Slide not locking back on 1911

max2005

Gents:

Have a couple of milspec 1911-a1's, and have noticed that both are having troubles not locking back on the last shot - with many different magazines. Always thought this was a magazine problem, but now not sure. In looking over the design it appears the slide-stop is the piece that is a major part of this function, is it possible I need new slide-stops, or need to work on them in some way?

Thanks for the feedback.

CS8161

Do you have another 1911 that functions correctly? If so, take that slide stop and put it in the malfunctioning pistol and see if that cures the problem.

charliemeyer007

+1 CS8161. Could be weak magazine spring, follower lip bent, slide not milled correctly, too much recoil spring, weak ammo for spring tension. Might just need to be shot in or stoned.

Laredo Lefty

You might have someone watch you shoot to make sure your not resting your right thumb (assuming your right handed) on the slide lever while shooting. This can keep the lever from moving up when the last shot is fired.

The fact that this is happening on two different guns leads me to believe its not a parts problem, but maybe a you problem.

perry shooter

very easy to check if Pistol/Magazine or you with pistol and EMPTY Magazine point the pistol in safe direction and with your Empty magazine inserted pull the slide all the way back does the slide stay locked Back[?] If so then it is most likely You not backing up the pistol by having a firm grip and rigid arm when you shoot. Of coures I must as one question . DID You are someone else swap out or add ANY parts that originally came in the pistol from Factory [?] like a recoil BUFFER or heavier recoil SPRING [V][V][V][V][V][V]

M1A762

I have a Springfield mil spec. I noticed that the magazine had an excess amount of up and down play when locked in.

I replaced the factory mag catch with a EGW HD mag catch from Brownells. The EGW mag catch holds the magazine up higher.


No more problems with the slide not locking back. [:)]

anglefire

Question, are you using reloads or factory ammo?

max2005

All good comments! No, I haven't changed out any parts yet, these are all original guns not Frankenstein units. I'll try swapping out another slide stop (good starting place) and check the springs and followers in the mags; I'd like the "original" mags to work with these guns, but will try some newer as comparison.

Thanks again to all the great suggestions (including checking my own grip on the guns!)

dcs shooters

Also compare your mag springs with a known good one. They might be weak.

cavman 69

i had this problem with my colt. i replaced the slide stop and that took care of that.

dfletcher

You may find that the part of the slide stop that intrudes through the magwell is not sufficiently long enough to be raised by the magazine carrier. The left side of the follower, sometimes a dogleg and sometimes a conventionally configured flat type, should be under and raise the slide stop when the last round is fired.

An easy way to check is by removing the slide and barrel assembly, reinsert the slide stop and pop in a magazine. The slide stop should be lifted when the mag is inserted. Doing it with the slide stop removed will allow you to assess how solid the interaction is between the follower and the slide stop.

If you must replace the slide stop be certain the new one doesn't intrude too much, otherwise it may be activated by fuller profile bullets and the slide will stay to the rear after each shot.