I have a Hackathorn Commander that would not reliable feed WW white box or Amscor 230 gr. Ball not my duty ammo consisting of 230 gr Federal HST or WW Ranger T. I use Wilson 47D and ETM mags. I also noted this steel frame Commander has more felt recoil than it twin aluminum frame Commander,
The pistol was returned to Wilson Combat, repaired and returned. The pistol will run the ball ammo 100%. Wilson also provide me two ETM HD mags to try with my duty loads. The explanation: I needed more spring tension to push the last round in to position to be fed due to the increase slide speed with the hotter duty ammo. Makes sense.
However, the feed issue, while better, continued. The last round in every other mag would get pinched with the bullet straight up in the ejection port. Again, I have sent the pistol back to Wilson repair. Plus, some cosmetic things were missed during the last repair that needed to be addressed.
The pistol was returned. I took both of my Hackathorn Commanders (steel and aluminum frame) to the range Sunday for a comparison as well as function check of the steel frame
Aluminum frame – 56 rds. 230gr HST. No malfunction. Recoil easily controllable, front sight returns to combat sight picture quickly.
Steel frame – 64 rds. 230gr HST plus 32 rds. 230grs. Ranger T. One malfunction. The last round of 64 HST got pinched in the feed track. (pic is from earlier session but representative as latest malfunction) Recoil more pronounced. Longer time to reacquire a combat sight picture for follow up shot.
I am told the hammer spring is 23 lbs. and the recoil spring is 20 lbs. The recoil spring is quite stout when racking the slide. The barrel has a slight “click” when going into or out of battery. I’m going to try different spring combinations such as an 18 lb. recoil spring and/or a 19 lb. hammer spring. I’m not bashing Wilson Combat as I have a number of their 1911 pistols. Been using them since 1993. The pistol just needs to find it’s happy place.
Any suggestions or ideas are welcome. I bought a steel frame for use as a range gun with less recoil and to prolong the life of my aluminum pistol. Not going as planned so far.
See https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=1010540 for more details.
JW