[Brett Joshua]

The other day my 1911 malfunctioned four times while shooting Fiocchi 230 gr FMJs. I bought the 50 pack and shot all of it with my Wilson 47D mags. Two times after firing the second to last round, the last fresh round ejected completely with it. The other two times the last fresh round got stuck between the ejection port and the slide. All four times I reloaded the last round into the gun and fired.

The last time I shot Fiocchis I had a different problem - after ejecting the spent mag and loading a fresh one, the slide automatically slammed shut and chambered the first round. The range master told me this was because the ammo did not create enough recoil to lock the slide back completely after firing the last round.

Are Fiocchi's no good? Or is there a problem with my 1911? (Colt Series 80)

Thanks!

 

[yucapote]

I've been using Fiocchi fo several years with out any malfunction.

The range master told me this was because the ammo did not create enough recoil to lock the slide back completely after firing the last round.

They are hotter than american ammo so I think there is other problem. What's the weigth of your recoil spring? Do you use any buffers?

 

[Brett Joshua]

I do not use any buffers. How do I find out the weight of my recoil spring?

I suspect Fiocchi because over 10 other types of ammo have worked just fine in my weapon. I shot 8 rounds of Silver Bear today and no malfunctions...

 

[yucapote]

How do I find out the weight of my recoil spring?

If the gun is straigth from the factory the recoil spring is #16. Since Fiocchi is the only ammo that don't work in your gun just don't use it. Sometimes some guns don't like certain kinds of ammo. You should post your problem on the Colt section to see if other people have the same experience with Fiocchi.

 

[mark1174]

My problem with Fiocchi

I bought a box of 230gr. fmj fiocchi .45acp at my local range and had nothing but problems with it. All of the rounds were either too long for the chamber, or weren't resized properly. I had several jams in which a loaded cartridge went into the chamber, but not enough to allow the slide to fully close and go into battery. A few had to be knocked out with a dowel.

After the fifth jam, I took the box back to the range manager, and he THEN told me they had lots of problems with this lot of Fiocchi and he pulled all the other boxes off the shelf to send back to his vendor.

Other than that, it was fine. LOL

 

[Hansgraf]

The problems with the last round ejecting or getting stuck vertically sounds like a weak mag spring. I have no clue what the slide closing may be caused by.

 

[mark1174]

My guess is...

I think the probably culprit was the LOA of the cartridge. I think it was too long to allow the slide to go all the way home.

 

[Bacchus]

I've only purchased one box of Fiocchi ammo. It was in 12 gauge and wouldn't feed worth anything.

 

[Hempy]

I've never had a problem with it and appreciate it's price point. But as was mentioned above, heck if it doesn't happen to work for you, just don't use it.

 

[spd522]

Local PD used to use it but seems quality has gone downhill. The plant is just down the road so they got great deals etc. Except it's not such a great deal when they don't go bang. I don't think it was feed or ejection problems-just rounds not going off. 40 cal was the worst but I understand the 9mm became a problem also.

Most of the problems were with Glocks (go figure) but since it is the issue sidearm, they changed duty ammo.

I have never had any problems shooting Fiocchi 9mm or 45 in my Sigs when they were my duty guns. Get what you pay for when it comes to guns too.......:biglaugh:

 

[SAWBONES]

I've NEVER had a problem with Fiocchi or S&B 230GR FMJ.

I doubt your rounds were underpowered.
Both these manufacturers seem to load the cartridge in question a bit hotter than, say, Federal American Eagle.

I'd try changing springs, or shooting the same ammo in a different 1911 before accepting that the ammo was at fault.

Best.

 

[Str8_Shot]

Brett

Read the thread linked below. There is at least one person having an issue with Fiocchi ammo, JHP in this case. The basic issues are over all length is too long and bullet diameter is too big for the chamber.

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61293

I hope this helps.
Str8_Shot

 

[poohgyrr]

I've stayed away from Fiocchi since a lot of people reported problems with their .40 rounds over on the IDPA list a few years ago. This was for all kinds of pistols IIRC.

 

[scubie02]

I shot 4 or 5 cliploads of it today with no problems. But I've never had a problem with any ammo to date.

 

[TRB]

It's odd that it would be too long... OAL on the last ones I bought averaged around 1.250, with the occassional long ones going to 1.255
Federal Am Eagle is the longest factory OAL in my experience, running 1.260-1.265, durn close to maximum spec.
I've had good expereinces overall with Fiocch (and American Eagle for that matter; my guns -like- long OALs), but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they may be having some QC problems in random lots.

 

[Wangstang]

Brett

Read the thread linked below. There is at least one person having an issue with Fiocchi ammo, JHP in this case. The basic issues are over all length is too long and bullet diameter is too big for the chamber.

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61293

I hope this helps.
Str8_Shot

As he mentioned above, my issues are explained pretty much with these posts:

Update,

I would have to say it is the ammo. I disassembled the pistol, took 25rds of the fiocchi, inserted them one at a time into the barrel horizontial and then turned chamber down to see if or how the rd would fall out. The rds all took shaking to make them fall out. Then I took 25rds of 185grn JHP Speer Gold Dot, and found that as soon as the barrel as turned chamber port down, the rds fell out. So, I then tried the same thing with 25rds of Winchester 230grn JHP, and had the same results as the speer, the rds just fell out with out any work.

So, I will run a few rds thorugh it this afternoon. I might see if it will feed the fiocchi with the 18#Recoil spring better than it does with the 16#Recoil spring as the ammo does seem to run fine in the Glock 21 I have been shooting.

What kind of measurements of the Fiocchi would you guys like to have? I can caliper them and I can weigh them if you would like.

Thanks a ton for all of the help, and I have to say I learned more in this thread than you guys might realize.

Wes

And

Ran 25rds of Winchester JHP with out a problem, then I ran 5rds of fiocchi and jamed 3 out of the five times so I stoped there, and switched over to the speer gold dot and ran 25rds with out problem. I guess the fiocchi is built to the max limits and just won't run in my Kimber for now.

Here are some comparison pics:
http://www.1911forum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=526485

http://www.1911forum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=526511

To me, it appeared as if the rounds were not only longer but a little on the "chubby" side for a lack of a better term to describe them. That is, not only did they look longer, but they also seem to be slight wider. I need to put a caliper on the rds I have left and mass them to compare them to other manufactures.

The thing that made me hesitant to blame the ammo at first was the fact that it ran great through a Glock 21 and 4000rds of 9mm that I bought at the same time which was Fiocchi 115grain JHP has shot fine as well thorugh glock 17's and 19's.

My kimber just couldn't swallow the rds I guess.

I never had a problem with the rds actually going bang, it was just with getting them to seat in the chamber so they could go bang.

Wes

 

[BKC45ACP]

My experience...

is that I have never had a malfunction with fiocchi. I have shot 1000 rounds of ball in .45, from ammoman.com, and have not had a ammo related issue.

 

[brokeeye]

There 12 steel shot is junk wouldn`t even shoot it if it was free