Finally had some time to hit the indoor range

[Bish1309]

I'm having problems with my 1911 which since last Friday started "stove piping" out of the blue. It's about the 3rd time I've had it at the range and really the first FTEs I've experienced. It would stove pipe or the shell would not eject and just jam up and keep the next round from going into battery. Had two other guns with me and they had no issues. I was using the same ammo with all the guns.

I asked one of the range guys to shoot it and watch me to determine if I was the problem but we were able to reproduce the problem if either of us shot the gun. We thought we'd narrowed it down to a specific brand of ammo but after another 50 rounds, each brand gave similar results. They said to run more ammo through it. It's probably only got maybe 200-300 rounds through it. I don't really track that data but I know how slow/fast I'm going through ammo and I spread it out over all my guns so no one gun gets any more or less range time than the next.

I brought it home and field stripped it thinking maybe I messed something up the last time I cleaned it but I don't see anything wrong. One thing I will say is it's one accurate pistol. I really enjoy shooting it and I think I'm doing fairly well for being a rookie at owning and shooting guns on a regular basis.

Anyway, here's my range report from earlier tonight. 3 guns, with documentation:












Not bad for a city slicker.

[JEBar]

not too bad indeed ..

[Les]

Nice shooting, Bish, and I hope you get your 1911 sorted asap.

[CT_Shooter]

Thanks for the range report and the target photos, Bish. Great shooting. Keep us posted on the 1911.

[RanchRoper]

Good job.

[Bish1309]

Thank you, everyone. What a rewarding hobby.

[North Country Gal]

Bish, that's some fine shooting.

As for the 1911, we have an SA Range Officer in 9mm that did the same thing for the first 300 rounds or so, but it now shoots very reliably. Some 1911s are just like that. As long as this is a range gun and fun gun and not a carry or actual competition gun, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Just keep shooting it, for now. One thing that might help is to shoot some warmish 9mm loads through it of decent quality to help break in the gun. Save the cheap bulk stuff for later. That helped with ours.

[RetiredSeabee]

Bush, good shooting. Thanks for the reminder that I need to make time for the range.
Keep shooting that 1911. I have a Para in .45 that stovepipes on me every now and then. It has gotten better over time. But I think I just need to feed it more.

[ditto1958]

Good shooting! Just because of that, I'm heading for the outdoor range!

[Bish1309]

I try to buy decent ammo. Blazer, Magtech, American Eagle....The Blazer and Magtech were being run through it lately and they are the two brands that have caused issues. From the same box I ran a bunch through my XD9 without any failures.

Yes, it is a range gun so I'm not too worried about it. I know SAs have a lifetime warranty and I live about 40 minutes from the factory so I could easily drive it over there and look over their shoulder while they fix it.

I used to do that when I worked there as a sales rep. I loved hanging out in the machine shop.

[Ziggidy]

A day at the range....I do not get enough of those fun days!

Good goin'