[M1 Garand]

I finally took it to the range today. I had about 7 FTF for 200 rounds of Winchester 230 gr.
The gun range owner noticed the multiple FTF (plus he knew I was a new shooter because we had talked when my wife and I came in) and he disassembled it for me. He showed me all the places where it was rough on the slide and did a little sanding for me too.
After sanding very slightly (just o show mne where/how) the slide action is smoother. He showed me another 1911 he had there and the slide on it was silky smooth.

The point is - is the roughness to be expected? I will go get a sanding triangle like the one he used and go over the spots.

Also, is there anything else I should do to the gun above smoothign the slide?

Lastly - he showed me how to take the slide/barrel off. He used a brass hammer on the pin (so that the salide can come off) but i think after doign that a coupel times, it will leave a mark there. What else can I use? A rubber mallot would not be strong enough.

 

[NevadaPistolero]

Ive got a new WW2 mil-spec also. You should be able to put pressure on the pin with your finger on the pin side and pull with the other hand on the lever side. Mine was tight but not so tight I had to use any tools to remove it. The slide will start feeling better after you shoot a couple of hundred rounds more out of it. Maybe your gun doesnt like the winchester ammo, try another brand of ammo. Everything will start to smooth out on its own, I would not be doing any sanding untill at least 500 rounds.

 

[SonnyD]

As I've posted before, several of my Springfield frames have been very rough. The frame rails have been very rough and gritty requiring polishing.
Regards SonnyD

 

[robino]

sorry but...don't you guys LOOK at these guns before you buy them?

maybe we should have a "how to check out a gun 101" class...cause i've seen a few others complain of imperfections that should have been either seen or felt by the buyer.

i've handled about 6 Mil Spec GI's before buying mine...and yesterday at the range I saw another which felt like it had a MUCH lighter trigger and crisper "click" on the thumb safety, but the slide to frame fit was way looser than mine.

It's obvious that a $3-$400 gun may not have the consistency of a Les baer gun to gun...but we should do our part as consumers and check them out before dishing the ching out.

 

[Catbird33]

My SA WWII Mil-Spec feels a little rough when hand cycling the action, compared to my other 1911s. In spite of this roughness, it seems to be performing quite well.

Just my opinion: I would continue to shoot it without doing any sanding; I think it will improve drastically, the more rounds you put through it.

 

[steele_37031]

I would almost bet to guess where you bought that particular pistol .... ... I think you bought one of the ones me and my brother-in-law passed on ... I would bet it was Carters and the serial ended around the mid 460's

 

[ether]

The slide action on all 5 I've handled have been rough...it's due to the thick parkerizing. It will smooth out with use..... do not sand your rails!! You'll screw up a perfectly good slide to frame fit.

If FTF means Failure to Feed, you should try a different mag with a stronger spring....especially if the cartridges are nose-diving when your slide is trying to strip them from the mag. I've noticed the springs in the current mags aren't all that stiff.

However, the plunger springs are way too stiff...which could be why your slide stop was so hard to remove....either that or your friend had no idea what he was doing. Did he take the magazine out first? I replaced my plunger springs with Ed Brown plunger springs. Your thumb safety will be easier to engage/disengage too. HTH

 

[SonnyD]

sorry but...don't you guys LOOK at these guns before you buy them?

maybe we should have a "how to check out a gun 101" class...cause i've seen a few others complain of imperfections that should have been either seen or felt by the buyer.

i've handled about 6 Mil Spec GI's before buying mine...and yesterday at the range I saw another which felt like it had a MUCH lighter trigger and crisper "click" on the thumb safety, but the slide to frame fit was way looser than mine.

It's obvious that a $3-$400 gun may not have the consistency of a Les baer gun to gun...but we should do our part as consumers and check them out before dishing the ching out.

I'm pretty capable of checking out a new gun after spending many years with 1911's but I havn't found a shop yet that would be happy with me Dissambling their new gun. It's kind of hard to see the frame rails with the slide on. In my case it didn't feel as rough as the rails looked when I dissambled it. The trigger on mine felt very good. I don't get too concerned about small things on a gun in that price range, I was more concerned after taking it apart of the appearance of the lack of finishing. Mines allready been traded off for another brand. Other then the above observations, the gun was fine for a sub 400 gun.
Regards SonnyD

 

[Shadowblade]

I've noticed on mine that the rails are polishing themselves out with use. I'd leave it alone if I were you.

 

[XavierBreath]

Lastly - he showed me how to take the slide/barrel off. He used a brass hammer on the pin (so that the salide can come off) but i think after doign that a coupel times, it will leave a mark there. What else can I use? A rubber mallot would not be strong enough.

I don't know about you guys, but I remove the bushing and recoil spring cap before I attempt to remove the slide stop. If it is loose, I go ahead and pull out the recoil spring too. It sounds as if this fellow did not know how to take down a 1911. I've seen a lot of 1911's with punch marks on the right side of the frame from using a punch. If the slide stop is rough along the pin surface, you can smooth that out a bit, but go easy. If it's the plunger that is making it tough to remove, check the slide stop surface where the plunger engages it. Sometines the detent is a bit deep.

As for the FTF (I assume you mean failure to feed) then try a Wilson magazine to rule out a magazine problem. Chances are this will solve the problem. If so, replace your magazine spring with a Wolff, or just go to better magazines. DO NOT go to sanding/reshaping the chamber throat or feed ramp, no matter what anybody says. If this is not a magazine problem, chances are it will resolve itself after 500 rounds.

I would not sand the frame rails. I'd just grease them up and run 1000 rounds through it. It's quicker, more effective, and a lot more fun.

 

[nw_fan]

#1 thought on failure to feed is make sure you aren't limp wristing... If you don't support the gun, some of the recoil and spring energy is lost and unavailable for stripping the round and locking the gun back into battery.

I have to agree with the "break it in by shooting" theory. Lube the weapon. I like FP10 for my 1911 slide. I also like Hopes #9, which leaves a very slick feeling after cleaning and wiping down (plus it smells good. ) And it shows as green on your patches if copper is still in the barrel. Or purple with corrosive ammo is salt is still present (that's another thread, but good to know)

I don't like grease. It works differently. (It can emulsify and hold grit, further wearing a gun) whereas, a good, light coating of lube actually bonds with the metal and makes it slippery. (you should wipe off the residue after applying lube so it doesn't collect dirt).

Now for the feed issue... before you buy a magazine, take out your mag spring and stretch it a little. (I had to do that with a Wilson magazine once, so there are no absolutes when it comes to quality) See if that helps. If so, you know that you have a cheap mag. (Springfield mags are pretty cheap, anyway, but usually function OK. I don't know that stretching a spring is good for it, so you might want to replace it with a good Wolf spring if that clears things up.

 

[col132]

As already stated, a lot of this roughness will work itself out with shooting. You're not going to find a whole lot better gun in this price bracket.

 

[JeffC]

R.E. Roughness

Slide and frame rails- parkerized, will smoothen out thru use.

Stripper rail- serial numbers etched into the rail drag on the disconnector, mine was very rough.

P.S. Who's idea was it to dremel the serial number on a surface that should be smooth .

 

[guy sajer]

Sonny

"I'm pretty capable of checking out a new gun after spending many years with 1911's but I havn't found a shop yet that would be happy with me Dissambling their new gun . "


I believe you , but find it surprising they won't let you inspect it internally . I wouldn't hesitate to strip the gun for you so you could inspect before buying it . On the negative side , I probably wouldn't "trot out" 5 or 6 of them . I give the customer the choice of a fresh one in the box or the one on display .

 

[JohnS]

Mine has been perfect out of the box. 750 rounds go figure

 

[dougmc]

I've got about 800 rounds through mine!

Just got back from the range and put 100 rounds of PMC and 17 rounds of 230 grain Golden Saber HP's ( Carry Load). My WWII 1911 is working great . It's really smoothing out well. I had a couple Jam-ups due to limp wristing between rounds 75 and 600 but none today. This is my first 1911 and I'm pleased with the way it shoots. It's clean and lubed and ready for the next trip to the range where it will hit 1000 rounds. If I do my part I think it will function flawlessly. It's taken a little learning to fire this gun right and when I get tired I tend to loosen up and get some fliers and the rare missfeed. I shot 3" groups at 21 feet all day today and had a number of 4 and 5 round groups that touched eachother. All in all I'm pleased with the way this gun is smoothing out and I'm learning how to shoot it faster than I thought I would. Good luck with yours M1Garand. I hope yo get the kinks worked out of it.

 

[SonnyD]

Re: Sonny

"I'm pretty capable of checking out a new gun after spending many years with 1911's but I havn't found a shop yet that would be happy with me Dissambling their new gun . "


I believe you , but find it surprising they won't let you inspect it internally . I wouldn't hesitate to strip the gun for you so you could inspect before buying it . On the negative side , I probably wouldn't "trot out" 5 or 6 of them . I give the customer the choice of a fresh one in the box or the one on display .

Your right. I've been shopping at the same store for over 20 years and I know they wouldn't have a problem with me doing it. Mine didn't feel all that bad when I bought it. I will also admit I'm very picky about some things. When I remove the slide and barrel and slide the slide back on, I like it to move freely the length of the rails. I also wish I had taken pictures of the rails because my roughness wasn't in the finish, you could see milling marks on the rails which wouldn't have worked out very easy. my disconnect rail also had very deep cut serial numbers in it, which just didn't make sense to me. I know I'm expecting too much for a sub 400 gun out the door, but I think these are little issues that could be taken care of in the build process adding very little cost, especially the serial number issue.

It's a damn nice gun for the money, faults and all.
Regards SonnyD

 

[Slowhand]

I just got one, and put 200 rounds of 230 gr FMJ (Winchester) through it with no problems. It does eject a little wimpily with that short ejector, but it never jammed or failed to feed. I used a CMC Power Mag. And I just took it out of the box and shot it. No oil or anything. It is a little rough, but it did smooth out a good bit by the end of the 200 rounds. Mine shot right to POA, was reliable, and was well-finished given the price. I have no plans to do anything to it, I just wanted a bare bones 1911 instead of all the extended tactical tritium beavertail 1911s I currently own. I actually like the GI grips. I'm looking forward to shooting it in IDPA, actually!

 

[robino]

""I just got one, and put 200 rounds of 230 gr FMJ (Winchester) through it with no problems. It does eject a little wimpily with that short ejector, but it never jammed or failed to feed. I used a CMC Power Mag. And I just took it out of the box and shot it. No oil or anything. It is a little rough, but it did smooth out a good bit by the end of the 200 rounds. Mine shot right to POA, was reliable, and was well-finished given the price. I have no plans to do anything to it, I just wanted a bare bones 1911 instead of all the extended tactical tritium beavertail 1911s I currently own. I actually like the GI grips. I'm looking forward to shooting it in IDPA, actually!""

Dude, Ditto.
nothing but good things to say about mine. POA and everything.

guess every gun has the opportunity to be a bad gun, even if you do your part and check it as thorough as possible.

 

[Slowhand]

Absolutely. Plus, given that this is a $400 piece, I think you have to adjust your expectations a bit. If you want something fancier, spend a grand and buy the Colt WW2 repro.