First Handgun

[dps8255]

I would like to apologize in advance for the length of this post I think its worth it.

yesterday I purchased my first handgun, I went with the Rock Island Armory 1911. There are a few reasons that I chose this firearm
1. I prefer an external safety
2. I also prefer the thinner frame of a single stack 1911, it just fits like a glove
3. I had heard some good things about RIA

the gun is black with pearl white and black hogue grim reaper grips (pictures coming). it is a little beat up on the outside just minor things nothing serious, but I like it even more for that, I bought the RIA because I didn't want a $1000-1500 trophy gun to be stored in a safe at all times, I bought so that it could be used. I think it gives it character.

it was a used gun that I have recently discovered that I slightly overpaid for, but I am not upset about this because of the excellent service I received, and because I walked into the store knowing that the store has a reputation for being a little over priced

I bought it from bobs sports shop in Richmond I had read multiple reviews about this shop good and bad. I decided that I would give them the benefit of the doubt. Boy am I glad I did because the experience I had was nothing short of spectacular, they were very knowledgeable and when I came in today with a problem the resolved it immediately (standard 7 rd magazine would not eject properly, the store employee verified the complaint and gave me an 8 rd Chip McCormick as a replacement, no questions asked) I also purchased a serpa holster from them while I was there today.

immediately after I left the gun store I went to dominion shooting range and put 50 rounds through the gun just to get a feel for it. 2 problems I noticed
1. I need to get a good "beaver tail", I don't think I need to explain why
2. After I load the magazine if I am too "gentle" while racking the slide it will not feed properly, is this a common problem or a normal situation?

a nice story to go along with this.
for the purpose of understanding the story my name is David smith ... Very common and from the little research I did I had come to terms with the fact that it was probably gonna take a week or two for the background check to come back (btw I have a squeaky clean record other than minor moving violations) after I finished the paper work I walked outside to make phone call. Less than five minutes later I walked back in and the store employee looked at me with a slightly suspicious look on his face and told me that I had been approved already and I could take it home that night. Needless to say I thought he was pulling my leg because we had joked about how hard it was going to be prior to filling out the paper work.

overall very pleased and I would love to hear your suggestions

[bryanrheem]

Congrats on your purchase! Best advice is to practice, practice, practice!

Regarding racking your slide 'gently'... I assume when you pull the slide back you are also pushing the slide forward instead of letting the spring pull the slide back and round into the chamber? I'm not familiar with your 1911, but with most firearms, you should not assist the slide as this may not properly seat the round in the chamber. Pull back and let go!

[mk4]

Congrats on your purchase! Best advice is to practice, practice, practice!

Regarding racking your slide 'gently'... I assume when you pull the slide back you are also pushing the slide forward instead of letting the spring pull the slide back and round into the chamber? I'm not familiar with your 1911, but with most firearms, you should not assist the slide as this may not properly seat the round in the chamber. Pull back and let go!

^^^
this!

let the recoil spring push the slide forward full-force so that the gun goes into battery. if it still fails occasionally, it might be an ammo issue or a need to have the feed ramp polished.

[ProShooter]

Sounds like you need to treat yourself to a shooting lesson to get the most out of that gun and work out the kinks!

[Diomed]

If it's used, might not hurt to put a new recoil spring in it.

I've had RIAs, part of my standard upgrade work was to fit them with a stainless barrel. If you're happy with the barrel that's on there, great, but the ones I got looked like sewer pipes.

Newer (hi-viz) sights would probably be a good idea along with the beavertail. As for which ones, that's pretty much a personal call.

[dps8255]

I have been trying different brands and different styles of ammo and I am still having the same problem, I am pulling the slide back and just letting go and I am still having this problem with any variation of ammo, magazines etc. I have taken the gun apart and thoroughly cleaned and oiled the firearm. I spent a little extra time on the feed ramp but still having the same problem

so far my only solution is to re-rack the slide 2-3 times to eject the round.
I just want to clarify that I have no problems while shooting it only occurs when loading the initial round into the chamber, and because I will be carrying locked and cocked with one in the chamber I'm not extremely concerned its just kinda annoying.

thanks for all the comments and suggestion, please keep them coming

[bryanrheem]

It should be something you take care of. Granted, short of a riot or zombie take over, when will you find yourself in a situation when you need to empty a magazine and reload? Still, better be safe than sorry. I wouldn't be comfortable carrying a firearm unless all functions were working.

It seems odd to me that the problem doesn't exist while shooting as the mechanical motions are almost the same.

1) Are you sure you are pulling the slide all the way back?
2) How is the round not seating properly? Does the round stove-pipe? Is it just not fully seated?

[allingeneral]

Congrats on your first pistol and welcome aboard VGOF!

[dps8255]

when I let the slide go the round would get stuck on the feed ramp but as I said it only happened when loading the initial round (every single time) after that it would be fine until I loaded another magazine. However today after work I went back to the range and put 100 rounds through it and the problem only happened once, when I asked the person at bobs gun shop he told me this is a common problem with 1911 because the feed ramp needs to be "broken in". All I know is that the problem is almost non existent at this point so I'm going to clean it again and see what happens. Thanks for the help keep it coming

ps. What does stove piping mean? Sorry I don't quite have all the fire arm vocabulary down

[CCFan]

Stove-piping is when the slide has started travelling to the rear, the empty case is ejected, but the slide moves forward before the empty case has had time to clear, and the slide catches the empty case, pinning it upright and stopping the slide from returning to battery. It looks like a stove pipe sticking out of your firearm, thus the term "Stove-pipe".

Congrats on your purchase, enjoy it and good luck!! Welcome aboard...

[dps8255]

no it doesn't stove pipe, the round gets jammed forward against the bottom of the feed ramp almost like it doesn't move up enough to make it into the chamber

[Chasbo00]

Since jamming is being discussed here, I think it's good time for one of my favorite Clint Smith videos:

[allingeneral]

when I let the slide go the round would get stuck on the feed ramp but as I said it only happened when loading the initial round (every single time) after that it would be fine until I loaded another magazine. However today after work I went back to the range and put 100 rounds through it and the problem only happened once, when I asked the person at bobs gun shop he told me this is a common problem with 1911 because the feed ramp needs to be "broken in". All I know is that the problem is almost non existent at this point so I'm going to clean it again and see what happens. Thanks for the help keep it coming

ps. What does stove piping mean? Sorry I don't quite have all the fire arm vocabulary down

Maybe try loading the magazine short a round and see if the first round still gets stuck on the feed ramp.

Stovepipe means the spent casing doesn't fully eject and gets stuck in the eject port after the slide goes back forward. So the bullet end o the casing is hanging out and the primer end is still inside the eject port. It looks kind o like a stovepipe.

[meak99]

I was having that first round jam issue with my RIA 1911, but only with hollow point ammo. Three things you can do...

1. As previously mentioned, load one less round
2. Install an EGW High Magazine Catch (this was my choice and it solved the problem)
3. Take it to a gun smith and have them tune it to feed hollow points by polishing the throat and feed ramp.

YMMV.

[dps8255]

what is an egw magazine catch?

[meak99]

http://www.egwguns.com/mag-catches-mag- ... mag-catch/

It holds the mag slightly higher in the mag well. Improves feeding reliability.

[Atamisk]

With my newer RIA (~250 Rds.) i know that feeding that last roung into the magazine can be a challenge. If i don't make VERY sure the round is seated against the back of the magazine, the gun will have first-round feeding issues. Usually i can just eject the magazine, re-seat the round and continue as usual.

[dps8255]

it sounds like the mag catch is what I need to get because I followed the link and the website said that it helps with nose diving and that is the feed issue that I'm having, I also load hollow points when I'm not the range so I think this is exactly what I'm looking for

[meak99]

I had to do some fitting to install it... had to sand it down a bit to fit in my existing mag catch recess. If you get the part, seems like something any gunsmith could install for you at a reasonable price if your not comfortable doing it.

[gunderwood]

Since jamming is being discussed here, I think it's good time for one of my favorite Clint Smith videos:

That's a very useful training video.