Newbie 1911 shooter help

[c_brutsche]

Hey guys,

So recently bought a remington r1 1911. It is ridiculous accurate IMO. At 15 yards I was blowing out the center of the target religiously. During my 100 rounds I shot today though I had a few jams. But I noticed that when I didn't have a firm grip on the gun it did this. But when I had a firm grip it ran great. I have never had a problem with my Springfield xd 9 with this. Are 1911s finicky with limp wristing?

[.45Kimber1911]

More so than any other gun made I think. You can reduce that by having a gunsmith tune the grip safety leaf on the leaf spring. You can do it yourself if you feel comfortable dismantling the gun and tweeking it a little so there isn't so much pressure on the grip safety. Keep in mind, this only helps reduce the problem. Proper grip is essential and the main cause of limp wristing malfunctions.

The 1911 platform is far from a beginners gun and takes some getting used to compared to modern day tactical tupperware. When everything is tuned just right, the gun will run great for 100's of rounds. Once you get a malfunction, it throws everything off just a little, which leads to another malfunction. While being one of the best designed guns on the planet, it is considered a thinking man's gun. It takes a lot of mechanical know how and diagnostic skills to keep them running perfectly.

There are a lot of people that say 1911's are great for learning guns and refining your shooting technique. I agree with this completely. The slightest imperfection in your technique will be immediately identifiable by the feedback from the gun. Unlike tactical tupperware which is much more forgiving, proper grip placement and trigger prep is important.

[harold63]

You can reduce that by having a gunsmith tune the grip safety leaf on the leaf spring.

That won't help with jams. If he wasn't able to pull the trigger and was using a loose grip, then lightening the grip safety may be in order.

Tight 1911s are suseptable to malfunctions with a loose grip/wrist. New/stiff recoil springs also make it suseptable to malfunctions. Using soft shooting ammo magnifies the problem. Just concentrate on keeping a tight wrist and grip until you shoot it in. Check the owner's manual for how long this should take. You can break it in without shooing it, but you have to do it right or the slide may not track straight on the frame. Takes about 3 or 4 hundred straight back pulls of the slide and going all the way back to battery, slowly. Either way, don't attempt to break it in with no lube. With lube, only the high spots will wear down. and that won't be much, so be patient and keep a stiff upper li..., no wait; stiff grip.

[sid]

My thought on limp wristing is that the gun (especially smaller 1911's) needs a solid platform (tight grip) because the smaller guns have heavier springs and when the gun can move the cycling of the slide can not be completed thus causing a malfunction. If the gun doesn't move until the slide has completed it's rearward motion it should run flawlessly. Wilson combat stopped making sub compact 1911's in .45acp not because of reliability but because they are more vulnerable to limp wristing. Customers would send in a gun for repair that worked fine when held properly. The grip safety only stops the trigger bow from moving the sear which allows the hammer to drop (this would not cause a cycling issue). However if the grip safety is not fully engaged the trigger will not move when pulled causing the gun to not fire.

If your gun does not fire because the grip safety is not engaged then try adjusting your grip. If malfunctions occur then hold on tight.

What size is your 1911? Is the slide shorter than 4"?

Sid

ETA +1 on what 300WM said. rep sent

[c_brutsche]

My thought on limp wristing is that the gun (especially smaller 1911's) needs a solid platform (tight grip) because the smaller guns have heavier springs and when the gun can move the cycling of the slide can not be completed thus causing a malfunction. If the gun doesn't move until the slide has completed it's rearward motion it should run flawlessly. Wilson combat stopped making sub compact 1911's in .45acp not because of reliability but because they are more vulnerable to limp wristing. Customers would send in a gun for repair that worked fine when held properly. The grip safety only stops the trigger bow from moving the sear which allows the hammer to drop (this would not cause a cycling issue). However if the grip safety is not fully engaged the trigger will not move when pulled causing the gun to not fire.

If your gun does not fire because the grip safety is not engaged then try adjusting your grip. If malfunctions occur then hold on tight.

What size is your 1911? Is the slide shorter than 4"?

Sid

ETA +1 on what 300WM said. rep sent

All this info is very useful gentlemen. It actually is a 5 inch barrel. It' was about the fist 50 rounds the slide would cock back and the round wouldn't feed all the way into the chamber. Then I tightened my grip the last 5-6 magazines and had no problems. I feel it was definitely operator error than gun malfunction. It never have my any stovepipes and kicked out the spent casing each time.

[Mity2]

I have only owned one gun that if you limp wrist it, it'll show up right away, which was Beretta PX4 Storm Sub Compact.

Never experience that with any of my 1911's(including my Officer that I carry), but that doesn't mean 1911's aren't suseptable to limp wrist.
Trueth is that the any semiauto pistols are suseptable to limp wrist.



Other than practice the proper grip, there are few things you can do to make your 1911 easier to hold on to.
grip panel, shorter trigger, checkering the front strap comes to mind...

[MLittle]

I have only owned one gun that if you limp wrist it, it'll show up right away, which was Beretta PX4 Storm Sub Compact.

Never experience that with any of my 1911's(including my Officer that I carry), but that doesn't mean 1911's aren't suseptable to limp wrist.
Trueth is that the any semiauto pistols are suseptable to limp wrist.



Other than practice the proper grip, there are few things you can do to make your 1911 easier to hold on to.
grip panel, shorter trigger, checkering the front strap comes to mind...

Limp wristing malfunctions are more common on light pistols with polymer frames. I've never had a limp wrist malfunction on a steel or for that matter, aluminum framed pistol. If you have a firm grasp of the pistol and still experience jams......especially on a new 1911 I would look for other possible causes. Did you clean and lube the pistol well BEFORE shooting for the first time? 1911's like to be well lubricated. It's not unusual to have a couple of malfunctions during the first 100 rounds or so.

[Nigil75]

Limp wristing malfunctions are more common on light pistols with polymer frames.

+1

I have never had any issues with limp wristing on a 1911. Now my issued Glock 21 is a different story. Seems like every other time the team qualifies at the range my G21 fails to feed 5 or 6 times. Maybe I just need to remember to have a better grip??

[Pagoda240]

Might try a little oil and sit at home and work the slide couple 100 times.

[cmcgowan]

I have a para gi model that will jam up if limp wristed but runs spot on if you hang on to it. From the op's postings it appears that the limp wrist is the big issue but not returning to battery indicats that the feed ramp may need a little polishing. Make that puppy look like a mirror and some more problems will go away. Proper breakin as noted above will also help. If shooting reloads, is the bullet seating depth correct?