unnecessary friction in the feeding system, polishing these surfaces will mean less buildup of fouling in general, allowing longer stretches between cleaning.
Hopefully this will take care of the issue. If not, polishing the lockup surfaces might help, but you've got to be super careful with that.
