.45 auto (DA/SA) problems...

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

I took my .45 (DA/SA, full-size, steel frame, reputable manufacturer) to the range today and if the damn thing wasn’t my only large bore semiauto pistol I would have been tempted to pitch it into the ocean (the base gun club is ~1/2 mile from the Pacific) so I’m hoping I could get some help figuring out what was wrong.

Background:
Gun is bone-stock, I bought it in Spring '05, and it’s got ~1,500 rounds downrange. It was clean/lubed before firing and function-checked fine with snap caps.

I was using OEM mags (2x7-round, 2x8-round) with pretty much an even amount of load/fire cycles on each of them. The mags all have plastic followers but none of them are chewed-up and weak springs, considering that they’re OEM mags and haven’t been abused or used to the point of wearing-out, seems a bit of a stretch.

Ammo was a mixed lot–100 rounds of Aquila that was old enough I cried seeing how little I paid for it, 150 rounds of my reloads (Rainier Ballistics 230gr. FMJ in R-P cases over 6.5 gr. of Unique and a Federal Large Pistol primer), and 50 rounds of new-ish UMC.

If any of these problems were most likely my fault, please tell me so and I can work on correcting them. I’m out of practice with a pistol, I’ll shamefully admit so any/all of them being due to my lack of practice wouldn’t be a surprise.

Main problem:
No matter which combination of ammo/mags I was using, firing strong hand-only, weak hand-only, or both, the slide simply would NOT lock back on an empty mag. I made sure the magazines were seated firmly when I inserted them in the pistol and none of them would drop free w/o me hitting the mag release button.

Secondary problem:
A couple of times with the Aquila only, so I’m thinking this one is ammo-related, the slide was REALLY tough (borderline impossible) to pull back to chamber a round. I had to eject the magazine, smack the back of it on the bench, and then reload it into the pistol–then it would chamber/fire the first round fine but it seemed odd that doing so would be required for the piece to work.

Tertiary “problem”:
Using as solid a rest as I could set up, the sights seemed regulated for ~7 yards or so–is that normal for .45 semiautos in general? I’ve been thinking about sending the gun off to a particular gunsmith known for doing good stuff on this brand of pistol to get some work sooner or later and while it’s there I’d like to get a tritium front installed. The trajectory of .45 ACP isn’t too rainbow-like inside of 25 yards so perhaps if I had them regulated for somewhere around 10 yards I wouldn’t have to hold over/under for center-mass hits at the farthest range inside Casa de JV (15 full paces–I just checked)–does that sound sensible?

2

First of all, I wouldn’t be banging things around, even magazines. A lot of the people on this forum carry for a living and are safety freaks. No one wants to see a person get hurt.

What kind of pistol is it? This helps as the one you have may have had some of these problems and it makes it easier to make an unseen troubleshot.

Clean and relube your slide and frame, including the springs. After reassembly, rack the slide to the rear a number of times (unloaded, no magazine) and see if it is still real stiff. It is going to be somewhat stiff, anyway.

Buy some new factory ammo. Win. white box is a good all around load and should work in any modern firearm. If this doesn’t do it, then wait on someone who knows more than I have said or visit your gunsmith. Be safe.

3

Sight it in at 25 yards. You will be on at 7, 15, and 30.

4

May I suggest you check your grip? You maybe riding the slide release preventing it from catching the slide.

5

^^This.

I have this problem. Before removing the thumb safety from my M&P, I was fine. Since removing it my grip has changed a little and now I occasionally ride the slide release with my right thumb and prevent it from engaging. I worked on it a lot today and now very rarely have the problem.

6

I wanted to make sure the cartridges were seated against the back of the mag tube–there weren’t any high primers so I was fine to do that.

Per a polite chastisement from an admin to comply with M4C Rule #4, I’m not supposed to state what type of piece before contacting the manufacturer (which I’ll be doing tomorrow a.m.).

Huh? I completely understand the concept of near- and far-zero, but barring some technology that completely defies every bit of ballistics knowledge I have, how can a gun/sight combination be zeroed at 3 different distances?

7

That plus a couple boxes of good ammo, not the admittedly crappy stuff I was shooting today (other than my reloads–they’re good), is what I’ll be working on at my next range trip. Now that I realized the base club is somewhat un-fuddly and I can shoot anytime I want dawn-to-dusk, it’s high time to knock the dust of my pistol skills.

8

I know from another forum what pistol you have. So taking that into account…

I would bet you are riding the slide stop. Either the thumb of your firing hand or the padded part of the thumb on your support hand. This is more than likely especially so if you are a 1911 shooter or a Glock shooter that uses a high thumbs forward grip. I would play with your grip first.

If you insert these same mags into your gun empty (NO AMMO!) and rack the slide back hard and let go and they hold the slide back then it is a grip issue and not a gun issue. If the slidestop/mags will not hold the slide back on their own with the gun dry then you have an equipment issue.

How much oil/grease is in your gun? It should be WET. Your brand of gun needs to be well lubed. Go to grayguns.com and look at the bottom of their “Articles” link for a good guide on how how much lube you should use.

9

I have a 67 year-old Remington Rand M1911A1 that is 100% reliable and accurate out to 50 yards. Jump in your time machine and go back to the original Browning masterpiece!

10

For a competion zero, no. Home or field defense, darn close enough.

11

I can guess what kind of gun you have.

Problem 1 is probably you hitting the slide release with your thumb. Second possiblity is your side release spring being too strong.

Problem 2 is probably the ammo being a little long. Just load a couple of rounds tap back of mag to your palm. Continue as needed for the rest of the mag.

Problem 3 is the gun is usually sighted in for 25 yards. Inside that distance under stress no one is going to know the difference in trajectory. Even under 50 yards you are going to be close to the bull.

12

It would be enormously helpful to know exactly what firearm you are using…as the make and model of the weapon bring with them implications for the problems you are relating.

If you are using a Sig P220, for example, it’s not uncommon to see folks who have big hands have issues with the slide failing to lock back because of where Sig insists on placing the slide release. Zero issues can also be a problem because some Sig sights are designed to have the dot on the front sight as the aiming point rather than the tip of the front sight. Some H&K sights are set up the same way.

Letting us know what weapon and sight combo you are using can go a long way to getting a useful answer.

13

When I originally started this thread I was told by a member of Site Staff in PM’s that identifying a specfic manufacturer in the course of a problem w/o having first contacted the manufacturer was prohibited per Rule #4. Therefore, to try and figure out what was going on, I edited the post and the thread was reopened once he approved the new, generic version. I’m not trying to be contentious, but there does appear to be a disconnect between the mods/admins/site staff re: interpretation of that rule so it may be worth addressing amongst yourselves.

If you are using a Sig P220, for example, it’s not uncommon to see folks who have big hands have issues with the slide failing to lock back because of where Sig insists on placing the slide release.
<snip>
Letting us know what weapon and sight combo you are using can go a long way to getting a useful answer.

While traipsing carefully around the boundries of Rule #4, you were quite prescient picking that model of pistol as an example and yes, my hands are rather large. :wink:

14

It was me, not the gun… :stuck_out_tongue:

I went back to the range yesterday and when I made a conscious effort to keep my thumbs off the slide stop lever, the gun (a SIG P220ST) ran like a champ–no FTF and for some reason I seemed to be able to bring the gun down out of recoil faster so that (subjectively) dropped my split times.