1911 slide catch

[evilmonkey]

Shot my new(new to me but slightly used) springfield 1911 today before my IDPA match and the slide would not lock back on a empty mag. I only put about six or seven mags through it before I had to help set up the courses. The gun shot fine without any malfunction it just would not lock back on the last round. My finger wasnt close to the slide stop (I made sure after the second time it happened). The ammo was just factory loaded winchester so it wasnt the ammo. Im guessing it was the mags, one is a springfield factory mag which looks to be in very good shape and the other two are old G.I mags. One of the G.I mags locked the slide back but the other two didn't. Is it the mags or something else?

[Failure2Stop]

Mags would be my first suspicion.
Try proven magazines (SA and GI are not) such as Wilson ETM or McCormick Power mags.
May be a mag catch issue, but I would try the mags first. Slide catch issues are generally (in my limited experience) more difficult to problem solve and may require stock removal by a 'smith.

[evilmonkey]

Ya I waiting on my Wilsons to come in so I guess I will have to see when I get them in. Its been about six years since I've owned 1911's so Im having to relearn everything about them again. I forgot how picky they can be compared to my glocks!

[Gunfighter13]

Try some good magazines. If that does not work replace the Slide Stop. A Wilson 9/38 slide stop will have a wider area for the mag to catch. You can stone the surfaces until you get the rounds to just leave a very small brass marking. Go slow. Take off a little at a time and do not change the surface angle. Did this to my Kimber and you can see the difference in contact area to mag contact.

[adh]

I'm going to say definitely a mag issue. I recently shot my new to me Springfiled loaded for the first time - four CMC power mags, one springfield mag that came with the gun, 10 new USGI mags, and four metalform mags with the rounded follwers. All are 7-round mags other than the 8rnd power mags. I had a few FTEs and failures to feed. All were the last round and all were mag related. The 4 metal form mags permformed flawlessly and locked back on the last round with each mag. I ordered new Tripp Research followers and springs for the CMC power mags because of the failures I had.

[the1911fan]

The 4 metal form mags permformed flawlessly and locked back on the last round with each mag. .

Metalforms are all I use in my 1911's, they consistently perform better for me than the expensive magazines out there

[ToddG]

Agreed that it's probably mags.

However, as a general rule, anytime someone has a failure to lock back I recommend the following:

Load a few magazines with one round each.
Insert one mag into your gun, rack the slide.
Fire the pistol left-hand only. It doesn't matter whether you're R- or L-handed. (note, for guns with an ambidextrous slide release lever, this doesn't matter as much ... just be sure to curl your thumb down into a fist rather than trying to thumbs-forward the one-handed grip)
Repeat for all mags.

If the slide locks back when you do it this way, then it's you and not the gun/mags/ammo causing the problem. If the slide fails to lock back when you shoot the gun this way, then it's most likely not you.

[adh]

I will add that the first thing I did to my Springfiled loaded was repplace the FLGR with a govt guide rod and plug and I replaced that slide stop with an Ed Brown "Hard Core" version (keeping the factory slide stop as a spare/reserve).

[Gunfighter13]

You may find mags that will work with your slide stop just fine, but if your slide stop was fitted correctly most mags including the GI mags would function in the gun. Is that the reason the gun was sold in the first place? Not an uncommon problem with 1911's. My 1911's can use any of the following mag: CMC power mags, Wilson, Tripp, Novak and GI (NSN) mags should function in the gun. That said there are some very poor made mags out there to, but if you stick with the above you should have no problems. If those mags give you a problem then your gun, not the mags are what needs to be fixed.

[toddackerman]

Ya I waiting on my Wilsons to come in so I guess I will have to see when I get them in. Its been about six years since I've owned 1911's so Im having to relearn everything about them again. I forgot how picky they can be compared to my glocks!

If the Wilson's don't work, try the Tripp GENII Cobra Mags. The springs in those will open a bank vault door. If that doesn't work, it's a gun issue.

[Hersh]

My first guess would be mags (specifically the followers) but it's hard to believe you have that many mags with bad followers. The lug where the follower pushes the slide stop up into the locked position might be a little out of spec. Try another slide stop, if the problem goes away - there's your answer.

If it is the followers, I've had great luck with the flat, 7-round Metalform and Checkmate followers.

[HolyRoller]

I'm not sure if it will solve your problem, but you could try 10-8 Performance's slide release. 10-8's mag catch is a small improvement and their sights are a noticeable improvement, but their slide release is outstanding. It gives my stubby fingers or thumb enough of a ledge to find reliably under stress and enough purchase to drop the slide easily with a single stroke, but doesn't stick out too far. Mine didn't need fitting to my Springfield TRP but as is often the case with 1911s, it's not necessarily a drop-in part.