New Defender Failure To Feed Issues

[Tgar]

New to 1911's and am thrilled with everything about my new Defender...except the FTF issue. Now I have been on several forums seeking some answers but there seems to be so many different areas to look at. Obviously I'll work on form to prevent any limp wristing, but that begs the question about being able to shoot strong hand only, let alone weak hand, should the need arise. I have read about swapping out mags, ammo, cleaning, not cleaning, break in period, no break in period...wow. (I have more appreciation for my ol' G-lock now! Ha!) Anyway, I've only put 200 rounds through it so far and have had on average about a 5% failure rate. (At least when I started counting..) Have had a round stuck in the barrel with the slide stuck open, but with the rest of the failures, the spent casing is extracted but a new shell is not racked after the slide closes...a bit frustrating with the money spent, but very willing to correct my form if that's the issue. That's been my Colt experience so far. Being a newbie to 1911's and Colt, I was really psyched to get to it. Now, a bit dissapointed..
Form first, then if failures continue should I be looking at ammo (Fed Premium 230gr) and then magazines? Or send it back to Colt for analysis?
Thank you all!

[Mickey_D]

My question is what is happening with your FTF? Is the round being stripped from the mag and not entering the chamber, or does the slide not travel fully to the rear?

The first may be a mag issue, while the second may be an ammo issue or limp wrist situation.

I have a New Agent, using the two factory magazines I have had zero issues. I also use Check Mate Inc mags without issue.
The ammo I run is all 230 gr., ball WWB, Federal ball, Winchester T Series HP std and +P, Federal Hydra-Shok and HST, Speer Gold Dot.

[1patriot]

I joined this forum as i just got a new Defender. Info on the defender 45acp is scarce. one thing i did learn was to suspect the mags if you have a good grip.

Quite a few shooters have just chucked their mags for new ones and problem solved.

I got the Defender as i have been missing my Officer's Model since I sold it in the '80s.

[Ken Hill]

Limp wristing with the left hand actually assists somewhat with case ejection. You can have someone make a phone video to resolve that question. Shoot it from a bench rest/bag and see if the results are different.

[Collects]

Tgar, is the FTF problem ammo-related? Have you tried various types of ammo?

My Defender does not feed hollow point ammo very well, but feeds round nose ammo just fine. I use either Wilson Combat or Colt magazines; they all seem to work the same.

BTW, is polishing the feed ramp a good way to make my Defender reliable with hollow point SD ammo? Is there another procedure? Why does GunByte say that they say not to polish a Defender feed ramp? I would like my Defender to be reliable with something like Hornady Critical Defense ammo.

If one overpolishes a feed ramp, what happens? How much polishing results in overpolishing a feed ramp? Must one then purchase a new barrel?

[1patriot]

I have had several makes of .45acp with FTF issues. I tried polishing the ramp to no avail.
Most makers will say to never tamper with the firearm (use a gunsmith). CYA, there.

The best results I've had were to 'custom fit' all the new parts on the sidearm. My method is to run about 500 rounds of 230gr ammo through the thing. So far this has been nearly 100% effective (if it ever failed, I get rid of the firearm).

Earlier this month, I had the same FT issues with my New Taurus 45.acp. I was getting near 60% FTFs & FTEs, so i took it out with a case of Federal AE, that I got 'real' cheap online. It was a mess, but I ran a few hundred rounds of that 'junk' in order to fit & wear the parts into shape.

Afterwards, I ran a box of Hornady Critical Defense 185gr FTX (red ball) through it without incident.

To be sure, I then tried to run another mag of the AE 230gr again, and sure enough, I was back to 50% malfunctions. The cheap ammo, I got, is 'junk', but it works well for breaking in a new sidarm........ and practicing my jam-clearing skills, but I'll be glad when I use it up.

Tgar; since you "had a round stuck in the barrel with the slide stuck open, but with the rest of the failures, the spent casing is extracted but a new shell is not racked after the slide closes..."
I'd certainly question your ammo and then be suspicious of your mag(s).

Before switching to Gold Dot, Corbon or other 'good' ammo, I'd run the rest of the 230gr junk through it to 'break her in' smooth the internals, slide, etc. (its not like it's good for anything else)

[Collects]

Upon further inspection of my Colt Defender (and some internet research), I found a big gouge in the feed ramp (the part of the feed ramp that is integral with the barrel), perpendicular to the direction of travel of the cartridges, and about a milimeter up from the bottom edge of the feed ramp.

The result is that hollow point ammo often fails to feed, and the pistol will not fully chamber the round. However, the pistol reliably chambers round nose ammo. It makes no difference which magazines I use, Colt or Wilson Combat (I usually use the Wilson Combat mags); they both perform the same in my Defender.

My mags have the plastic follower, so a hard magazine follower is not gouging the feed ramp at any time.

Internet research shows several shapes of feed ramps on 1911s, with several "fluff and buff" videos online. It is apparent that if one polishes the feed ramp wrong, it makes the problems worse.

Since I did not promptly find a supply of readily available, and inexpensice replacement barrels (in case I polish the feed ramp and ruin the original barrel), I dropped my Defender off with the smithy today. He thinks he can repair the feed ramp for me. We shall see soon enough.

[quicksilvergoat]

Is your Defender an older one with the old crappy orange plastic followers in the mags? If so those mags are junk. Once I switched to Wilson Combats in my Defender I have never had another issue. Hopefully your smith can make it right.

[Collects]

My Defended did come with a mag with the orange follower. I take it, quicksilvergoat, that you suggest not using those mags? Are replacement mag followers available?

[Slinkey]

Tripp Research Inc. has a package that includes a new spring and follower for rebuilding old mags, they work great.