On Thu, 22 Dec 2016 19:04:33 -0500, Alex wrote:
Poco Loco wrote:
On Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 10:23:54 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Thu, 22 Dec 2016 09:43:14 -0500, Poco Loco
wrote:
On Mon, 19 Dec 2016 20:16:02 -0500, Alex wrote:
Poco Loco wrote:
On Mon, 19 Dec 2016 18:47:30 -0500, Alex wrote:
Poco Loco wrote:
Took my buddy, Carmen, to the range today to try out the new Ruger SR1911. Carmen started the
shooting and withing three rounds had a stovepipe. He cleared it, chambered another round and had
another stovepipe within a couple rounds. He had three in the first eight rounds fired. He continued
shooting, going through 25 rounds or so, still having stovepipes and the slide not remaining in the
open position when the last round was fired. We tried different magazines and different ammo (we'd
been using the aluminum cased ammo), but nothing seemed to work.
I asked to shoot it, and went through three or four magazines. The gun functioned perfectly! In
fact, I think I was more accurate with it than with the Kimber. Seems like the sight dots are easier
to see on the Ruger. Anyway, I remembered my brother, retired cop, telling me once about his
daughter trying to shoot a new gun and having problems. He blamed 'limp wristing' as he had no
problem shooting the gun. This was a S&W SD9 VE.
I mentioned this to Carmen, he extended his arm a lot more and firmed up his wrist. Lo and behold -
no problem, except that a couple times the slide still wouldn't lock back after the last round. We
then went to loading the magazines with only two rounds just to test the slide lock. It worked for
me 100% of the time, for Carmen about 50% of the time.
So, we deduced that Carmen needs to firm up his wrist. He will bring a wrist brace next week. We'll
see what happens.
But, here's the question. When he shoots the Kimber, he has no problem whatsoever. Could some of
this be due to the Ruger being new and needing 'breaking in'?
The spring is new and firmer so that might have something to do with
it. I've run 400-500 rounds through mine without any problems so it
could be something else. If it doesn't clear up send it back to Ruger.
Their customer service is fantastic.
I may take it to the range and just pump some ammo through it to see if it loosens up a bit. Putting
'slide not locking back after last round' in google gave me some ideas also, or at least some things
to look at. Then we'll try it again. If any problems I'll call Ruger. I'll be sure and tell them I
know Alex. :)
That was made in Prescott, AZ. I don't know anyone there...
So yesterday I took SIL and two boys to the range. We put 200 rounds through the Ruger. The boys did
not have any stove pipe problems, but did have cases where the slide would not lock back after the
last round. Gave them the 'limp wrist' talk, and had them fire all four magazines with only two
rounds each. After a few of those drills, they had no more problem with failures of the slide to
lock. Had a great time. They went through almost 400 rounds of .22, with the Mark IV and the
Heritage Rough Rider single action .22 revolver. They loved that gun, and I agreed it was fun to
shoot - accurate too. They also put 150 rounds of 9mm through the Sig P226. The range wasn't
crowded, so we were given two lanes. Made life much easier than trying to have four people work in
one lane.
I will say this about the Ruger. It seems to have the strongest mainspring I've ever encountered in
a pistol. Unless the hammer is back, it takes almost all I've got to rack that damn slide. I might
check into a weaker mainspring.
That would be my guess. I bet Ruger put in a stiffer main spring to
handle the high performance ammo that is out there these days. The
hardball .45s were tuned for mil spec ammo that is not really that hot
and has a nice rounded bullet that is tuned to feed well in a 1911.
They probably think a stiffer spring makes it more reliable with
expanding bullets.
****. Ruger's closed for the holidays. I wanted to find out the spring strength. Here is an interesting article on recoil springs.
http://www.shootingtimes.com/gunsmit...ffects-timing/
Checking Brownell's shows recoil springs for 1911s from 9-20 pounds. I think this Ruger must have a 20 pounder, 'cause this slide is a bitch to rack.
Tim had an idea...take the spring out of the Kimber, which is much easier to rack, and try it in the Ruger. Might do that.
That's the great thing about 1911's - many interchangeable parts. Does
the Kimber magazine fit the Ruger?
No, the Kimber magazine won't lock into the Ruger. But, the Wilson Combats work in both, and,
strangely, the Ruger magazines work in both.
Don't know if you read the article above, but they talked about leaving the slide back to "short"
the spring. "They were reinstalled and the slide was locked to the rear for 1 hour. This reduced
their length 4 to 7 mms."
Well, last night I measured the spring and then left the slide locked rearward all night. The spring
measured exactly (according to my calibrated eyeballs) what it had measured the night before,
15.7cm. No change, so I guess the shooting has removed all the new spring shortening.
Came across an interesting video on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3UVLm2GajI
Next step - find what the original spring strength is on the gun. Have found some informative 'tune
up' videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTxwKxWVvis
And there are more in the series. Uses the right gun to demo with also.