RRA 1911Wadcutter

[Athena]

Hi All, New to forum and I have a question. The RRA wadcutter I have in 45acp fails to stay open upon extraction of the last shot. It only seems to do this after the magazine is dirty, 30or 40 or more shots. Never while using the cleaned mags. Now beyond stating the obvious,(clean the mag's more frequently) is there a tweak that I can do to the mag? I do reload my own using a Dillon 550. Winchester brass, delta precision 185gr HPSWC , 4.3gr of WST with CCI LP primers. Just if an answer needs this info.
Thanks all
Athena

[Bullseye]

Welcome to Guntalk-Online!

Do you have flat followers in the magazine or are they rounded ones?

The part of the flat follower mag that activates the slide stop is the the lower portion of the follower. It can be seen in these photos (yellow arrow in first photo), follower engaging the slide stop in the second photo.



You can bend this lower portion upwards a little bit with a pair of pliers and it will have more positive control over the slide stop. Also, if this part of the mag is spread just a little too wide which could cause it to drag inside the magazine body when it gets a little dirty. Either way and the follower will have trouble activating the slide stop.

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

[Athena]

Thanks for the reply. I have two magazines from RRA both rounded. I am also using two mags from Metalform and they also are rounded. The metalforms also do not hold the slide open if they are very dirty but, they seem to have this problem less frequently than the originals. I was thinking of purchasing some Colt hybrid from brownells in blue.
I am hoping these will function properly.

[Bullseye]

Most of the rounded followers have the same bent ledge slide stop activation tab like the flat ones I've pictured. One of the few exceptions are the followers found in Wilson and Metalform magazines. You should check these to see if they're activating the slide stop positively. You can also remove the followers from the inside of the mags and inspect the inner body for drag marks. These shiny spots would be sure signs of friction.

Do the followers move smoothly all the way up and down in your current magazines?

R,
Bullseye

[Bullseye]

Something else just dawned on me, how stiff is the slide release? Does it move smoothly, or is it a little stiff to move? This could be a latch or plunger fitting problem and not a magazine one.



Any burrs or imperfections on the back of the latch could interfere with the slide latch's operation, maybe enough that it will not operate properly when there's less than full power on the magazine follower spring. I'd try some more magazines in the pistol. Perhaps one of your shooting friends have some that work flawlessly, if you don't have other extras. If these are failing too then the problem rests within the frame and not the mags.

R,
Bullseye

[Athena]

Hi Bullseye, Thanks for your effort. The slide moves like butter and does not drag at all. As for the mags I will rip them apart and douche them on wed or thurs night when I have a little relax time. its supposed to snow here then so I will see after the snow stuff is done. Others at my bullseye club have the same problems with the mags when they get dirty so I guess i was fishing for a quick fix so I could impress some of the guys. Oh well C'LaVie.
Best,
Athena

[Bullseye]

Be sure not to apply any oils to your mags, especially in cold weather. Oils tend to run sluggish in the colder times, you may stop experiencing failures to lock once the temps get warmer. Below forty degrees usually is the line where temperature related failures tend to occur more frequently.

R,
Bullseye

[Athena]

Hi Bullseye, I put 40 rounds through my 1911 with numbered mags. The mag that I've numbered 1 gives me the most problems. It's one of the two original mags so its about two years old now. I do believe its worn. I noticed while clean & after a few shots that when the slide is held open the latch does not go all the way up into the slides recess. Only about 1/4 of the way into the slides recess so when it does stay open & I press the mag release the slide slams shut. It does not do this with the other three mags. The latch goes all the way into the recess and holds the slide open even after releasing the mag... Unless they are really dirty. The Metalform mags give me less problems than the originals. I am thinking either I need to replace the mags or it could be a problem with the latch that holds the slide open. I will need to replace the two original mags anyway so I might try that first. If I continue to have the same problem I might e-mail RRA. I will keep you up to date.
Best,
Athena

[Athena]

Hi, I purchased three new mags. Two Metalforms & one Wilson. Seems all problems are solved. I left them fully loaded for a day and tried them out. They both worked flawlessly. They throw the brass directly into the catcher except for the last shot??? On all three mags the last shot just dribbles out and falls to the floor. I'll see what happens over the next few weeks. Thanks for all your time & advice.
Best,
Athena

[Bullseye]

That sounds much better. How is the temperature now compared to before when the pistol was not ejecting/locking open?

R,
Bullseye

[toyfj40]

I left them fully loaded for a day and tried them out.

my "first" was a Colt-Cmdr ~1980...
not used much, but kept "loaded" ALL the time...
compute: 2009 - 1980 ... ~29years...
the mags have been unloaded and reloaded but not empty...
my "latest" is a 1911a1, I used the older mags
before I received my 'Wilson Combat' mags...

the 30+ year old mags with 29.9 years of compression
worked just fine... not as smooth as the WC,
but no SpringCompress/tension issues...
(they are back in the hiding place... loaded
(ask again in another 10 years...
( IF we still have the right !!

-- toy

[stork]

Athena,
Your recoil spring may be a little too stiff. If you're using a slide mounted dot a 12-13# should work out fine. If its a frame mounted dot or open sights, a 15-16#.

Personally I like my recoil spring stiff enough to fail to lock back after the last shot from the magazines if I limp wrist the pistol.

FWIW
Stork

[Athena]

Hi Bullseye, When I was shooting the indoor temp was between 48 & 58 degrees. When I tested the new mags I was outdoors between 50 & 60 degrees so it was about the same. After speaking to the previous owner he stated that he had the same problems from day one. After about 50 or so rounds the original RRA mags would stop holding the slide open on last shot. After a good cleaning it would stop until 40 or 50 more. Hey you know what it does not matter anymore I have replaced them. I will keep them & use them with my snap caps for dry firing practice. I am glad its just the mags. If I had to send the pistol back to RRA I would be probably be waiting a Loooong time before I had it back.
This pistol is really put together nicely. I have tried a friends Les Baer & it too is very nice but, I dont think it is as tight or made as well as the RRA. He feels the same also. It does on a weekly basis out shoot me. Very accurate.

toyfj40, I left the mags loaded for a day to break them in or loosen them up just a bit. It was recommended in the leaflet that came with the WC mag. I too have another 45 cal pistol (personal Protection) that has been loaded for years & they too function well. I swap between mags every six months or so too give them a break. I have read somewhere an article by a well know shooter that he recommends changing the mag springs every three months or something like that. Overkill in my opinion. When I change out the ammo bi yearly I run the old ammo out, run a box of reloads through it checking its function , switch mags, & reload mags for the next shoot or six months whichever comes first. Sounds like my oil change schedule....

stork, I am not entirely sure what spring the factory used in the making of this RRA wadcutter. With the time proven recipe for reloads that I & everyone else at my bullseye league uses I am not about to mess with perfection. I bought it used but, I have the original paperwork. I will check too see if it lists the spring tension or #. When the pistol was purchased there was an option of purchasing a matched slide mount for optics. The previous owner did buy this & the pistol came too me with both. I am using an Ultra Dot Match Dot & I am more than pleased. If I could only shoot as well as the pistol can... Maybe someday
Thanks all.
Best,
Athena

[bearandoldman]

Athena, I use nothing but Wilson Combat mags in my 1911's nd have never had a problem and some of them have been compressed for a long time. Compressing a spring does not weaken it, but compressing and releasing them does, but probably not in my lifetime.

[stork]

bearandoldman,
Dead on.
Magazine springs will not weaken from staying either loaded or unloaded. I think it was on the 1911 forum where someone had posted about firing off a magazine that had been loaded for decades without a hitch.

FWIW