# Help! my 9mm 1911 isnt working!



## 396chevy (Jan 21, 2007)

hello i have a kimber pro tac 2 9mm 4" barrel but i cant get it to work, when i fire it fires but does not get the slide far back enough to fullly eject the caseing, sometimes it fires and go back to cocked ready to fire but with an already fired casing still in the chamber it dident eject it? i use winchester white box special and i tried umc nothing worked? Help! what can i do, is my recoil spring to heavy? are the loads to light? is my ejector or extractor bad? please help oh and im useing tripp cobra research mags thanks Pat


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

You say that the slide doesn't come far enough back to eject the fired case. Most likely, that's not an extractor or ejector problem.
But how do you know that the slide doesn't come far enough back? What kind of jam are you experiencing?
Does the fired case slide back into the chamber (possibly because the ejector is broken)? Does the fired case pop up, and get caught by the slide with its mouth vertically upward ("stovepipe" jam)? Does the fired case pop to the right, and get caught by the slide with its mouth pointing to the right (another kind of "stovepipe" jam)?
What's the bullet/velocity of the rounds you're firing (too weak to fully move the slide)? Has the pistol always been a 9mm, or was it converted from some other caliber (wrong recoil spring)? Maybe the factory installed the wrong spring—you might e-mail or phone them and explain the problem, and ask for another recoil spring to test.
Here's a way-far-out (and very unlikely) possibility: Does the manufacturer use brazed-lug barrels? The bottom lugs may have broken free from the barrel, and are jamming up the works enough to impede the slide. Take the gun apart and see what's inside.
In order to help, I would need more information.


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## 396chevy (Jan 21, 2007)

sorry about that i am expirencing two diffrent kinds of jams both stovepipe and the case sliding back in to the chamber. but if i rack the slide manually it seems to work. it ejects fine and seems to load ok although a little tough as far as i know it was allways a 9mm, the lugs are fine thanks pat


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks.
I believe that the _second_ thing to do would be to change to a *slightly* weaker recoil spring, but...
Sometimes a new gun just needs to be shot for a couple of hundred rounds worth, just to loosen it up.
How many shots have you fired through it? If it's more than 500 rounds, something may indeed be wrong.
Have you removed every speck of shipping/preserving lubricant from it? You should have, because it's likely to be sticky.
Have you *lightly* lubricated its slide rails with BreakFree or something similar? You must, especially during break-in.
Please let me know.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Along with Steve's EXCELLENT advice in the post above this one, I'd recommend trying some different ammo. Perhaps some CCI Blazer or CCI Blazer Brass, if you can find any of that in your local area.

Try not to make a harsh judgment on your new, not-broken-in-yet gun based on only one type/brand of ammo.


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## 396chevy (Jan 21, 2007)

well i guess i left out some other info i bought it used, how used i dont know but i have probably put 200-300 rnds threw it. i have cleaned it several times and lubed everything, so how do i find out the LB rating of my current spring? thanks pat


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

396chevy said:


> well i guess i left out some other info i bought it used, how used i dont know but i have probably put 200-300 rnds threw it. i have cleaned it several times and lubed everything, so how do i find out the LB rating of my current spring? thanks pat


You can't, really.
Get in touch with the builder, tell them about your problem, and request *two* springs from them:
-one standard spring, and
-one that is the very next weakest.
Springs are cheap, so volunteer to pay for them. Ask the maker to mark the springs, so you'll know which is which.
When you get them, try the standard spring first. If that doesn't fix your problem, try the weaker spring.

It's my guess that the gun was for sale because the previous owner was having the same problem.
I still suggest that you need to put another 200 or 300 rounds through the gun, but I also understand your discomfort with its behavior.
Discuss your problem thoroughly with the maker, as they may have better advice to offer than anything I can come up with.
Let me know how it works out.


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## JONSCH (Jun 13, 2008)

yep...


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

It sounds like it's a recoil spring issue. Steve has you on the right track. 

:watching:All abord!!


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## 396chevy (Jan 21, 2007)

*i got it working!!!*

well, i got it to cycle perfectly i did two things lubed it good, (it was pretty dry) and used a foaming bore cleaner to really clean my barrel and especially the chamber. but i think it was the lube, i guess thats a newbie mistake. Thanks for all your help! i really appreciate it.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

*396Chevy* (obviously better than FlatHeadFord, right?);
All of the 1911s I've ever dealt with needed to be kept scrupulously clean and minimally lubricated.
When a 1911 is new, the frame rails need very slippery lubricant, like a teflon- or moly-carrying oil or grease.
You had said, in your post of 10/13/08, that you had cleaned and lubricated your pistol; but you forgot that "clean" also includes the chamber and bore. If the chamber is dirty, cartridges either won't seat properly or are impeded during extraction/ejection by the remaining crud.
I am not as experienced with 9mm cartridges as I am with .45 ACP, but I know that some loadings of both of them "shoot very dirty"; that is, the powder used in them leaves gritty residue in both chamber and bore.
I suggest that, in the future, you detail-clean your pistol's barrel (inside and out), bushing, recoil-spring assembly, and fully-assembled frame very carefully after every shooting session. A simple, major-groups field stripping is enough to accomplish this.
That should permanently end your troubles.


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## Richard (May 8, 2006)

I use a 13# recoil spring with my custom Colt 1911 9mm. It had a 16# spring and I suffered a lot of bobbles. Regards, Richard


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## Old Padawan (Mar 16, 2007)

I recently sold my 9mm frankenstein 1911. It was a fun gun. 

Try a thin coat of Hoppys stainless steel grease on the rails. It works great on my 1911s.


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