New SACS Warren 9mm 1911. Inauspicious beginnings.

[Palisut]

So I finally got the SACS Warren 9mm I've been waiting for. I had read all through TLG's thread and updates was aware of the potential need for "tweaking" to achieve the best reliability. This is mostly a range toy but I would obviously like for it to work.

The first thing I noticed was a weird gap at the rear of the barrel. This may be normal, but I've never seen it on a 1911 before. Perhaps someone could advise?

I had 4 Wilson Combat mags ready to go. I had loaded them and unloaded them about 6 times each, as well as leaving them loaded for a week to "break them in." As expected, the two included 9 round mags will not drop free. The gun shot about 6" to the left at 25 yds. Disappointing in a pricey custom gun, but an easy fix.

I fired 100 rounds of ball ammo without issues. Then I tried my duty/carry ammo (Federal 135 gr bonded +P JHP) and had THREE failures to feed in 20 rounds, with two different WC magazines. The rounds hit the feed ramp and just get stuck there. I can even reproduce this by hand-cycling rounds through the gun.

At this point I'm pretty frustrated and don't know what to do. If the gun will not run with the ammo that I have in bulk and get for free on a regular basis, it's not much use to me. Any thoughts?

[Lon]

Gap = loaded chamber indicator maybe? Pics would help.

[Palisut]

Trying to post a pic from photobucket, not working for me. I'll just put the URL here, maybe that will work.
http://s8.photobucket.com/user/wavem...41820.jpg.html

(edited by ToddG: fixed photobucket direct links)

[JonInWA]

I'd plan on running around at least 300 rounds of standard pressure factory ball ammunition through it (and it's magazines) before coming to any hasty conclusions. Then I'd run 50-100 rounds of hollowpoint of your choice(s). If it's still stumbling, that's the point that I'd commence discussions with SACS.

Best, Jon

[JSGlock34]

If you're having problems, give Springfield Armory customer service a call. I've only had to call them once on a very minor issue - they sent me a shipping label right away, fixed it quickly, and soon had it back in my hands.

[GardoneVT]

So I finally got the SACS Warren 9mm I've been waiting for. I had read all through TLG's thread and updates was aware of the potential need for "tweaking" to achieve the best reliability. This is mostly a range toy but I would obviously like for it to work.

The first thing I noticed was a weird gap at the rear of the barrel. This may be normal, but I've never seen it on a 1911 before. Perhaps someone could advise?

I had 4 Wilson Combat mags ready to go. I had loaded them and unloaded them about 6 times each, as well as leaving them loaded for a week to "break them in." As expected, the two included 9 round mags will not drop free. The gun shot about 6" to the left at 25 yds. Disappointing in a pricey custom gun, but an easy fix.

I fired 100 rounds of ball ammo without issues. Then I tried my duty/carry ammo (Federal 135 gr bonded +P JHP) and had THREE failures to feed in 20 rounds, with two different WC magazines. The rounds hit the feed ramp and just get stuck there. I can even reproduce this by hand-cycling rounds through the gun.

At this point I'm pretty frustrated and don't know what to do. If the gun will not run with the ammo that I have in bulk and get for free on a regular basis, it's not much use to me. Any thoughts?

Does the subjective merits of the 1911 outweigh the need to fix it?

The goal ultimately is to become a better shooter. If the 1911 motivates you in a way a Glock/VP9/M&P won't, then fixing it makes sense.

If the weapon's problems have soured you on the gun to the point you don't trust it and will always think "what if" whenever you handle it, its best to move on.

My two cents, which adjusted for SME inflation rounds out to a value requiring scientific notation to express.

[ToddG]

There are quite a few people over at 1911forum reporting problems with their recent WTS pistols. I feel horrible about it because many of them said they bought the gun based on my (very positive) experience.

The first thing I noticed was a weird gap at the rear of the barrel. This may be normal, but I've never seen it on a 1911 before. Perhaps someone could advise?

FWIW, mine had the same cut. It's normal on a ramped barrel.

[ToddG]

Also: I got feed ramp stoppages any time I tried to "run" the gun manually with the Wilson magazines. They're designed to work under recoil or with full force of the slide going forward and will regularly "fail' if you're cycling by hand.

I'd suggest playing around with recoil springs.

Off the top of my head I don't remember the bullet profile of the 135+p Fed Tac load but it's an odd bird that could be part of the issue. I'd definitely try running some more common JHPs through the gun just for data.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

There are quite a few people over at 1911forum reporting problems with their recent WTS pistols. I feel horrible about it because many of them said they bought the gun based on my (very positive) experience.

I'll be the first to admit that a LOT of rye has been carefully processed by my long-suffering liver since then...but didn't you have a significant period of tuning right at the beginning?

A pretty capable shooter at another forum I grudgingly hang out on (because it's Canadian) opined that the SACS Warren was malfing at a rate he'd have binned an STI over. And I know the guy just enough to know...yeah, that's probably pretty accurate.

[StraitR]

I voted "other". First things first, shoot it more, then reassess with your preferred ammo.

What was the brand of ball ammo you used?