wilco423
04-26-2013, 11:02 AM
Last week I was at a department range day, and got halfway through the qual/benchmark when the failure occurred. The gun is a SA TRP 1911 full raiI (bull barrel) in 45ACP, and I was shooting AE 230gr standard velocity. The gun has around 7k rounds through it and has a newer 18.5# recoil spring. I did not notice any "boom" prior to the failure. As you can see, the feet are torn out of the bottom of the chamber and the crack extends from there to about 2" up the barrel.
What I'd like to know, to deepen my knowledge base, is if this is more likely to be ammo, metallurgy, or set-up/build related. I know SA had issues with cracking barrels in Pros, but I haven't found anything on TRP bull barrels. Also, with the crack starting at the feet, it seems like the root cause may be more set-up related. As far as I can tell, there is even contact the whole surface of the VIS (no bow-tie relief cut present). Sorry, I didn't get a good pic of the VIS before sending it off. I've replaced numerous small parts (either myself or SACS) but the frame, slide and barrel are original and unmodified.
Of course, SA customer service has been great. When I called and told them of the problem, I had a return FedEx label in 5 min. They recommended I contact American Eagle to advise them of the issue, but would take care of the gun in any case and in no way tried to pawn me off on AE. It's with SA right now, hopefully returning to me soon.
On a side note, I came over here after 10-8 closed, and really appreciate the level of professionalism and congeniality here. I've gained a ton of knowledge already and have been applying some lessons learned in my training capacity at my PD. Thanks!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/26/unubu2up.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/26/eja3yvy6.jpg
Mods - If this should be in "Ask the Armorer," please move it. Thanks.
What I'd like to know, to deepen my knowledge base, is if this is more likely to be ammo, metallurgy, or set-up/build related. I know SA had issues with cracking barrels in Pros, but I haven't found anything on TRP bull barrels. Also, with the crack starting at the feet, it seems like the root cause may be more set-up related. As far as I can tell, there is even contact the whole surface of the VIS (no bow-tie relief cut present). Sorry, I didn't get a good pic of the VIS before sending it off. I've replaced numerous small parts (either myself or SACS) but the frame, slide and barrel are original and unmodified.
Of course, SA customer service has been great. When I called and told them of the problem, I had a return FedEx label in 5 min. They recommended I contact American Eagle to advise them of the issue, but would take care of the gun in any case and in no way tried to pawn me off on AE. It's with SA right now, hopefully returning to me soon.
On a side note, I came over here after 10-8 closed, and really appreciate the level of professionalism and congeniality here. I've gained a ton of knowledge already and have been applying some lessons learned in my training capacity at my PD. Thanks!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/26/unubu2up.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/26/eja3yvy6.jpg
Mods - If this should be in "Ask the Armorer," please move it. Thanks.