My 1911 frequently jams

[tall.guy88]

I recently purchased a slightly used Sig Sauer 1911 scorpion edition. Right away I was getting feed jams once or twice each 8 round magazine.

I researched and heard that I should try better magazines. So the gun shop I bought it at gave me a free Wilson Combat magazine. I loaded a magazine and fired it off in the back yard. No issues. I then watched some Hickok45 videos on how to clean the gun and followed along. I oiled the gun well and put her back together.

Last night I went to the range with a friend. I shot 50 round through it and had at least one jam every magazine. The only thing that calmed me down was my friends 2 1911's jammed now and again too.

He told me I need to put 1000 or so rounds through it to break it in.


Whats your take?

 

[iH8DemLibz]

OP, not directed at you personally.

Break-In Periods. More internet lore BS.

A correctly built firearm should work right out of the box. 100% of the time. Suppose a person needs their firearm to function properly prior to the magical and wholly made up break-in round count. Then they are F****D!

First it was 50 rounds of break-in. Then 250. Then 500. Then 750. Now we're at 1,000 rounds before a person can rely on their firearm. 20 trips to the range if you shoot one box of 50 per trip. If you go once a month, that's damn near two years before the gun is reliable. Geeze!

If your new pistol is giving you fits, have it looked at by the company who built it. Make them fix it so it works. The gun shop giving you a magazine for your troubles is a Band-Aid.

.02

 

[jimbobborg]

Non-milspec 1911s do need a break in. They're not cheap plastic guns. Like the difference between a Honda and a Ferrari.

 

[lee2]

dont contact sig unless the gunshop you purchased it from tells you to piss up a tree.
take it back to them and have them make it right.

 

[Shamr0ck]

Another option is to consider contacting trikshot here on MDS.

John is an excellent 1911 smith and meets clients up at freestate. That may be a drive for you but I live in Frederick and am glad I made the trip twice.

Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tall.guy88]

I figured that may be the case. My M&P 9mm has jammed once in 1000 rounds. It fires great.

This gun is supposed to be a great 1911. It retails for $1250. I got it for a lot less. Still I think the guy that sold it might a done so bc it jammed so frequently.

 

[tall.guy88]

If I had to carry or use this gun for self defense Id crap my pants. Ill take it back to the gun store and see what they can do with it.

 

[bob finger]

Perhaps you discovered why the pistol was slightly used. A good 1911 smith should be able to take care of it for you. Me, I'd try a few different magazines first after a thorough cleaning and oiling of the feed parts. bob

 

[iH8DemLibz]

If I had to carry or use this gun for self defense Id crap my pants. Ill take it back to the gun store and see what they can do with it.

Good call, OP.

Cuzz for what you paid for that thing, it should get in the kitchen and make you bacon and eggs.

With happy ending for dessert.

Good luck.

 

[tall.guy88]

And wash the dog.

 

[Art3]

Did you try different types of ammo? Was your friend using the same ammo as you? Any chance the previous owner did anything to "mod" it?

 

[inkd]

I have nothing good to say about Sig 1911's and break in periods in general.

Take the gun to John Carduner or Scott at Scott's Gunsmithing to get it working properly.

 

[Art3]

OP, not directed at you personally.

Break-In Periods. More internet lore BS.

A correctly built firearm should work right out of the box. 100% of the time. Suppose a person needs their firearm to function properly prior to the magical and wholly made up break-in round count. Then they are F****D!

First it was 50 rounds of break-in. Then 250. Then 500. Then 750. Now we're at 1,000 rounds before a person can rely on their firearm. 20 trips to the range if you shoot one box of 50 per trip. If you go once a month, that's damn near two years before the gun is reliable. Geeze!

If your new pistol is giving you fits, have it looked at by the company who built it. Make them fix it so it works. The gun shop giving you a magazine for your troubles is a Band-Aid.

.02

If I had to carry or use this gun for self defense Id crap my pants. Ill take it back to the gun store and see what they can do with it.

Many years ago, my best friend moved to Virginia. Naturally, he got his carry permit as soon as possible (because...'Merica) and bought a chopped down 1911 to go with it. I think it was a Springfield. It had probably a 3" barrel and shortened grip. I found it to be a nastly little .45 to shoot...snappy recoil and just not enough real estate to wrap my fat hands around. He admitted it was way more comfortable to carry than shoot, too. Before he trusted his life to it, he wanted to make sure it was broken in. So, he put 500 rounds through it...in one range trip! He said between the recoil, heat (had to put it down to cool a couple times just so he could hold it), and constant mag loading, it about destroyed his hands. BUT...no failures of any type and it was "broken in."

 

[Melnic]

Im no expert but here is my experiences with 1911s that might pertain to you.
My friend has a Taurus (don't slam me, I did not buy it and he got it before I could say anything). He got a Wilson Combat mag and no problems.
My dad has a Ruger and zero problems.
I have a WW2 Remington Rand and I had all kind of problems with the ammo I was using (forgot the brand) as well as my reloads which were zero problems in my dad's gun.
Lou45 told me to use Winchester White box and my 1911a1 shot just fine with the GI mag. I later got a Ruger Mag and it shot fine with others.
I believe some of the mag issues I had was the mag feed lips were holding onto the case too long and then that caused it to jam.

You can start with trying different ammo with the stock mag or just trash them. I read/hear many others trash them or sell off.

 

[Pinecone]

1) What ammo were you firing? Try some basic 230 grain FMJ. If it will not cycle this, there is a problem.

2) Are you limp wristing the pistol? The 1911 needs a firm wrist to work against. My first 1911 that NEVER had any issues in my hands, would not run 3 rounds in succession with a friend. He just had too limp of a grip.

Failure to feed can be ammo (short rounds or poor bullet shape) or the feed ramp or barrel may have issues. Factories do make mistakes. You contact them, they have you ship it back, they fix it. Best to send it back instead of having a local FFL messing around with it.

Some pistols do need a break in. My ex-wife's Kahr stated in the manual to fire at least 200 rounds before relying on it for self defense.

Back in the 90s, Para P-14s needed a few hundred rounds to function 100%. Mine and several friends saw this. Tight fit, without all surfaces being polished require some break in, just a car needs break in.

One should NEVER rely on a pistol for self defense until a significant number of rounds have been fired without any issues. I normally put 100 rounds through a new to me pistol. If it has no problems, I am fine with it. If not, I shoot it more, until it can run 100 rounds without any issues.

 

[Mark75H]

Perhaps you discovered why the pistol was slightly used. A good 1911 smith should be able to take care of it for you. Me, I'd try a few different magazines first after a thorough cleaning and oiling of the feed parts. bob

I ride with Bob's suggestions. John Carduner is worth every penny he takes.

 

[DeadeyeJack]

Take it to Scott's. He runs a gunsmith shop, with sales being secondary, not just a retailer who has a few tools and youtube. Then you can make an educated decision on how to proceed.

 

[mopar92]

Send it back to Sig before you come out of pocket to fix it.

 

[Rapture]

I had a similar problem with my new SR1911 using Winchester 230. I had it lubed up with Ballistol and would get a jam every so often. Since I haven't cleaned it after putting about 100 rounds through, it seems to be running just fine now. I prolly had too much lube on it.

 

[tall.guy88]

This community is great. I gotta come out to the next meet and greet.

After reading a lot of good comments, first thing Im doing is dropping the gun off at the FFL. Ill let them put rounds through it and check it out. From there I could always send it back to Sig. Or just dump it back on the FFL. If this thing doesnt get fixed, there are many other guns out there.