[BobRowe]

I'm getting repeated failures to feed in my Para Companion Carry Option - about one FTF every two magazines. It occurs during actual firing and also when initially loading a full mag and then releasing the slide stop.

The FTF round appears to be stopping or jamming against the inside top of the chamber opening. It does it with both Wilson Combat and McCormick Shooting Star mags. The gun has about 500 rounds through it. It has done this with the following ammo:
(1) Federal 230 gr Hydra Shoks
(2) Winchester "white box" 230 gr FMJ (round nose)
(3) Winchester "white box" 185 gr FMJ (truncated cone)
(4) 230 gr FMJ-RN handloads

I have polished the barrel feed ramp. It is now class smooth. The recoil spring has been replaced. Still have FTF's.

Any suggestions. If I send it in for reliability work, what are the recommendations?

BTW, all of the above ammo and both magazines have 100% reliability in my Kimber Compact.

Thanks. --Bob

 

[pulpsmack]

#1: Ditch all non Para mags. As of lately I have had probs with all the brands you have described. That might be the quickest fix possible. If it doesn't work I suspect you will at least notice more rounds passing through before the FTFs. I had the exact problem with Para C7SN #1. after 3 rounds of "honing" they replaced it. key elements include throating the barrel & focus on the extractor. You may also wish to polish the feed ramp between sessions with a dremel.

 

[BobRowe]

Pulpsmack,

Thanks for the reply.

As I mentioned, I have already polished the feedramp. All of my Para mags are junk -- they're worse than any other mag.

This gun should work with standard officer's mags - P-O even says so. And I have a collection of 15 Wilson and McCormick mags, so don't want to have mags that work fine in one gun but not in another.

Before ditching these good mags that work in better guns, I'd ditch the P-O pistol first.

 

[pulpsmack]

Maybe I should use my language more carefully...

I meant "ditch" in the sense of leaving them on the shelf, not in the trash for your purposes. With respect to your main point, I couldn't agree more. The marriage between mag and magwell should be harmonius, period. My suggestion has 2 purposes though. The first is to see if it functions well with Para mags despite poor mating of CMCs & Wilsons. The second reason is that Wilson will (and does) play the "It's not a 1911, and probably out of spec" card, and Para might point the finger right back. If you have probs with the Para mag then Para will not have that argument at their disposal. best of luck.

 

[gnsmith]

Bob,

Be sure to polish the top of the chamber. This is where the bullet first strikes the barrel ( assuming it isn't low and hits the ramp ). If it is rough, the bullet digs in and can stop.
Good Luck,

G

 

[BobRowe]

gnsmith,

Thanks for your response. When I initially polished the barrel ramp, I also polished the top of the chamber opening. I just checked, and it's still smooth. Of course, it could be at the wrong angle or something, and I would rather have a pistolsmith check that.

I'm leaning toward sending it in to either Cylinder & Slide or to Novaks, and have them do a reliability package on it, as well as fit the problem with it shooting low. The latter may take a sight change. If that's the case, I change to Novak Lo-Mount tritium sights, which work well on my Kimber compact. On the other hand, on my Kimber Gold Match I have plain black rear sight and a gold bead front sight, and that also works well, even in low light conditions, but of course not in total darkness.

 

[Hunter Customs]

BobRowe
There's several things that can be causing the problem you are having.
Here's a partial list, improper extractor tension, damaged extractor, extractor clocking,incorrect recoil spring weight, recoil spring installed incorrectly, burr on breech face, ammo striking slide stop lug, slide stop or slide lock safety dragging on bottom of slide this can be mechanical or shooter induced, thumb rubbing against slide if you use the high thumb position, incorrect location of mag catch window in the magazine body, damaged mag body or mag lips,worn or damaged mag catch, weak mag springs, improper feed ramp angle, improper barrel throat, rough or out of round chamber, recoil buffer, barrel timing, magazine timing( the release of the roung by changing lip position), improper hand position or grip and there is several others that could be added to the list. The point I'm trying to make is its very hard to diagnose a problem such as this without having the gun in ones hand. If this is a new gun I would not recommend changing anything on the gun at this time, as it may void the warranty, I would discuss this with Para first. My experience has been that the shorter hollow point ammo feeds more reliable from magazines with the V shaped lips versus magazines with Parallel lips especially in the shorter guns. Also the shorter guns being less forgiving, its very critical that everything is correct with them.
Regards
Bob Hunter
(816) 675-2340
www.huntercustoms.com

 

[BobRowe]

Bob Hunter,

Thanks for all the info. I'll start checking on some of the more obvious, owner-checkable things first.

--Bob