Posted: 4/14/2013 8:09:27 AM EDT
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Hi, I looked around a little but didnt find what I was looking for. Not an exhaustive search so I may be wrong.
A couple years ago I bought a used (very lightly, like maybe the previous owner shot a box of ammo and sold/traded it) SA Ultra Compact "Loaded" 3" for carry. It's light-ish, I like the trigger, the porting halps control muzzle flip really well and it's a 10 round double stack magazine. It's even kinda purdy 
However there are some serious drawbacks to this little fella. -I can't reliably run 230gr. with out problems ejecting, feeding and returning to battery. 187gr seems to work pretty good and I didn't have any HP for it at the time to try them out. Would heavier springs help this? If so, does anyone have any recommendations? -Now for the part where I explain the "couple years" portion... I knew better but I tried some Wolf that a neighbor gave me in it. I broke the extractor. Just clipped off a little from the tip of it all the way across is what it looks like. So, should I replace it with a factory SA extractor or are there any better ones out there? Again, any suggestions would be appreciated. After this happened, I put it in the safe and basically forgot about it since I have other options for carry. My wife recently obtained her CHL and she's got pretty small hands. We went and tried on some stuff at a couple local gunshops and she liked the M&P whatever model number for fit and comfort. The other day, I had her try the little SA in the safe on for size and she liked it also. In fact she liked it alot. Now, I really, really want to like this little pistol and if she likes it, it's hers. *BUT* I'm a little skeptical about the reliability since I was having problems even before the extractor broke. Are there some things I can do to improve the reliability on these? I want to be able to feed 230 ball since not being able to do that in a .45 is just...well it's just wrong dammit. Help me Arfi Wan Kenobi's, you're my only hope! |
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As far as I know it takes a normal 1911 extracter. You can find a tutorial online about how to tune and pollish the extracter also. 3" 1911s are known to not run 100%. Personally, I would not let anyone I care about carry it untill I KNOW it runs 100%. You can try to fix it. Springs, tuned extracter, pollished feedramp, see if that fixes it. What exactly was it doing?
I think recoil springs wear out real quick on short 1911s. Maybe the previous owner shot it more than you think, because I think they need to be replaced ever 500rnds. I've had a 5" gun that I wasted 400rnds trying to trouble shoot and finally changed the recoil spring and bada-bing! it ran 100% |
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Thanks for the answers. Sorry I didn't post back earlier but work and stuff keep distracting me. I should be getting a new extractor bytomorrow, maybe saturday. I really want to like this piece, but if it's going to be unreliable it will just have to work as a trade.
In other news, it seems to have had some stuff slip and slide acrossed it while in the floor of the safe and there is more holdster wear on the finish than I remebered... 
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| Try new recoil springs...if that doesn't do the trick, call Springfield.....they are absolutely top notch as far as customer service(and their guns ain't bad either)....I had really good luck with their customer service on a Factory Comp(which had been worked over by someone else)....long story short....the barrel lug broke, I sent it in,not only did they replace the barrel, but they also resprung and reblued the gun free of charge....and I had explained to them that I was not the original owner...They get a huge thumbs up from me......... |
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Range Report:
Just got back from a quick range test. I had one magazine of 187gr ball (IIRC it was Remington) left and I took along a box of S&B 230gr. ball and a box of Remington 230gr JHP. I was carrying my XD45 with me as well, I'll get to that in a moment. The 187gr. ran flawlessly. Absolutely no feed problems, extraction problems or RTB issues. Nice snappy little round, but 10 rounds doesn't make any sort of test other than "well, the extractor isn't in backwards anyway". The S&B 230gr. ran flawlessly with one exception. If I had a full magazine of 10 rounds it's too much pressure and the first round or two want to pop out instead of feed correctly. That's a magazine problem and these are SA factory mags. I'm thinking that if I do a little feed lip adjusting it should fix this...opinions? The 230gr JHP is no bueno for this pistol. In fact I load 200gr Hornady TAP FPD +P in my carry.and after a choke on every one of the Remmy JHP's I stripped out a mag of the good stuff and had the same results. This little guy has return to battery issues with hollow point ammunition. Am I off base in thinking that this is a common issue with compact 1911's? If this is the only problem this gives me, I can live with it. However, this really makes the case that it is not a good carry and especially for my wife. She's not feeling well today so she didn't go along for the test drive but I really forsee this thing being a little too much as she does have some issues with her hands anyway. Other observations: As I recalled, the porting really does a good job of controlling flip so you can return to your target much quicker. I experienced noticeable blowback for the first time when firing this. Obviously it's because it's such a little feller and the porting don't help in this regard. I really don't like the sights. It's a really loud piece! |
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Quoted:
Range Report: Just got back from a quick range test. I had one magazine of 187gr ball (IIRC it was Remington) left and I took along a box of S&B 230gr. ball and a box of Remington 230gr JHP. I was carrying my XD45 with me as well, I'll get to that in a moment. The 187gr. ran flawlessly. Absolutely no feed problems, extraction problems or RTB issues. Nice snappy little round, but 10 rounds doesn't make any sort of test other than "well, the extractor isn't in backwards anyway". The S&B 230gr. ran flawlessly with one exception. If I had a full magazine of 10 rounds it's too much pressure and the first round or two want to pop out instead of feed correctly. That's a magazine problem and these are SA factory mags. I'm thinking that if I do a little feed lip adjusting it should fix this...opinions? The 230gr JHP is no bueno for this pistol. In fact I load 200gr Hornady TAP FPD +P in my carry.and after a choke on every one of the Remmy JHP's I stripped out a mag of the good stuff and had the same results. This little guy has return to battery issues with hollow point ammunition. Am I off base in thinking that this is a common issue with compact 1911's? If this is the only problem this gives me, I can live with it. However, this really makes the case that it is not a good carry and especially for my wife. She's not feeling well today so she didn't go along for the test drive but I really forsee this thing being a little too much as she does have some issues with her hands anyway. Other observations: As I recalled, the porting really does a good job of controlling flip so you can return to your target much quicker. I experienced noticeable blowback for the first time when firing this. Obviously it's because it's such a little feller and the porting don't help in this regard. I really don't like the sights. It's a really loud piece! Many people will claim shorter 1911s are problem children but not in my experience. I've owned 2 different aluminum framed Kimber Ultras (3"), 1 steel framed Kimber Ultra, a Colt Officer (3.5") a Para-Ord P12 (3.5") and a PO Warthog (3.0"). None had any issues feeding or cycling my choice of SD ammo. SD ammo tested and chosen for my compact 1911s were all 230gr and standard pressure - Speer Gold Dot for Short Barrel and Winchester Ranger-T. A few of my friends have weapons that will not reliably feed Gold Dots of any weight. Does your V-10 use a ramped or non-ramped barrel? Have you checked the ramp for irregularities/roughness? Is it within spec? Find something that works and has been tested before using for SD purposes... if you can't run it reliably on the range, leave it off the CC rotation until it can run flawlessly. Blowback??? as in felt muzzle blast? I think ported/comped guns are a great idea, but better suited to competition or plinking than CC duties. Although many SD ammo use powders with flash suppressant, I'd rather not have to test different brands to witness the flash levels in reduced lighting conditions. Maybe you can get your wife/S.O. to test drive some other guns. Maybe she'd be happy with a G19/26 or M&P in 9. Is she absolutely stuck on .45 or is that just because you own the V10? Back to your SA... sounds like the doublestack mags are part of your issue. How many different mags do you have and have you checked the springs to make sure they are the correct ones? If the rounds "pop-out" of a fully loaded magazine instead of waiting at the feedlips, sounds like theres an issue with the magazine. I've got plenty of P-14, P12 and warthog (P-10) mags that don't have this issue and I've even replaced the OEM springs with Wolff +10%! Good Luck |
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Shot some more last weekend, it still eats up ball just fine...but it appears to be key holing.
From approximately 15 yards, the holes in the target appeared to be mostly sideways but it may have been the plywood backing. I don't think so since nothing else we shot that day seemed to do it so much but it did on a couple others. |
| I'm starting to think it was a problem gun that somebody unloaded. I had one like it except it was single-stack. With the factory 6-round mags it worked fine and seemed to be accurate. What a blast out of those exhaust ports! It's one of those pistols that I wish I had not sold. The ports worked as-advertised and it was fairly pleasant to shoot. I tried 7-rounders in it and it balked. Like already said, I think your pistol was shot more than you think and probably needs a recoil spring. Plus, do a detail-strip and clean/lube. A polish on the feed ramp couldn't hurt. You can use metal polish - nothing aggressive - maybe Flitz or aluminum wheel polish, etc. Seems to me a double-stack 3" .45 for a lady with hand problems and small hands is pushing the envelope a tad. |
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Good point, I had forgotten to post the results of her trying it out. While not disastrous, she did not like the feel. The double stack makes it a little too wide for her to use comfortably. She did make it through a full magazine though and the ports did work their magic so the recoil and flip were manageable, but it's uncomfortable.
That's another thing...the mags ran without a hitch this time. I suppose they may have just needed to break in a bit as I haven't had the chance to fiddle with them any. I think you guys are right about it being shot out though. I guess the previous owner just did a really good job of keeping it cleaned and pretty. I'm thinking about getting springs, then trading it against an M&P 9 for Mrs. Soylent. She likes the feel of it, but we need to test drive one first to be sure. |
| I almost bought one when they first came out. I was looking all over for them at the local gun shops and one day found one used at my favorite store. When I asked the owner about it he told me I didn't want it as it was his and he was getting rid of it. He had bought it and had problems with it and had to send it back to Springfield. Not only that but shooting it at his indoor range it pretty much blinded you. Once it came back from Springfield he put it in the used gun case and off loaded it. I ended up buying an officers model that also had to go back to Springfield twice. I dumped that and bought a full size Kimber and couldn't have been happier. I then bought a Kimber ultra CDP II for my carry gun and it ran well with almost everything I shot through it. I can't remember the brand that caused a problem now but it was more of a truncated cone HP. I settled on the Remington Golden Saber in 185gr +P as they were readily available locally. Once I took a different job and moved to a climate where it required me to carry in a more deep concealed fashion I had to rethink my CCW choice and go with a smaller pistol. If I were still living in a cooler climate I think I would still be carrying the compact .45ACP. |