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JodyH
09-30-2012, 04:11 PM
My Colt LW Gov has begun having some malfunctions.
The slide will prematurely lock back and the last round will be floating in the ejection port or halfway in the chamber.
It's like the magazine has spit the round out and the follower activates the slide stop lever.
This happens with both the factory Colt 8 round mags and Wilson 47D 8 round mags.
It's happened with both ball and HP rounds.
Ideas?

clearshot7
09-30-2012, 05:02 PM
Try loading only 7 rds in the mag and see if the problem is corrected. Not an uncommon problem with 8 rd mags. Various reasons for it.

SecondsCount
09-30-2012, 05:50 PM
It sounds to me like the last round is getting ahead of the extractor somehow.

Rather than the rim being held by the claw of the extractor during feeding, the extractor lets go of the round as it leaves the magazine lips, and the mag follower is pushing it out of position. The mag follower is catching the slide stop as the slide is moving forward.

Could be poor extractor tension or the extractor is clocking. Clocking is when there is a poor fit between the firing pin stop and the extractor which causes the extractor to rotate too much. This puts the claw of the extractor in a poor position to do it's job.

JodyH
09-30-2012, 06:12 PM
It's definitely not a controlled feed.
Normally I'd say mag feed lips but it's happening with all 4 mags, Colt and Wilson.

Jason F
09-30-2012, 09:44 PM
It's definitely not a controlled feed.
Normally I'd say mag feed lips but it's happening with all 4 mags, Colt and Wilson.

Any chance all those mag springs are the same age? Ie you overhauled all your mags at the same time, and now all the mags have worn down to the same degree?

Unlikely, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Let's see if Jason Burton, or blr, or someone infinitely more capable on the internal mechanics of the 1911 chimes in.

WilsonCombatRep
10-18-2012, 09:41 PM
My Colt LW Gov has begun having some malfunctions.
The slide will prematurely lock back and the last round will be floating in the ejection port or halfway in the chamber.
It's like the magazine has spit the round out and the follower activates the slide stop lever.
This happens with both the factory Colt 8 round mags and Wilson 47D 8 round mags.
It's happened with both ball and HP rounds.
Ideas?

Your last round is leaving the lips because the mag is sprung too light for the gun. The enhanced recoil of the Lightweight gun might require you to try a 7rd mag for best reliability.
Downloading an 8rd mag is bot the same as using a 7rd mag like this

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/1911-Magazine-45-ACP-HD_P-Full-Size-7-Round-Lo-Profile-Steel-Base-Pad/productinfo/47C-HV/

BLR
10-19-2012, 07:24 AM
http://shopwilsoncombat.com/1911-Magazine-45-ACP-HD_P-Full-Size-7-Round-Lo-Profile-Steel-Base-Pad/productinfo/47C-HV/

True. A downloaded 8 round mag isn't the same as a real 7 round mag.

IIRC, you said it was a different spring and follower?

Jason Burton
10-19-2012, 08:58 AM
What weight recoil spring is in the gun?

WilsonCombatRep
10-20-2012, 06:50 AM
True. A downloaded 8 round mag isn't the same as a real 7 round mag.

IIRC, you said it was a different spring and follower?

Yes. The HD Mag uses the 7rd follower which is a zero-tilt, convex follower. And a massive spring.

NETim
10-20-2012, 09:09 AM
Not to make this a brand war by any means, (God only knows how much I love Wilson products!) but Tripp CobraMags and their 7 round conversion kits for 8 round mags are good stuff.

Wilson ETM's are great too (but I do like the metal reinforced followers on the Tripps more.) That being said, unaltered ETM's ride my belt as backups. (Well, I have upgraded them with Wilson's steel floorplates.) Trim, neat and tough.

I have converted several Wilson 47's with the Tripp 7 round kits. Yep, I lose one round, but in return I get a near bulletproof, extremely reliable hard use mag. The 47's get the steel floorplate as well to complete the package.

So my load out looks like this, in the gun, a 4" Wilson all steel Pro, the 7 round Wilson 47 w/Tripp kit (and steel baseplate) and two ETM's on my belt w/steel baseplates.

JodyH
10-22-2012, 10:03 PM
What weight recoil spring is in the gun?
Whatever comes in a Colt LW Gov.
The gun has <750 rounds through it.

Jason Burton
10-22-2012, 10:32 PM
Whatever comes in a Colt LW Gov.
The gun has <750 rounds through it.

Factory standard weight is 16#... but as I've seen many times with factory guns the recoil spring weight is often not what it should be.

First thing I would do is install an 18.5# recoil spring.

Next, magazines can also be a contributing issue, specifically out of spec or worn feed-lips and/or worn out mag springs. Combine a light or worn out recoil spring with a magazine that has out of spec feed-lips or a mag spring that needs replacement and what your experiencing can occur. I'm a big fan of the Wilson 47 (7rd) and would recommend trying a brand new Wilson 47 as well.