Help me troubleshoot my 1911

[rxer311]

2 weeks ago I picked up a Citadel 1911 Compact brand new and I put 100 rounds through it with one failure to eject. It was on the last round of a magazine. Anyway, I really liked the pistol so I sent it out to get Cerekoted. Came back great so I took it out to the range again today.

Everything started out great. I put about 100 rounds through it with absolutely no problems. Not even a hiccup. Anyway, after the 100 round count issues started to arise. I was having multiple failure to feeds. This happened with both Federal 230gr FMJ and once with Hornady Critical Defense 185gr. Basically it would eject the round and start to feed the next round, however, it would not go into full battery. The round would be almost fed, but just not quite. If you gave the slide a push it would then go into full battery and fire. It would go a few rounds and happen again.

After I was done shooting I field stripped the gun and gave it a good cleaning and lube. I only had a few rounds of Hornady Critical defense left so I did not want to shoot them. I was hand cycling and noticed that the first round out of a magazine would be difficult to feed but all the rest would feed easily.

I am pretty new to this platform and need some direction. Do you think it could be the magazines (happened with both mags)? Another thought I had was the feed ramp since it just got Cerakoted and the ramp was Cerakoted as well.

Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

[Marlin60]

and the ramp was Cerakoted as well.

That has me wondering too. I'm not familiar enough with cerakoting to advise you there, but the feed ramp would be my first check point. Hopefully someone else here can speak to this. I'm wondering if there is a fluff/buff process that would smoothen the ramp without removing much cerakote.

Thoughts anyone?

[JStem1283]

You cant see the feed ramp anyway, so I say polish it up. That seems to be a top feed issue, next is what mags are you using?

[Wilson Guy]

I would get some fine grain, wet sandpaper and wrap it around a wood dowel and get the coat off the feed ramp. With 1911s, magazines are very important so you should order some Tripps, Wilsons or McCormick mags anyway.

If you are running grease on the rails, STOP. Thin oil is all the rails on a 1911 needs, it can and will slow down your slide. That can prevent full seating.

Leave your mags loaded before the next range session and load and unload them about 20 times. See if that makes them a little less stiff.

STOP running critical defense ammo in your 1911. The tip makes contact with the feed ramp and slows things down considerably. If you want a modified HP use the PowerBal ammo.

Is your breach face coated? That could be causing some of the problem until it wears.

Most likely culprit to me is that your extractor may be just a tad too tight.

I'd address the feed ramp and get the mags (you should have them anyway) and fire a few hundred more rounds and see if it takes care of itself. If it doesn't, I'd bet its the extractor.

[rxer311]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I just talked to the gunsmith who did my Cerakote and he told me that it will take 200-300 rounds for it to break in and that feed issues are common in this break in period. I think I will address the feed ramp anyway because it seems that is one of the biggest culprits with feeding issues anyway.

I am using the factory Citadel mags. They are marked "made in Italy" whatever that means.

[Nic]

Most 1911s need a break in period of 300-500 rounds, add a Cerakote finish, and I would say even more so. Before you start polishing the feed ramp, break your Citadel in. I would also invest in some Wilson Combat magazines.

[mainspring]

I agree that you should break it in first. This way you can rule the break in procedure out. Polish the feedramp only if you feel confident in what you are doing. Over polishing can cause problems and junk your frame out. Frames are not easy or cheap to replace. The Italian mags can be ACT-mag or some other manufacturer. I have had no problems with ACT-Mags in my 1911's. I have never had problems with any Italian mags period.

[Xringshooter]

When I Cerakote a 1911, I never coat the feed ramp, you want it shiny and smooth. You don't want anything on the feed ramp that will interfer withthe nose of the bullet smoothly sliding up the ramp. It will take some work to get the Cerakote off the ramp but do it. Polish that ramp until it is super smooth and that should help. If not confident about doing it yourself, take it to a gunsmith to have him do it, it shouldn't cost much.

[harold63]

Most 1911s need a break in period of 300-500 rounds, add a Cerakote finish, and I would say even more so. Before you start polishing the feed ramp, break your Citadel in. I would also invest in some Wilson Combat magazines.

Not true. Any modern 1911 should function 100% out of the box. If it doesn't then it is heavy somewhere, usually due to sloppy craftsmanship, or just simply made with tolerances that are too tight in the frame/slide mate. FWIW, all 8 of the 1911's I own (3 different builders) were fully functional with no failures OOTB.

If there is Cerakote on the rails, or anywhere it shouldn't be, then it should be removed, unless the person likes wasting ammo trying to get the stuff to wear down.

[harold63]

I am pretty new to this platform and need some direction. Do you think it could be the magazines (happened with both mags)? Another thought I had was the feed ramp since it just got Cerakoted and the ramp was Cerakoted as well.

Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

I'd be detail stripping it and looking for any area I didn't want paint to be in. Paint flaking off mixing with oil and gun powder residue can overwhelm the the functionability of the handgun and cause multiple failures, plus, it can get in the magazines and keep them from working like they are supposed to. Once you know the gun has paint only where it is supposed to be and the mags are clean, then I would retry shooting it and see if it still malfunctions.