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Perhaps the last 1911 that will ever see federal government service

dylanrutan

dylanrutan

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Blue box production model M45A1. Crazy to think the era of the 1911s service is over

Picked up my brand new Colt M45A1 today from my local FFL and took it straight to the range. I brought 400 rounds of Winchester White Box 230gr FMJ and grabbed four Wilson Combat 47D 8-round mags while I was there.

On the third mag fired through the gun, I experienced five consecutive failures to fire.

  • On failures #1–2:
    • Performed immediate action
    • Confirmed a round was ejected each time
  • On failures #3–5:
    • Carefully ejected each round
    • Inspected primers and found no indentation at all
During those latter 3 attempts:

  • Slide appeared fully in battery
  • I palm-struck the rear of the slide anyway to rule out out-of-battery
  • Re-engaged/disengaged safety and attempted to fire again
Still no ignition and no primer contact.

After that string, the gun ran the remaining ~350 rounds without any additional stoppages.

Thoughts on Cause

My initial thought was maybe something related to the Series 80 firing pin safety breaking in.

However, what’s confusing:

  • The hammer was dropping
  • But the firing pin clearly wasn’t reaching the primer
That makes me think:

  • Possible intermittent failure of the firing pin block to disengage
  • Or something binding in the firing pin / plunger system early on
Also worth noting: I did not clean or lubricate the pistol prior to shooting, so it was running straight from factory condition.

Magazine Fitment (Wilson 47D)

The Wilson 47D mags were very tight on insertion.

  • Would not seat easily under a closed slide
  • Required aggressively slapping the baseplate
  • Or depressing the mag release to insert
I’m leaning toward:

  • New mag catch + new mags needing break-in
  • Possibly slightly tight tolerances on the frame


Aside from the early failure-to-fire string and the Novak rear sight set screw backing out at the range, the gun ran the remaining rounds without issue.

Great shooter overall and a very cool piece of recent USMC history.

Appreciate any input—especially from those with more time on Series 80 Colts.

IMG_5133.jpeg
 
Without tearing the gun down and inspecting it myself, I can't say for sure.
The series 80 firing pin safety plunger lifts up to allow the firing pin to move and is spring loaded to force it back down to the safe position. So a sticking plunger would keep the safety in the fire position.
I suppose its possible that the trigger bar lever and firing pin plunger lever may have gotten out of line and failed to lift the safety plunger. Field strip the gun and check the plunger lever for excessive play, binding or dirt.
Since the problem appeared and then disappeared. I'm thinking most likely a piece of trash got into the firing pin channel and hung up the firing pin for a short time. Wouldn't hurt to tear down the slide and clean that channel as well as the safety system.

As for the magazines. Just give them time and use to break them in. New mags are often stiff.

Its always a good idea to field strip, check, clean and lube a new gun before firing. Do that and try it again. ;)
 
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The oil you see in new guns is not lubricant... It's preservative.
The single most important thing I can think of to do with a new gun is to
lube it with real oil or grease, whichever you prefer.
So,,, A 1911 requires excessive lubrication.
Take it apart, clean it and oil or grease it and try again.

(There,, My @ cents worth)
 
Belt Fed said:
Their lies your problem. Probably bone dry from the factory. the CZ's i bought didn't have a drop of oil anywhere. Also why is the front of the gun so dirty?
Click to expand...
This-some companies really use a lot of preservative. My CZ 75, Shadow 2 and Rami were nasty with lube when new. Never even considered firing before cleaning. I’m betting a good cleaning up front and she’d have ran out the gate.
 
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