Remington R1 Feeding Problems

[CC Hoosier]

OK, my 1st time out to the range, my 3rd round hung up for a failure-to-feed. The remainder of the box (50) of cheap ammo ran flawlessly. 2nd time at the range, I reloaded 100 - 185 grain SWC to specs per Hodgdon online manual. My ftf rate was about 15% failures. Needless to say, frustration overcame me to the point of cursing loud enough for others to hear me (even while wearing ear protection). All of my other calibers I reload for have been near 100% reliability including my kahr 9mm, Glock .40, and Taurus 357/38 special with swc, rn, fmj, and jhps. After talking to a few 1911 handloaders at the range, I learned that many 1911s are very finicky with swc's. They gave me some tips on oal seating and crimping for 45 acp swc's.

I went home and lightly polished the feed ramp and throat. I extended the oal a few 1000's of an inch and taper-crimped them a little tighter. The following day with my new (and improved handloads) i went back and experienced a 5% ftf. The guy right next to me gave me 7 of his factory 130 grain rn's to try. I did and again 1 ftf out of the mag.

Again I went home and quickly reloaded 50 more and lengthened the oal and tightened the crimp even more and purchased a box of cheap ammo (130 rn's) on the way. I fired 25 of the factory ammo with no ftf's and 50 handloads with only 1 ftf. So now I'm down to about 1.25% failure rate.

Other possibilities from reading forums are: 1) the bulk on the end of the slide-stop pin is in the way a bit of incoming rounds from the mag. 2). Get Wilson Combat Mags and "problem solved." 3) Stronger slide spring. 4) Send it back to Remington for warranty work. 5) Give it an extra 100 rounds to break in.

Any suggestions anyone?

[gb6491]

OK, my 1st time out to the range, my 3rd round hung up for a failure-to-feed. The remainder of the box (50) of cheap ammo ran flawlessly. 2nd time at the range, I reloaded 100 - 185 grain SWC to specs per Hodgdon online manual. My ftf rate was about 15% failures. Needless to say, frustration overcame me to the point of cursing loud enough for others to hear me (even while wearing ear protection). All of my other calibers I reload for have been near 100% reliability including my kahr 9mm, Glock .40, and Taurus 357/38 special with swc, rn, fmj, and jhps. After talking to a few 1911 handloaders at the range, I learned that many 1911s are very finicky with swc's. They gave me some tips on oal seating and crimping for 45 acp swc's.

I went home and lightly polished the feed ramp and throat. I extended the oal a few 1000's of an inch and taper-crimped them a little tighter. The following day with my new (and improved handloads) i went back and experienced a 5% ftf. The guy right next to me gave me 7 of his factory 130 grain rn's to try. I did and again 1 ftf out of the mag.

Again I went home and quickly reloaded 50 more and lengthened the oal and tightened the crimp even more and purchased a box of cheap ammo (130 rn's) on the way. I fired 25 of the factory ammo with no ftf's and 50 handloads with only 1 ftf. So now I'm down to about 1.25% failure rate.

Other possibilities from reading forums are: 1) the bulk on the end of the slide-stop pin is in the way a bit of incoming rounds from the mag. 2). Get Wilson Combat Mags and "problem solved." 3) Stronger slide spring. 4) Send it back to Remington for warranty work. 5) Give it an extra 100 rounds to break in.

Any suggestions anyone?

Can you be a little more descriptive as to what the failure to feed looks like?

Even without that:
If you are using just the Remington magazines, I'd suggest trying a different make magazine (maybe one of those "1911 handloaders at the range" will loan you one). Most of the failure to feed gripes I've read about (my R1S and my buddy's R1 don't have any) on other forums in regards to the R1 series have been with the factory mags and were resolved when other magazines were used. I'm not sure what the issue is with the Remington magazine, but I'd be inclined to pull the spring and stretch it to see if the problem went away for awhile (it's a band-aid fix at the most).

I'd also look at the extractor's tension: http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

Regards,
Greg

BTW, without knowing your expertise (my apologies if you are accomplished), be careful not to change the angle of the frame's raceway or round over the top edge when polishing it. The barrel is a little more forgiving and not as expensive to replace.

[CC Hoosier]

My failure to feed looks identical every time. It is one cartridge on top of the one in the mag but only half way towards the chamber. They drop out easily after shaking and pulling the slide all the way back. The next one chambers perfectly after slingshooting the slide. Those same rounds that failed will feed fine when put back in the mag. When I manually feed and eject rounds, it works 100% of the time and is smooth as silk.

[CC Hoosier]

Can you be a little more descriptive as to what the failure to feed looks like?

Even without that:
If you are using just the Remington magazines, I'd suggest trying a different make magazine (maybe one of those "1911 handloaders at the range" will loan you one). Most of the failure to feed gripes I've read about (my R1S and my buddy's R1 don't have any) on other forums in regards to the R1 series have been with the factory mags and were resolved when other magazines were used. I'm not sure what the issue is with the Remington magazine, but I'd be inclined to pull the spring and stretch it to see if the problem went away for awhile (it's a band-aid fix at the most).

I'd also look at the extractor's tension: http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm

Regards,
Greg

BTW, without knowing your expertise (my apologies if you are accomplished), be careful not to change the angle of the frame's raceway or round over the top edge when polishing it. The barrel is a little more forgiving and not as expensive to replace.

My failure to feed looks identical every time. It is one cartridge on top of the one in the mag but only half way towards the chamber. They drop out easily after shaking and pulling the slide all the way back. The next one chambers perfectly after slingshooting the slide. Those same rounds that failed will feed fine when put back in the mag. When I manually feed and eject rounds, it works 100% of the time and is smooth as silk. I'm a rookie when it comes to any type of gunsmithing. I polished everything VERY lightly not removing any metal.

[CPTKILLER]

From what most have said, send it back and get it repaired.

[gb6491]

..., send it back and get it repaired.

That's not bad advice ...just be advised that folks are reporting that you might have to stay on the line awhile to get in touch with a rep (probably because of the model 700 trigger issue).
Still, it doesn't cost anything to take a little tension off the extractor.
Regards,
Greg

[Bawanna]

I finally got my R1 out this morning. Only shot about 50 of my handloads and a couple mags of Winchester carry ammo. No issues at all. Kind of nips the web but not a bite.Shoots pretty much were it looks. I'm happy so far.

[CC Hoosier]

That's not bad advice ...just be advised that folks are reporting that you might have to stay on the line awhile to get in touch with a rep (probably because of the model 700 trigger issue).
Still, it doesn't cost anything to take a little tension off the extractor.
Regards,
Greg

I think I'll try the extractor adjustment and try different mags. If the problem persists, it's going back to Remington. The feeding problem has been getting better with ammo tweaks. More rounds going through will eventually wear the surfaces causing the problem. If I can fix it myself without sending it off, then that would suit me better. Thanks again for the tips, Greg......you da man!

[CC Hoosier]

I finally got my R1 out this morning. Only shot about 50 of my handloads and a couple mags of Winchester carry ammo. No issues at all. Kind of nips the web but not a bite.Shoots pretty much were it looks. I'm happy so far.

I have read about a lot of 1911 feeding problems on the Internet. It's not just Remington. They were all originally built for just military ball ammo. polishing the ramp and throat with stronger mag springs and loosening extractor tension seems to be the top remedies for 1911's to handle ALL ammo types. I'll get to 100% reliability with this 1911. I'm already there with the Kahr CM9 and Glock 27. All I did with those was "Shoot it like I stole it!" (now where did I hear that before)?

[Southerngunner]

I have been reloading for the 45ACP for 40 years and my personal experience with 185 grain SWC is they are a short stubby bullet that needs to be set out a little further with a very good taper crimp. This may not be your problem but the shorter OAL. is almost like trying to feed a piece of brass with no bullet. For the last 30 years my main lead slug is a 200 grain SWC in the H&G68 shape. My49th edition Lyman loading manual calls for the oal for a 185 jacketed swc to be1.135" my 200 grain cast lead is set at 1.235" .
If you can borrow a wilson mag to try it would save you some money, I personally have several and they are some of the best in my opinion. I would probably try to run some more rounds through the pistol before I send it back. I hope this info may help.
Good Luck,
Terry