new SA owner, G.I. hi-cap
new SA owner, G.I. hi-cap aka wide body. a few questions
first of all, like to tell you guys thanks for the influence on buying a springfield. i read through the forums and found other firearm makers have more problems than SA. i asked my local gunsmith which 1911 brand i should go with. he also recomeneded springfield. he said " (brand X) was good quailty untill about 7 years ago. now you only pay for the name." the same gunsmith also played influence on buying my Ruger p89. he said "for the price vs. quailty you get, can't go wrong with a Ruger. they also have a strong warranty behing them." my longest influence was from when i was 13 years old watching a shooting show on TV about military firearms. "the germans were terrified of the americans 45's in WW2." that has stuck in my head over the years for some reason.
i do have a few questions.
1. i know Para and STI mags will work this gun. i noticed on my mag (only 1 mag, a little disapointed with SA) there are no markings that say "springfield armory". no stamps, nothing. why is this ? are there any magazines that you guys recomend using ? mag's you recomend staying away from ?
2. What ammo is recomended. will shooting hallow points vs. ball make a diffrence as far as misfires, extration, ect. my buddy says 230 grain, dos'nt matter as far as hallow point vs. ball on a G.I. model only on "hopped up compitition pistols." is he right about this ?
3. is it posible to build a widebody/longslide hybrid. ? i know there is one company that does, but it was very expensive.
in case anyone is wandering. i picked this 1911 up for $529 + tax = 561.29
the sporting/pawn shop i go through charges 10% over cost. he said the exra mags will run 25-30 bucks each.
thanks in advance
first of all, like to tell you guys thanks for the influence on buying a springfield. i read through the forums and found other firearm makers have more problems than SA. i asked my local gunsmith which 1911 brand i should go with. he also recomeneded springfield. he said " (brand X) was good quailty untill about 7 years ago. now you only pay for the name." the same gunsmith also played influence on buying my Ruger p89. he said "for the price vs. quailty you get, can't go wrong with a Ruger. they also have a strong warranty behing them." my longest influence was from when i was 13 years old watching a shooting show on TV about military firearms. "the germans were terrified of the americans 45's in WW2." that has stuck in my head over the years for some reason.
i do have a few questions.
1. i know Para and STI mags will work this gun. i noticed on my mag (only 1 mag, a little disapointed with SA) there are no markings that say "springfield armory". no stamps, nothing. why is this ? are there any magazines that you guys recomend using ? mag's you recomend staying away from ?
2. What ammo is recomended. will shooting hallow points vs. ball make a diffrence as far as misfires, extration, ect. my buddy says 230 grain, dos'nt matter as far as hallow point vs. ball on a G.I. model only on "hopped up compitition pistols." is he right about this ?
3. is it posible to build a widebody/longslide hybrid. ? i know there is one company that does, but it was very expensive.
in case anyone is wandering. i picked this 1911 up for $529 + tax = 561.29
the sporting/pawn shop i go through charges 10% over cost. he said the exra mags will run 25-30 bucks each.
thanks in advance
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I thought all springfields came with 2 magazines.:scratch:
You may have got ripped off.
I will check next time I run by the gunshop.
(edited to add, I think I stuck my foot in my mouth on this one.
The pawn shop has a used semi loaded one I looked at a while
back and it had two factory magazines. )
Might check these guys out, good people to do business with.
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/sphi412faman.html
Im not sure if this is the right magazine, but someelse should know.
You may have got ripped off.
I will check next time I run by the gunshop.
(edited to add, I think I stuck my foot in my mouth on this one.
The pawn shop has a used semi loaded one I looked at a while
back and it had two factory magazines. )
Might check these guys out, good people to do business with.
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/sphi412faman.html
Im not sure if this is the right magazine, but someelse should know.
My hi-cap went straight from Springfield to my FFL, and it had only one mag. The factory mag is a Mec-Gar. While they are good, they hold only 13 rounds, while Para's holds 14.
I've "heard" Mec-Gar is considering a USPSA-legal, 140mm .45 mag, which should hold 17 rounds. I bought an Arredondo +2 basepad (intended for Para) for my Springer, but it is not compatible with the frame. If the frame was cut for a S&A magwell funnel, it would probably work, but not on a stock frame.
When you say hybrid, do you mean the ported Schuemann barrel? I'm sure you could find someone (SVI?) who could cut a slide, fit the barrel, etc. I'm sure it would be expensive.
I've "heard" Mec-Gar is considering a USPSA-legal, 140mm .45 mag, which should hold 17 rounds. I bought an Arredondo +2 basepad (intended for Para) for my Springer, but it is not compatible with the frame. If the frame was cut for a S&A magwell funnel, it would probably work, but not on a stock frame.
When you say hybrid, do you mean the ported Schuemann barrel? I'm sure you could find someone (SVI?) who could cut a slide, fit the barrel, etc. I'm sure it would be expensive.
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All the GIs and Mil Specs came with one mag, that's what was speced on the SA website.
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The semi loaded version of the hi caps came with 2 mags. Springfield either shipped the hi caps with marked or unmarked MecGar mags or ProMags. The unmarked MecGars should have an A stamped on the side of the mag body. I believe the ProMags were completely unmarked. MecGars hold 13 rounds and the ProMags hold 14. Big difference in finish and overall quality between the two. I never had much luck with anythign with the ProMag name on it. The MecGars I have work pretty much flawlessly.
I didn't think the standard STI mags would work, only the STI for Para versions which are no longer available. MecGar is supposedly working on some new Para mags since their current ones are based on the old versions and hold one less round than factory Para mags due to slightly shorter length tubes. If they start doing a 140mm tube for the .45's, that would be sweet.
I didn't think the standard STI mags would work, only the STI for Para versions which are no longer available. MecGar is supposedly working on some new Para mags since their current ones are based on the old versions and hold one less round than factory Para mags due to slightly shorter length tubes. If they start doing a 140mm tube for the .45's, that would be sweet.
thanks for your help guys.but bad news right off, went and shot it for the first time today. jammed mulitple times. the rounds did not want to feed into the chamber complete. i called the guy at the pawn shop. i told him the situation and he said "i'm almost positive its the feed ramp, but it may be posible its the mag. " the other mags should be here thurday. he also said if i take it to gunsmith, just have the gunsmith send him the bill. i kep't telling the guy its not his fault. "well, you should'nt have to pay for band new gun, then pay for someone to work on it." i said "yeah but i could send it back to springfield, i just to want to wait 2-3 weeks. i waited long enough to get this thing in the first place." hopfully i get off work in time to take it to the gunsmilth.
anyone else have this problem. i was shooting remington 230grain hallow points, then switched to remington 230gr. hardball.
anyone else have this problem. i was shooting remington 230grain hallow points, then switched to remington 230gr. hardball.
While your are waiting for the new magazines,
CLEAN it very well.
Guns in pawnshops tend to be the dirtest guns I
have ever seen.
Also take more than one type of ammo to the
range next time you shoot it.
When I was breaking in my Springfield I bought
Blazers, red box Federal, WWB, and Remington
230 grain FMJ. At first my LW didnt like the WWB
for some reason.
CLEAN it very well.
Guns in pawnshops tend to be the dirtest guns I
have ever seen.
Also take more than one type of ammo to the
range next time you shoot it.
When I was breaking in my Springfield I bought
Blazers, red box Federal, WWB, and Remington
230 grain FMJ. At first my LW didnt like the WWB
for some reason.
If you load the mag, and then thumb rounds out again, does the spring smartly push the ammo back to the top, or is it sluggish? The one mag I got with my gun seemed a little lazy, and there would be noticeable delay before the rounds were firmly against the feed lips, and I suspect this wouldn't be good for feed reliability.
kels- i bought the gun brand new.(pawn shops being dirty comment) this pawn shop is probley the cleanest i've seen. i just don't care for the shag carpet. :biglaugh: i did bring 2 types of ammo, just the same brand.
rick b- it "smartly" put the rounds into the top of the mag. those last 3 rounds are a bitch to get in mag without hurting your thumb.
the mags hav'nt came in yet, but i don't have my 1911 now.
i took my pistol to the gun smith. right off he took it apart and noticed a sharp edge on the end of the chamber. he said "this may take a little time. but if it makes you feel any better. i've seen in pistols that cost twice as much jam on the very first shot fired. and that just ain't right" since quail season is full swing, and dove season is right around the conner, he is swamped with shotguns to work on. people tend to wait for the last minute before bringing there broken firearms in. deer season is worse, people want their rifles scoped and repaired the day before the hunt. (sorry off subject) it will be saturday before he can start on it. i left him some hallow points i had left over, and he said he had some hardball ammo in his shop to test fire both. he also said, "as long as i have it here, theres some other things i'll do so this gun won't cause you anymore problems in the future."
rick b- it "smartly" put the rounds into the top of the mag. those last 3 rounds are a bitch to get in mag without hurting your thumb.
the mags hav'nt came in yet, but i don't have my 1911 now.
i took my pistol to the gun smith. right off he took it apart and noticed a sharp edge on the end of the chamber. he said "this may take a little time. but if it makes you feel any better. i've seen in pistols that cost twice as much jam on the very first shot fired. and that just ain't right" since quail season is full swing, and dove season is right around the conner, he is swamped with shotguns to work on. people tend to wait for the last minute before bringing there broken firearms in. deer season is worse, people want their rifles scoped and repaired the day before the hunt. (sorry off subject) it will be saturday before he can start on it. i left him some hallow points i had left over, and he said he had some hardball ammo in his shop to test fire both. he also said, "as long as i have it here, theres some other things i'll do so this gun won't cause you anymore problems in the future."
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Thin metal would be MecGar.Torch said:Bought two mags from SA for my GI HC and they look different than the one that came with the gun. They have a thicker baseplate, possibly hard plastic. The one that came with the gun has a baseplate that is just flat metal. Have not tried them out yet.
Plastic would be ProMag.
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1,870 Posts
Mine had some problems initially with my 200 gr. LSWC reloads, but seemed to feed 230 gr. ball reloads and factory without incident. After a few hundred rounds and a change in the OAL of my 200 gr. LSWC's, it seems to feed pretty much everything just fine.LHC said:
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62 Posts
Mine came with 1 mag also. I called Springfield about more mags, thay said they are their own mags, funny I said, it looks just like the MecGar I bought :scratch: Except I can get the mecgar mags for $15 thru Midway with dealer discount.
Mine would hang up rounds too, I thought it was just stiff and needed break in, but after 400 rounds no difference. I finally took some 600 grit scope ring lapping compound to it and now it slides much easier, had a tight spot when the slide was moved about halfway back in it's travel.
Got mine gutted right now. Putting in a new bushing, guide rod, sights, GS, trigger, wedge mainspring housing and sear/hammer/disconnector. A bit of a project, but I wanted the version they had about 3 years ago....
Missed out on that one by 2 days at the gun shop, so I saw this GI one for $450 NIB and figured it'll work. didn't like the grip saftey, and well, just couldn't help myself after that :biglaugh:
Mine would hang up rounds too, I thought it was just stiff and needed break in, but after 400 rounds no difference. I finally took some 600 grit scope ring lapping compound to it and now it slides much easier, had a tight spot when the slide was moved about halfway back in it's travel.
Got mine gutted right now. Putting in a new bushing, guide rod, sights, GS, trigger, wedge mainspring housing and sear/hammer/disconnector. A bit of a project, but I wanted the version they had about 3 years ago....
Missed out on that one by 2 days at the gun shop, so I saw this GI one for $450 NIB and figured it'll work. didn't like the grip saftey, and well, just couldn't help myself after that :biglaugh:
IMHO, no widebody .45 based on Para mag tubes can be counted on to be reliable enough for carry. I've Para (P14, P13, P10), Kimber (BP, BP Pro, BP Ultra), Springfield (P12 clone), & Armscor (P14 clone) HiCap .45s and all have the same problems -- the magazines are plagued by rather short spring life and a propensity for the follower to bind from dirt/fouling leading to generally a nose up jam. Springfield & Armscor use Para mags, Kimber uses Mec-Gar Para mags with the mag catch cut in a different location
My Springfield came with what looked like ProMags from the baseplate and follower, and the way they worked, not!, I believe they were. Armscor came with a Meg-Gar mag that has so far worked once I polished the breach face a bit same as I did for the Kimber BP. I suspect it'll need a spring replacement soon same as the Kimber BP.
If the bullet nose is entering the chamber and the cartridge base is holding the slide open when it jams, I'd suggest checking the extractor (good thread in the gunsmithing forum about it) and maybe a little polishing of the breach face (My Kimber BP needed this). Its also possible your mag needs a new stronger spring.
HiCap .45s are great range guns, but none of mine are reliable enough that I'd carry one. I'd had hope that post-ban production would be better but I've LEO and 2005 marked Para Mags and they are no better than my old pre-ban ones from 10+ years ago.
--wally.
My Springfield came with what looked like ProMags from the baseplate and follower, and the way they worked, not!, I believe they were. Armscor came with a Meg-Gar mag that has so far worked once I polished the breach face a bit same as I did for the Kimber BP. I suspect it'll need a spring replacement soon same as the Kimber BP.
If the bullet nose is entering the chamber and the cartridge base is holding the slide open when it jams, I'd suggest checking the extractor (good thread in the gunsmithing forum about it) and maybe a little polishing of the breach face (My Kimber BP needed this). Its also possible your mag needs a new stronger spring.
HiCap .45s are great range guns, but none of mine are reliable enough that I'd carry one. I'd had hope that post-ban production would be better but I've LEO and 2005 marked Para Mags and they are no better than my old pre-ban ones from 10+ years ago.
--wally.
Break in and jamming
Pro Mag - IMHO this brand can cause jams! Others brands like McCormick, Brown and Metal Form seem to be more trouble free.
Fewer jams with FMJ and you might avoid JHP during break-in. Using various brands of bullets (not just one) have been recommended during break-in. 500 rounds or more seem to work for a fair break-in.
Try the Flitz approach to polish the loading ramp, using an electric drill with a Q-tip inserted as your bit with sparing amounts of Flitz on the Q-tip and polish the ramp. Removing the resulting residue with the equivelent of an old cotton T-shirt or fresh Q-tips. As with any home remedies, go slow and focus on the task at hand.
Pro Mag - IMHO this brand can cause jams! Others brands like McCormick, Brown and Metal Form seem to be more trouble free.
Fewer jams with FMJ and you might avoid JHP during break-in. Using various brands of bullets (not just one) have been recommended during break-in. 500 rounds or more seem to work for a fair break-in.
Try the Flitz approach to polish the loading ramp, using an electric drill with a Q-tip inserted as your bit with sparing amounts of Flitz on the Q-tip and polish the ramp. Removing the resulting residue with the equivelent of an old cotton T-shirt or fresh Q-tips. As with any home remedies, go slow and focus on the task at hand.
Update
i did find out the gunsmith did'nt fire the pistol, but worked the action by hand and said it fed just fine. (was'nt to pleased to hear that.) i worked the action right in front of him and he was right..everything worked fine. but i am sorry this took so long, but today was the first chance i've had to shoot my hi-cap since i got it back from the gunsmith. it did have a few failure to feed but decided to field strip it at the range and clean and oil it. it shot fine after that but after about 5 or 6 rounds, the slide would lock opean as if it were the last shot. i closed the slide and kep't shooting. had one more failure to feed. reloaded, locked opean problem once more. reloaded, this time pulling the trigger as fast as posible, no problems. on my way home i saw a rabbit, stopped the car and shot at it. missed the rabbit and it locked opean half way through the mag. kep't firing, missed the rabbit still. (i live outside a small town, fairlly common ot see jack rabbits and coyotes.)
so guys what do i do ? take it back to the gunsmith or send it back to springfield ? i am also thinking this is a mag problem and am still waiting for my extra mags.
i did find out the gunsmith did'nt fire the pistol, but worked the action by hand and said it fed just fine. (was'nt to pleased to hear that.) i worked the action right in front of him and he was right..everything worked fine. but i am sorry this took so long, but today was the first chance i've had to shoot my hi-cap since i got it back from the gunsmith. it did have a few failure to feed but decided to field strip it at the range and clean and oil it. it shot fine after that but after about 5 or 6 rounds, the slide would lock opean as if it were the last shot. i closed the slide and kep't shooting. had one more failure to feed. reloaded, locked opean problem once more. reloaded, this time pulling the trigger as fast as posible, no problems. on my way home i saw a rabbit, stopped the car and shot at it. missed the rabbit and it locked opean half way through the mag. kep't firing, missed the rabbit still. (i live outside a small town, fairlly common ot see jack rabbits and coyotes.)
so guys what do i do ? take it back to the gunsmith or send it back to springfield ? i am also thinking this is a mag problem and am still waiting for my extra mags.
Hmm....maybe you got a lemon? I've had zero problems with my Hicap(I got mine on sale for 399 BTW). Hammer bite did me in at 150 rounds at the range but not one of them was a problem. QC sometimes lets them slip through, but it's rare. Springfield is a good firm. If you let them, they'll make it right for you.
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