1911 won’t go into battery

**Dover76** · April 7th, 2025, 11:20 AM

Probably been asked a million times but my Colt 1911 .38 Super started not wanting to go into battery. It certainly looks like it’s locked up and will cycle just fine until you fire and it blows out the primer and shear the back of the case with pieces of brass and smoke rolling out of every nook and cranny.

I’ve reseated the bullets and put a firmer crimp on the brass as well as doing the plunk test.

It has been my favorite until this started.

Any knowledge or guesses are appreciated, Dave in Mount Joy, PA

dss58@aol.com

**cdi** · April 7th, 2025, 02:53 PM

Does it do the same thing with factory ammo?
If not, I think you've found the culprit.

**Lycanthrope** · April 11th, 2025, 01:50 PM

Tear it down and look at the lugs, link and chamber. If you just changed bullet styles, it could be that the OAL is too long. If you're loading warm and then reseating deeper you could also overpressure.

There really isn't enough detail here for us to help efficiently.

Lycanvariablesthrope

**Dover76** · April 12th, 2025, 10:12 AM

I*ve torn it down but didn*t notice anything. Someone suggested the extractor so I removed it and lessened the tension but haven*t fired it again. It cycles a whole magazine by hand just fine here at the house. I haven*t tried factory ammo yet until I get near a store.

**tlnzz1** · April 12th, 2025, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by Dover76

I*ve torn it down but didn*t notice anything. Someone suggested the extractor so I removed it and lessened the tension but haven*t fired it again. It cycles a whole magazine by hand just fine here at the house. I haven*t tried factory ammo yet until I get near a store.

I would think that would be expected. You're controlling the slide. It doesn't represent your experience at the range firing your gun. I'll second the opinion of trying factory ammo first to try to eliminate one variable.

**Bang** · April 13th, 2025, 10:50 AM

I think successful cycling by hand suggests a problem with timing, probably related to a spring. Blown-out case head...is it blown out downward? If so, too much fudging with the ramp can leave the case unsupported. I lined my grips with sheet steel for that potential possibility.