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ria 1911 feeding problems

1295 Views 32 Replies 21 Participants Last post by  bearpugh
has anybody else had any feeding problems with their ria 1911 with a full mag. im using .45 acp hornady tap fbp ammo. i didnt have any problems untill i cleaned it.
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Where/when in the firing/feeding cycle are you having issues?

Is it with one mag, or all?

How many rounds do you have through it?
it jams when im racking in the first round, both mags 2 different brands and if i have all 8 rounds in the mag it jams if i have 7 in most of the time it doesnt, and the gun is brand new just got it on thursday
Sounds like a magazine issue. What brand magazines are you using? 1911s and magazines are kind of like sports cars and gasoline: Premium only. Invest in some Wilson Combat magazines. You won't regret it. I traded out of my 1911, but still have one or two.

If that doesn't help...

Make sure you are pulling the slide all the way to the rear. I know it sounds silly, but until it is broken in well using the slide stop might not work.

I will say that all 1911s have a bit of a break-in period. It doesn't matter if it's a $350 or $3500 gun. My Springfield GI Stainless took about 350 rounds to get properly broken in and function well.

Is the ammo +P? Hornady +P ammo in 1911s usually requires a bit of a buffing to cycle right. 45 ACP +P ammo has thicker brass to withstand the pressure, and certain chambers need a little fluff and buff to cycle it. Mine did. The round would go in, but it got stuck in the chamber and caused feed issues.

Check the gap between the feedramp and chamber. It might be a little off.



If it is feeding ball ammo, you are okay. Just keep some in that for SD purposes until you can break her in. My grandfather-in-law was career USMC Gunnery Sargeant and served in Vietnam. He instructed officers and soldiers on the proper use of the 1911. He had extensive combat experience with it and said FMJ is just fine to stop people, even when hopped up on beadle nut.
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Sounds like from your post, that the pistol hasn't been broken in yet.

Hold off on the hollow points for now and run a couple hundred rounds of FMJs through it, then call us in the morning. :wink:
ARMT Guy said:
Sounds like from your post, that the pistol hasn't been broken in yet.

Hold off on the hollow points for now and run a couple hundred rounds of FMJs through it, then call us in the morning. :wink:
^This^

Also, be sure that you have a little SlideGlide or quality oil on the slide rails.
I find the truncated cone style of bullets to move rather violently when chambering. They seem to jump and have a less smooth transition than their counterparts. That being said usually feeding issues in 1911's are magazine related. Personally I would try some other brands of JHP ammo before declaring a problem.

ETA: A break in period is also a good idea as others have stated.
Adam5 said:
Also, be sure that you have a little SlideGlide or quality oil on the slide rails.
:righton:

Good stuff.. Slide Glide, especially Slide Glide ( Lite ) 8)
Adam5 said:
ARMT Guy said:
Sounds like from your post, that the pistol hasn't been broken in yet.

Hold off on the hollow points for now and run a couple hundred rounds of FMJs through it, then call us in the morning. :wink:
^This^

Also, be sure that you have a little SlideGlide or quality oil on the slide rails.
^This^!! & run it wet. Simple ball ammo is best now. Try 300 rds. If she still chokes get her a buff job.
As mentioned above, do all of the following:

- Break her in with a few hundred rounds of FMJ
- 7 round magazines are almost always more reliable than 8 rounders.
- If you're going to use 8 rounders, get good ones such as Wilson. I always had good luck with Chip McCormicks as well.
- Run it wet, especially if you're still breaking it in
- Pull the slide all the way back and then just let her go to chamber that first round
ARMT Guy said:
Adam5 said:
Also, be sure that you have a little SlideGlide or quality oil on the slide rails.
:righton:

Good stuff.. Slide Glide, especially Slide Glide ( Lite ) 8)
+2 or 3
There has been a flood of magazines from several 'different' manufacturers that do not bottom out against the release. Please try another group of KNOWN TO BE GOOD magazines....
Like what others have said, check what mags came with it.

My RIA came with mecgar and I haven't had an issue at all, others have had lesser brands come with theirs that have given them issues.
I've always put a lot of stock in what "SheriffOconee" has to say, along with "NGIB" (No good Irish bxstxrd), but sadly "NGIB" left the forum. For the Sheriff, anything more than seven rounds in a magazine, or anything other than ball ammunition is a sacrilege. I trust him, even though I've never had the privilege of shaking his hand.

Might also be time to change the spring?
its +p it came with a ACTMAG mag and i bought a meggar for an extra im headed to the range next weekend when im off and ill try running a good bit of fmj threw at and see if it gets alittle better. as far as lube for it i cleaned of the factory stuff and went back with lucas gun oil. thanks for all the help ill let yall know the out come
CountryGun said:
Might also be time to change the spring?
On a brand new pistol? :?

I understand that there's always a chance of receiving a lemon, however, unless the OP provides more details about his pistol's issues, from what he's provided so far, IMHO, to suggest changing out springs at this point seems a bit over kill.

Or do you mean the mag spring?
ARMT Guy said:
CountryGun said:
Might also be time to change the spring?
On a brand new pistol? :?

I understand that there's always a chance of receiving a lemon, however, unless the OP provides more details about his pistol's issues, from what he's provided so far, IMHO, to suggest changing out springs at this point seems a bit over kill.

Or do you mean the mag spring?
Doh! I missed that! My bad.
ARMT Guy said:
Or do you mean the mag spring?
Not a bad idea though. I really like the Tripp internals kit that has a great spring and follower. Converts all mags to 7 rds though
When loading that first round into and RIA 1911, lock the slide back, insert the magazine, then let it slide shut simply by pulling the slide back and releasing the slide release. Basically, let it "slam" shut, as that's what the gun does every time after you fire a round.

If the first round failing to feed is the only time it happens, this should fix your problem.

Quite frankly, it's the proper way to load a 1911 pistol.

If the problem persists, check the extractor for play. Pull the slide off of the frame, put a spent brass shell in the extractor and lightly shake the slide back and forth with the slide right side up. You should get some "wobble" out of the brass but it should not fall out. No wobble means the tension in the extractor is too tight, if it falls out it is too loose.

If neither happens but the problem persists after loading the first round the way I explained you probably need to replace the recoil spring.

Hope this helps.
Take a picture of the jam, also take a picture of the mag instaled with the eight rounds slide back, and then take a picture at the same angle with just the seven rounds instaled slide back if you can. You might be able to see a difference in the angle of the round. Use the Macro setting on your camera so you can get good and close without losing focus. Does the brass have any scratches on the outside once you unchamber it after the jam? Could be a burr in the chamber or on the feed ramp. How smooth is your feed ramp on the frame and the barrel?

Since you say that it always jams with the eight round mags with eight rounds in it, but not with seven.................. I'm going to say its jamming because of the mags. The feed lips of the mags are not lining up well with the feed ramp of the gun when you have it filled to capacity with eight rounds. It is a very well known truth that not all 1911s run well with just any magazine. If you can't get it to run with the mags you got, then you need to get some new ones from a different manufacturer and see if things get better. If they don't, even after running a couple hundred rounds through the gun with different mags.....................then you are in luck, because RIA has some great Customer Service reps here in the states. Vegas I believe, is where they are. Go over to http://www.1911forum.com in the RIA area and search for the CS reps info and call them. They will make it right. If things don't get any better as far as the jams go, your gun could have a bad feed ramp angle on it. I would only let RIA deal with that. Sorry you are having some issues. My RIA Tactical .45 has run like a champ out of the box.

ETA: Some really good 1911 information at the 10-8 forum about malfunctions with pictures. Hilton Yam is a very well respected 1911 builder and gunsmith.
http://www.10-8forums.com/ubbthreads/ub ... #Post51276

I would recommend any of these magazines:

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Wilson-Comb ... ctinfo/47/

http://www.trippresearch.com/store/store_1911.html

http://www.cmcmags.com/Powerplus.html
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