Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I am official done with my Rock Island 1911. I am now actively searching for something to replace it ASAP.

Here's the story. At this points I've fired probably 600-700 rounds through this pistol. About 3 weeks ago, it started failing to return to battery when I would manual charge it. So I sent it into the Armscor to fix. I got it back yesterday, and at first the action was sooooo smooth. Like butter. Just a few hours later, without firing any shots, it was back to it's old trick. Failing to return to battery. I thought, "Ok, maybe it just needs to be loosened up".

So I went to the range today. Put close to 200 rounds through it. I had a dozen failure to feeds (of various kinds), 3 failures to eject, and one failure to fire. So that's it, I'm done with this gun. I took a risk on a cheap pistol, and I've learned my lesson. I'm not willing to put a bunch of time and money into a cheap gun. I find in inexcusable that more or less new pistol should have these many issues.

That said, I'm not in the market for a Glock 19 or something similar. Are there any other alternatives I should look at?

Check out Springfield Armory's 1911's. Good bang (pun intended) for the buck.

http://www.springfield-armory.com/armor ... ktype=1911

I have had a similar experience with my Charles Daly 1911. I bought it used from a guy on here who said that he hadn;t fired it in years - it was just sitting in his gunsafe, and he wanted to get rid of it.

It won't feed most of the time because the nose of almost every round hangs on the feed ramp. It also stovepipes all the time. No wonder he hadn't fired it in years! He probably got pissed off at it ten years ago, put it in the back of the safe and conveniently "forgot" why he hadn;t fired it in years when he sold it to me. I guess it's a case of getting what I paid for.

I've tried using my dremel to polish the feed ramp and angle it a little better, but so far it hasn't helped. I may try putting the dremel to it again before I give up on it.

For plastic guns, I like both Glocks and Smith and Wesson M&Ps. They were also the most used pistols at last year's IDPA National Championship Match.

allingeneral wrote:I have had a similar experience with my Charles Daly 1911. I bought it used from a guy on here who said that he hadn;t fired it in years - it was just sitting in his gunsafe, and he wanted to get rid of it.

It won't feed most of the time because the nose of almost every round hangs on the feed ramp. It also stovepipes all the time. No wonder he hadn't fired it in years! He probably got pissed off at it ten years ago, put it in the back of the safe and conveniently "forgot" why he hadn;t fired it in years when he sold it to me. I guess it's a case of getting what I paid for.

I've tried using my dremel to polish the feed ramp and angle it a little better, but so far it hasn't helped. I may try putting the dremel to it again before I give up on it.

Rick, have you tried other magazines in the pistol? that sounds a lot like a weak magazine spring allowing the nose of the round to dive while it is being pushed forward. as for the stovepiping, I'd have to see it in action to see if it was short stroking or did it need a new extractor, either way it probably wouldn't be too hard to fix. I am sure if you took it down to SgtBill's, he could get it working pretty quick...

The problem with controlled feed designs, like the 1911, is that if they aren't set up perfectly they may have feeding issues with some bullet designs. This is why the WC mags are so well known to fix feeding problems...they change the feeding mechanism to be like most pistols, kinetic. I have some if you want to try them at Bills.

Drewsifer wrote:I am official done with my Rock Island 1911. I am now actively searching for something to replace it ASAP.

Here's the story. At this points I've fired probably 600-700 rounds through this pistol. About 3 weeks ago, it started failing to return to battery when I would manual charge it. So I sent it into the Armscor to fix. I got it back yesterday, and at first the action was sooooo smooth. Like butter. Just a few hours later, without firing any shots, it was back to it's old trick. Failing to return to battery. I thought, "Ok, maybe it just needs to be loosened up".

So I went to the range today. Put close to 200 rounds through it. I had a dozen failure to feeds (of various kinds), 3 failures to eject, and one failure to fire. So that's it, I'm done with this gun. I took a risk on a cheap pistol, and I've learned my lesson. I'm not willing to put a bunch of time and money into a cheap gun. I find in inexcusable that more or less new pistol should have these many issues.

That said, I'm not in the market for a Glock 19 or something similar. Are there any other alternatives I should look at?

How much do you want for it and are you interested in any trades?

allingeneral wrote:It won't feed most of the time because the nose of almost every round hangs on the feed ramp. It also stovepipes all the time.

Where you at the range with me? Because you just described EXACTLY what happened to me. I'm just not willing to put more time and effort into this gun. While I'm sure I could eventually make it into a reliable pistol, I would rather start from a better point. Also, I have the ACT magazine it came with and two Check-Mate magazines with Hybrid followers. All magazines had the same problems.


DavidG, I'm open to trades depending on what it is. PM if you have an offer.

I have a Dan Wesson 44 magnum I would trade

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DavidG wrote:I have a Dan Wesson 44 magnum I would trade

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As cool as that is, not really what I'm in the market for right now. Maybe a cash amount? I've got a lot of extras. Crossbreed Supertuck holster, Fobus paddle holster for two magazines, extra magaines, and hogue grips.

Drewsifer wrote: Also, I have the ACT magazine it came with and two Check-Mate magazines with Hybrid followers. All magazines had the same problems.

Yeah, try it with some Wilson Combat mags before you give up totally. I don't know jack about Checkmate 1911 mags but the ACT-MAGs can be hit or miss.

Not sure what the cap is on your mags but load them one or two short and see what happens. Some pistols are sensitive to new stiff mag springs.