S&W 1911pd issues. what the....?

[tgriffit]

Well. i guess i should have done my homework. i have a S&W 1911pd 4.25" that, up until today's range trip, i was completely in love with. accuracy and ergonomics are fantastic. the pd part signifies scandium allow frame. and ill tell you what, it carries all day with no problem. i love it.

now for the unpleasant part: today at the range, the god damn plunger tube assembly sheared off from the side of the damn gun. i wasnt running +Ps. just winchester 230gr fmjs. ive had the gun since late april, and ive probably got about 1k to 1500 rounds down the pipe. so its well within the break in period of any firearm and not nearly at the point for any of its parts to be failing, right? any one ever heard of this happening to a 1911pd? or any 1911 for that matter? you can bet, S&W is gunna get an earful for this one....

pretty furious about it. thats my carry piece. what if that happened in an altercation? "hold on bad guy, my gun is seriously malfunctioning."

[shooker8]

If it did happen during an altercation at least you could hit them with a metal paper weight. on a serious not sorry to hear, good luck with the fix.

[Wilson Guy]

Plunger tubes do come off of 1911s. I have wondered several times why they aren't welded to the frames. This issue is one of the main arguments made against thin grips as you loose the support of the plunger tube provided by most regular grips. The 1911 design does have a few weak points. You just happened to find one of them.

[Grizz2720]

Mine came off after about 3000 rounds. Called S&W they said send it in. Sent it back to S&W no problem, they fixed it and returned at no charge.

[Keith A]

Plunger tubes do come off of 1911s. I have wondered several times why they aren't welded to the frames. This issue is one of the main arguments made against thin grips as you loose the support of the plunger tube provided by most regular grips. The 1911 design does have a few weak points. You just happened to find one of them.

Caspian and a few others make frames that have an integral plunger tube. I thought this would be industry standard by now. I think the reason it isn't is because some 1911 "elitists" freak out any time someone strays from the original design, even if it's an improvement. And they are the one's who make all the noise when the don't like something.
My Springfield ejector is not pinned. Some 1911 purists freak out about that but I haven't heard any incidents of them coming loose and causing a malfunction.

[Johannes_Paulsen]

That really sucks. Did S&W provide an explanation as to why it happened?

[harold63]

you can bet, S&W is gunna get an earful for this one....

This will always help the situation

Do a Google search on it and you'll see it is not uncommon. This part comes loose on a 1911 the same way a gas key on an AR comes loose. It is not rare, but it doesn't happen everyday, either. Fortunately for you, it is an easy repair.

Don't give S&W and earful. You'll have to get in line to do that and you'll lower yourself to those guys dumb a.. standards. Be glad it happened on the range, send it in and let S&W replace the part, and go on shooting. JMHO

[Grizz2720]

That really sucks. Did S&W provide an explanation as to why it happened?

I asked the customer service guy about why it happened. He had know idea and said they would explain on a letter when the gun was returned. No such letter came back. Another 400 rounds through it and know problem.

[TonyF]

I asked the customer service guy about why it happened. He had know idea and said they would explain on a letter when the gun was returned. No such letter came back. Another 400 rounds through it and know problem.

The usual reason is that it was poorly staked during initial assembly. This is the difference between a semi-custom pistol that has parts CNC'ed or MIM'ed and assembled by "assemblers" vs. a highly skilled custom gunsmith.

WilsonGuy is correct in that the plunger tube is supposed to be supported by the left stock panel. Thin stocks do not provide adequate support.

[Mity2]

you can bet, S&W is gunna get an earful for this one....

pretty furious about it. thats my carry piece. what if that happened in an altercation? "hold on bad guy, my gun is seriously malfunctioning."

No point.
It appears that the plunger tube is one of 4 basic design flaws(If you can call it that) of the 1911.

Plunger tube DO comes off time to time. As annoying as it may be, there isn't much you can do about it, other then to make sure that it was staked correctly from the factory, and to keep a close eye on your gun's plunger tube for signs of looseness.
http://www.m1911.org/textfiles/1911acp.htm


Ofcourse, you can always trade your E-Series for Ruger SR1911, and eliminate the possibility all together, as their tube is casted past of frame.

JMB was no dummie. He knew the possibility was there, and designed the left grip panel to have the added cover to extend pass the plunger tube for this reason.

I admit tho that I never given much thought about it eventho 1911's are both mine and my wife's SHTF gun, until this thread.
I checked my 3 1911's, and they are all solidly attached to the frame at this time. But you bet your ass I'm gonna check now and then from now on