Posted: 11/12/2009 6:23:39 AM EDT
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Hey Guys,
I have a 5" RIA 1911, basic GI model. The first 200 rounds fired flawlessley, now however I am having problems. Roughly every 2 mags I will get a failure to battery. Also, if the slide is locked back and I hit the release it will not chamber a round. Simply pulling the slide back and releasing it will chamber a round, provided I do it fast enough. As I'm sure you can tell from my post I don't know jack shit about pistols, so bear with me. What would cause this? Recoil spring? During my pre purchase research it seemed like a lot of people swithced out there recoil spring on the Rock Islands. Any help? I'm like a sponge grasshawpa ETA: I am using Ultramax ammo. Blazer was slightly worse and wolf was the clear loser out of the group |
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Almost sounds like a magazine issue. First thing before I recommend any tuning to your 1911 get you some quality mags Wilson Combat or Tripp's. Yeah, that could be. The first problem I had with the pistol was the factory mag cracking a feed lip. When that died I bought a crummy generic mag which went into the trash and a Kimber pro tac mag. I assumed the Kimber mag would be quality, anybody know about those? |
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On my Officers RIA Kimpro mags wont hold back on last round so I wouldnt recomend them for your fullsize. Are you using the stock mag that came with your RIA?
Also is this with FMJ or JHPs? My RIA does the exact thing with any hollowpoints but feeds FMJ perfectly. Only have 150 rds through her so time will make her feed HPs better hopefully. |
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On my Officers RIA Kimpro mags wont hold back on last round so I wouldnt recomend them for your fullsize. Are you using the stock mag that came with your RIA? Also is this with FMJ or JHPs? My RIA does the exact thing with any hollowpoints but feeds FMJ perfectly. Only have 150 rds through her so time will make her feed HPs better hopefully. The stock mag unfortunately died, the feed lip cracked and that REALLY jammed the gun up. The kimber mag I use locks the slide back after last round, the generic one I bought at the same time did not. I'm using FMJ only. |
| Look at the basics first. Have you tried different mags, ammo? Is it lubed? A new recoil spring could help, and it's a cheap fix. You should be using the slingshot method to chamber a round, not the slide release. For more than you could ever want to know about RIA's, go here. http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17 If it turns out to be a warranty issue, the factory reps post there all the time. |
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Look at the basics first. Have you tried different mags, ammo? Is it lubed? A new recoil spring could help, and it's a cheap fix. You should be using the slingshot method to chamber a round, not the slide release. For more than you could ever want to know about RIA's, go here. http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17 If it turns out to be a warranty issue, the factory reps post there all the time. I have tried different ammo, lube should be good (I'm religious about it) however not different mags. Thanks for the link. What is the slingshot method? I only use the release after shooting a mag and loading the next, because it is already locked back. Seemed convenient 
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change your recoil springs out to wolff 16lb or 18.5lbs and get back to us; also, try diff mags, mark the ones you have and see if its one particular mag that gives you trouble FWIW: the first thing i did on my RIA back when was change out the spring Unfortunately, I'm down to one mag for the gun, the Kimber. I will see about ordering some Wilson Combats or Tripps, I have heard very positive about both. Where is a good place to buy? What do they normally cost? Were you having problems when you changed the spring? |
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I found that 7rd mags worked great in my RIA, but 8rd mags would sometimes fail. Now I use Wilson Combat 8rd mags and they work great. Tripps are supposed to be good, but I havent used them yet. The follower design on the Wilson mags is excellent. I would also polish the feed ramps with a dremel. Use the bullet tip felt wheel and some polishing compound you don't want to cut it down, just smooth it up. |
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change your recoil springs out to wolff 16lb or 18.5lbs and get back to us; also, try diff mags, mark the ones you have and see if its one particular mag that gives you trouble FWIW: the first thing i did on my RIA back when was change out the spring Unfortunately, I'm down to one mag for the gun, the Kimber. I will see about ordering some Wilson Combats or Tripps, I have heard very positive about both. Where is a good place to buy? What do they normally cost? Were you having problems when you changed the spring? check midwayusa––they have good prices on both stuff and good on shipping charges; i did have problems...then i read up and got word that RIA used a lighter spring in my gun |
| I used a Dremel, felt tip and Mothers Mag Polish to polish the feed ramp and also the throat and chamber. I also adjusted the extractor tension. I had feeding issues and for mine, it cured the problem. I also put a Wolf 18 lb recoil spring and Xtra power FP spring in mine. Runs 100% since. |
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Look at the basics first. Have you tried different mags, ammo? Is it lubed? A new recoil spring could help, and it's a cheap fix. You should be using the slingshot method to chamber a round, not the slide release. For more than you could ever want to know about RIA's, go here. http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17 If it turns out to be a warranty issue, the factory reps post there all the time. I have tried different ammo, lube should be good (I'm religious about it) however not different mags. Thanks for the link. What is the slingshot method? I only use the release after shooting a mag and loading the next, because it is already locked back. Seemed convenient
The "slingshot method" is simply pulling back on the slide and releasing it (which you say you did successfully), as opposed to using the slide release. The slide only moves back a fraction of an inch, but will give some added "oomph" to the chambering process. |
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change your recoil springs out to wolff 16lb or 18.5lbs and get back to us; also, try diff mags, mark the ones you have and see if its one particular mag that gives you trouble FWIW: the first thing i did on my RIA back when was change out the spring Unfortunately, I'm down to one mag for the gun, the Kimber. I will see about ordering some Wilson Combats or Tripps, I have heard very positive about both. Where is a good place to buy? What do they normally cost? Were you having problems when you changed the spring? check midwayusa––they have good prices on both stuff and good on shipping charges; i did have problems...then i read up and got word that RIA used a lighter spring in my gun I thought I had heard that 
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I used a Dremel, felt tip and Mothers Mag Polish to polish the feed ramp and also the throat and chamber. I also adjusted the extractor tension. I had feeding issues and for mine, it cured the problem. I also put a Wolf 18 lb recoil spring and Xtra power FP spring in mine. Runs 100% since. Sounds like I can do the feed ramp polish, finally gives me an excuse to get a dremel  How do I adjust the exctractor tension? What is an FP spring?
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I used a Dremel, felt tip and Mothers Mag Polish to polish the feed ramp and also the throat and chamber. I also adjusted the extractor tension. I had feeding issues and for mine, it cured the problem. I also put a Wolf 18 lb recoil spring and Xtra power FP spring in mine. Runs 100% since. Sounds like I can do the feed ramp polish, finally gives me an excuse to get a dremel How do I adjust the exctractor tension? What is an FP spring?
FP, Firing Pin spring. Most recoil spring kits from Wolff come with one. |
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Get mags and polish the feed ramp. I have heard mixed opinions on doing this yourself. While I'm in no way tool retarted, I'm not a micrometer carrying machinist either. Could I do this myself or send it to a smith? You can,use the white compound and take it easy. Remember you aren't taking any metal off just polishing whats there. Don't press down very much and let the tool do the work. And I've found it helps to use a polishing wheel as close to the size and shape of your feed ramp as you can get. |
Why is it that the first thing someone suggests is to polish the feedramp? The Problem could be caused by several things. Weak recoil spring Bad Magazine Improper extractor tension Simplest thing to begin with is to remove the extractor and clean the extractor channel out. Use a .22lr BRASS brush to insure you get any caked crap out. A dirty extractor channel can result in increased extractor tension which can cause the problem you've described. Make sure to check your extractor tension when your done. After having done this if the problem persists replace the recoil spring............. $7, before moving on to the magazine. |
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I found that for mine, new mags and a stronger spring cleared up the problem. I also shot it like it was going out of style to break it in.
I've had less failures with that pistol than with any other automatic I've handled, and the simple things seemed to work well. And I do so love that pistol. A friend however, bought the RIA .45 compact, and he's had nothing but trouble with it.  But on the upside, he's considering selling it, and moving to get hisself a fullsized to replace it.
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Why is it that the first thing someone suggests is to polish the feedramp?
The Problem could be caused by several things. Weak recoil spring Bad Magazine Improper extractor tension Simplest thing to begin with is to remove the extractor and clean the extractor channel out. Use a .22lr BRASS brush to insure you get any caked crap out. A dirty extractor channel can result in increased extractor tension which can cause the problem you've described. Make sure to check your extractor tension when your done. After having done this if the problem persists replace the recoil spring............. $7, before moving on to the magazine. I polish the feed ramp, throat and chamber in all my semi autos. Just adds to feeding smoothly. I also stated the stepsI took to solve the problem I had. Why does Wilson and Baer polish the feed ramps? |
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Quoted: Quoted: I polish the feed ramp, throat and chamber in all my semi autos. Just adds to feeding smoothly. I also stated the stepsI took to solve the problem I had. Why does Wilson and Baer polish the feed ramps?Why is it that the first thing someone suggests is to polish the feed ramp? The question was "Why is it that the first thing someone suggests is to polish the feed ramp?" not why does Wilson or Baer polish feed ramps. If someone wanted to pay me to polish their feed ramp I'd certainly do it, however that has little to do with diagnosing and correcting the OP's problem. |