[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Okay, after slobbering all over the Baron I decided to shoot her.

Oiled her as I normally do during break in. Locked her back, added oil to frame rails and let gravity work. First 75 rounds-no prob. Then the slide slowed greatly. Not good. Bagged her up and took her home. Gave her a good cleaning due to slide slow down.

Next trip, same thing, except this time she started locking past slide stop notch. Hmmmm-this is not good, at all. Instead of posting on the forum, for once in my life I decided to keep it low key until I had all the answers.

Next step-email to Anthony. Reply-Keep shooting her. I'm talking to Steve while ordering SG and describe my issues and oiling regimen. He says, field strip her before shooting and add oil to barrel, bushing, lugs, ejector channel, disco rail and frame rails. He says, "If the first shot does not splatter oil on your safety glasses, you didn't apply enough."

Okay, this guy has forgotten more about the 1911 than I, CA, BDM, G50 et al know, so I SLOP HER DOWN. My glasses still are oily. But, you know what, she ran like a champ. Did the same thing today with the last 200 break in rounds-no probs. But boy, was she filthy when I cleaned her!

Lesson? Don't panic if your new gun has a hitch in her get-along. My gal was very, very tight, but now she is purrrrrfect!

Oh, CA, I also ran the final 150 break in rounds through the TE 10. That sucker slings some brass!

Peace brothers.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Thanks guys. I didn't want to immediately report the issue on this Forum because I knew Anthony/Steve could provide superb counsel on getting her going, and I wanted to submit a positive/informative vs negative post. As Brad correctly pointed out, this gun is simply very tight, which caused a bit of hassle to begin with, but now is a great asset.

How great is it that we have at our disposal guys like Anthony and Steve, and gals like Tressa and Bre.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

They do, and we all learn from that. In my case, the slide locking seemed serious, so I contacted Wilson to be sure nothing serious was wrong. If it was, I would have sent it back. As it turns out the oiling recommended by Steve was more extensive than I had been doing. I wanted to share his recommendations.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Pics? Last time I posted a couple pictures of targets with the middle shot out, and I got chastised for being too lazy to change targets. Can you believe that?:bawling::bawling:

Problem is, it's true. After a while I just start aiming for the hole. Saves paper.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Will do Mac. Makes no sense changing targets every four mags. I like the Dirty Bird targets. They are great for impact visualization, but not cheap.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Thanks ebanul!! I'll order a 50 pack of 10".

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

I like those dirty birds. Just started useing those last weekend. Love those little re usable dots. Can't hardly type hand un steady just placed an order with Greg.

What did you decide on?

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

I think you've figured out exactly what Anthony has been referring to when he advises to run the gun wet. I recently starting breaking in a couple of non-WC custom shop guns. Regardless of what they recommend, they get the same break-in treatment as any of my other new 1911's - field strip, clean & lube, then prior to loading the 1st mag at the range, they get a couple more drops of lube at the firing line on the rails & barrel hood.

About 100 rounds into the firing session, I have to stop and wipe the trickle of lube off my hands, as it has a tendency to run down towards the back of the slide. My last time out at the range last week, I tried out some M-Pro 7 lube, I was impressed, the pistols we silky smooth through 200 rounds. I hope to punish them a little more this weekend.

Oh by the way, nice job taking charge and seeking out a solution. The easy way would've been to just create a panic thread, but you chose to take ownership. Well done and thanks for sharing your experience.

I missed this until just now. Thanks for the kind words. Panic thread is a good phrase. I did not think it was anything serious, but did not want to damage the gun or myself. My inclination was to keep shooting it, but... .

I suspect another issue may have been the use of Lite Oil. Won't do that again on break in.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Ebanul suggested these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AAORNHO/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1T1DQ9NM74XJX.

I checked them out and ordered some in, I believe, 10 inch. Much cheaper.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Thank you sir. I have learned a lot in a short time on this forum from so many very smart people. It's nice to return the favor. A lot has been posted about break in oiling, but thanks to Steve I was able to expand on the subject. Steve deserves the credit. Kudos also to WCR.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Looks like I buy used so it's ready for duty when I get it. I don't have the time to babysit a $3000 "combat" pistol for the first 1000 rounds.

I look at it as the opportunity to learn the characteristics of each gun. Each has it's own personality. The Baron played hard to get, but she may end up being the best shooter in the bunch due to her very tight slide.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

FBF, thank you for the kind words. Just trying to help a friend and fellow shooter.

That comment means more to me than you will ever know, coming from a shooting/smithing mastermind. This fall I will be riding my Harley to see you guys again.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

FBF - great job on being willing to be self-determinate with the problem-solving. All of us here have learned a lot from WCR, and Wilson's CS reps, as well as the many members here who are so well versed in the 1911 platform. This is a great forum, and especially the Wilson sub-forum. I ran my Baron CQB really wet during break-in, and even after break-in I always have just enough lube to get lube-splatter on my glasses with the first few shots at the beginning of the range session. As you know, that Baron CQB of mine is smooth as butter now, and can easily out-shoot my current diminished abilities. Keep yours wet, and run her strong, she will purr like a kitten when you're done with break in.

Thanks Pops!!

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

Good call on holding off until you had more information.

I'm currently doing the same thing right now with a different issue. I just don't think it's good to start polluting the forum with threads that will almost certainly send folks into a panic, which will result in wasted WC Support time.

Once I have the problem/solution sorted out, I can come back and do a quick write up on the problem and how it was handled so other people dealing with a similar problem can get the whole story in one thread.

Glad your gun is running as it should and thanks for not being an alarmist! LOL

My sentiments exactly. You said it better than me. Thank you.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

I'll take a picture next time I shoot her. Even though she is officially broken in, I will continue to apply liberal oil at the beginning of a range session---at least for a few more hundred rounds.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

So here's an interesting thought. WCR rep has said many times that one of the purposes of the 400-500 round break in is to burnish the Armor-Tuff in the slide-to-frame fit but what about a blued or stainless gun? Do these guns need 400-500 rounds? Maybe less? :scratch:

Thoughts anyone?

I feel qualified to answer this due to my current experience. The third time I shot the Baron, after applying oil per Steve's instructions, and after switching from Lite Oil to Ultima Lube, the gun ran extremely well. When I cleaned it, it was filthy. I have very little doubt much of the gunk was metal particles which, as G50 suggested, acted as a lapping agent.

So, to answer the question, I think it depends on the original fit and degree of tightness. AT no doubt has more texture than blue, but even blue should be treated the same during break in.

I get a chuckle out of those who say a $4000 gun should not require break in, and should run perfectly out of the box. We want a gun that is going to run as close to perfectly as possible for a long time. Wilson, or the other big guys, could deliver guns so loose as to not require any break in, but once 5000 rounds are put through that gun, slide/frame fit would no doubt be looser than we want. I would much prefer going through the break in process, even a somewhat troublesome one, knowing the gun will continue to be very tight for years to come.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

"Now is there anyone that can talk about a stainless steel gun? Since this is a material and not a finish I wonder if the procedure and/or round count would be any different than a blued or AT'ed gun."

I can also speak from experience, as I have recently broken in two stainless TEs. With those two, I had zero issues, even using Lite Oil. Let me retract that a bit. I did have an issue with the Wilson 10mm mags seating when there was a chambered round. I bought four Tripp mags, and that did it.

But as far as break in, I will stand by my former statement. The tighter the new gun, the greater the chance of minor issues during break in. I would rather those issues and end up with a perfectly fitting gun. I honestly don't believe the material makes a difference. G50 did a great job of describing the lapping.

Looking back on the Baron break in issues, I am convinced those issues would not have occurred had I used Ultima Lube vs. Lite Oil, and oiled the whole gun per Steve's recommendations.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

When I first joined this forum one of the guys was always talking about using a certain toothpaste as a lapping compound. I'm surprised we have not heard from him.

 

[Flanged Barrel Fanatic]

I am happy to report that today I put 50 rounds through BB CQB, without a hiccup. The break in is officially over! Long live tight fitting guns.