[QB]

Took my new SA fullsize 9mm loaded and my Colt Gold Cup Trophy to the range today.

After firing the first round, my SA would not fully load the next round (the slide would not be all the way forward). I was hesitant to try to force the slide forward so I would clear the gun and start over. After the first round, same thing. Occasionally I'd get 2 rounds off in a row but that was rare. I tried both magazines (hadn't purchased any other ones yet since the couple of shops I called didn't have 9mm), and 3 different ammos (PMC, Winchester, Blazer). I also tried loading different number of rounds in the mags.

I brought the gun home and polished the feed ramp and cleaned/lubed the gun. Will try to get to the range again tomorrow.

Any ideas of what might be wrong? Just thought I'd try to figure it out prior to calling Springfield. I thought it would be fun to have a 1911 9mm but maybe they just work better in the .45 cal since, I suppose, they were originally designed in .45 cal.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.



[This message has been edited by QB (edited 08-25-2001).]

 

[HANDGUNNER]

3 of the 7 that I have had in the shop had
extractors with to much tension.

------------------
Tom Novak(HANDGUNNER)

Novak's Handgunner Outlet
Ph#(724)539-2774
www.handgunneroutlet.com

 

[SHUZ]

A 9mm 1911 is a lot of fun. Dont get discouraged becuase the guns not chambered in its original design platform. If the design was that tempermental, the 1911 would not have stood the test of time the way it has. Out of the box, my 9mms have actually been more reliable than my .45s.

Im no smith, and I dont know what might have caused yours to fail the way you described, but maybe its just a little tight out of the box. Try to get a few boxes of ammo through it and see if it loosens up any.

If it doesnt break in and become reliable, send it back. SA has a pretty good reputation for customer service, and there is no reason why this thing shouldnt work. Good Luck.

 

[QB]

Great advice so far. I'm going to take it to the range tomorrow and see what happens. I'll also have my gunsmith take a look at the extractor if necessary. Then if the problem isn't rectified I'll call SA for warranty return authorization.

 

[John Foster]

My SA 1911 in 9mm has an extremely tight chamber. I shoot only handloads and some of mine would not chamber in the SA but would in other makes of pistols. I have since changed the setting on my sizing die in my Dillon RL550B and everything works fine.
Even if you are shooting only factory ammo,
measure the diameter of the case just above the extractor groove with a micrometer. Then compare your measurement with the specs in your loading manual. Even the factories
can goof up once in a while. If your SA 9mm has a chamber on the tight side and the ammo has a case on the other extreme, that could be your problem.

------------------
John

 

[QB]

Well, cleaned my new 9mm loaded REAL GOOD and took it to the range to see if that helped.

Nope, slide wouldn't close all the way on any ammo (brass or nickle cased), hardball or hollow point. Occasionally a Blazer would feed in and fire but not often. I had 5 different brands of ammo.

Took it to the dealer I purchased it from and he said he's never seen this in a 9mm Springfield. The chamber is out of spec...wrote down the dimensions on his business card for me to send in with the gun to Springfield. He used various ammo and not 1 round would chamber all the way/allow the slide to close all the way. He said he finds it impossible to believe that they could have test fired the gun this way!!!

What a disappointment. This is the second NIB Springfield (from the same dealer) that had problems right out of the box. A 8-9 pound trigger on my V16 and now this....

I travel alot and it is going to be difficult to time the shipment to arrive back to me when I'm in town. I may see if they will ship it back to my dealer. I can't honestly trade it in to some dealer in this condition. But I have lost ALL faith in Springfield...it's a mental thing I know but I am just so disgusted.

I'll have to see how my V16 works when I get it back from the gunsmith tomorrow and will try to not let my disappointment with the 9mm cloud my judgement.

I am going to ask that Springfield also run a serial number check on both my guns to see if indeed they were "NIB" like advertised.

Trying to keep a positive outlook on this but.....geeze, these guns weren't cheap ($889 + tax and $689 + tax). I know about breaking in 1911s, etc. but I just didn't expect these type of problems.

My Colt Gold Cup (purchased the same week) has been flawless and it was the one I expected to have to break in more so than the Springfields (although I don't know why I thought that).

I know Springfield will "make things right" but I was thinking of a third Sprinfield TRP stainless and have since tossed that idea. Just too much at risk.

 

[gyp_c]

Why didn't you tell the DEALER to handle it? They know where the factory is too...If he won't handle it, just contact this guy and tell him your whole story about all your SA dealings and results. He's the head of the custom shop and a great guy. He can help you. Dave Williams is his name and he watches these boards and posts occasionally. Be nice and truthful and tell him how you are feeling about all this. I don't think you'll be disappointed again...I know I'd hate it if I had those troubles...I know for sure I wouldn't use that dealer for my next purchase. He could have saved you this trouble if he really cared about your satisfaction after the sale...geez, after 2 purchases, the guy should have at least helped with the second one. It was brand new~!!!!!

Let us know what's goin' on. Try not to be disheartened too much. I know you're disappointed...I would be too. Don't give up yet...Just see this one through and maybe Dave can get both your guns up and runnin'...If he does, just shoot the crap out of them and look for a new dealer

------------------
>>>>>>>>>>g2<<<<<<<<<<

I Like The Shade Too!

 

[cbensr23]

I don't want to sound discouraging, but.....
My Springfield Armory 1911 Loaded 9mm has been at the Genesco Illinois plant for several weeks (since July 12th) and as of today I don't have it back. You might consider going to a heavier recoil spring. The factory spring runs 9 to 10 lbs and I also experienced failures to fully close. My problem was compounded by incorrect chamber dimensions,(too tight) which resulted in excessive pressure. With certain factory ammo, the primer metal would actually back up into the firing pin channel. Might pay you to examine your fired cases for pressure indications. Except for this one negative experience, all my other Springfields have been flawless in form and function and I would put them up against anything comparable on the market today. This 9mm is unquestionably one of the most accurate out of the box production 9's I've ever shot and that's a considerable number of pistols. Good Luck

Only Perfect practice makes Perfect

 

[QB]

That's what was wrong with mine, the chamber had incorrect dimensions. I didn't have the desire or the time to send it to the factory so I sold it (at a considerable loss)to a gunsmith that I know who said he'd be able to take care of the problem.

I took a leap of faith and purchased the Lightweight Ultra Compact 9mm (one that made recently since the "coupon" in it actually doesn't expire until December 2001; my other Springfields had coupons that expired in April 2001).

It came with wood grips, unlike the rubber pictured on the web sight, that had stainless size T-15 star grip screws.

Took it to the range and it was absolutely flawless. Put 200 rounds of PMC, Blazer, Winchester, a few hollow point through it and not one hiccup. I hadn't seen this ultra compact before or I would have bought it to begin with. What a great little gun to shoot. I am absolutely pleased with this gun.

So, although this was a costly experience, everything turned out OK. I just love this new Springfield and so far it has performed 100%. Only thing I did was purchase some Hogue finger groove rubber grips for it (Officer size that I had to stretch just a bit to fit on the grip bushings). I'll also have an ambi safety put on since most of the time I shoot left handed.

 

[cbensr23]

Sorry to read that you sold the 9mm. Mine came back from the plant today with a new barrel and a complementary magazine to boot. Original problem with my SA9mm Loaded was incorrect chamber dimensions causing high pressure spikes. SA told me at about week#5 that my suggestion of dropping in a new barrel wouldn't fix my problem and that they had to order a "special" reamer. Oddly enough when the Fed Ex truck delivered my gun today, the packing slip enclosed with the gun said " Installed new fully supported barrel." Go figure.

Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

[This message has been edited by cbensr23 (edited 08-29-2001).]

 

[Steve H]

Greetings, I got my SA 9mm in April and had some failures to feed only with some hollowpoint loads. I have not shot any in it since then, but it has workef flawlessly since then with any hardball round I put in it. I recently pur a Smith and Alexender mag well on it and have yet to shoot it. It sure looks nice though. I would always contact Springfield if I had any problems. They will correct any problem.

Steve