[Brandon]

I just bought a Springfield Mil-Spec about a week ago, and I noticed that the frame/slide fit is VERY tight when field stripping. I called Springfield, and the gunsmith said I could send it back for refitting. The fit is not too tight when cycled normally, only when the slide is about halfway off the frame. Anyone else have this problem with a Springfield, and is this a serious problem? How long does it take Springfield to return a pistol? This is my first 1911, so I though I'd ask those in the know. Thanks!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: mbgerard on 2001-08-21 10:42 ]</font>

 

[Mute]

If the gun can shoot reliably I would not worry about it at all. I'd only send it back if the gun doesn't function as it should.

 

[TCao]

I noticed the same on my MilSpec as well. I think it's the ejector not seated tight enough onto the frame since SA does not use the retaining pin on the 2001 production. I was able to press very hard on the ejector to free the slide from the frame.
TC

 

[Brandon]

Just to update: spoke with Randy from Springfield, and he said this is common due to the fact that the guns are tuned to best fit at lock-up. He also said that this should improve once the gun is broken in, and that I could send it in to be refitted if it's a problem. I guess time will tell. It's troubling to me, though, right out of the box. I'd hoped for better. I'll decide whether or not to send it back after I've fired a couple hundred rounds through it.

 

[gyp_c2]

It's a bummer I know...My Champ took a good 6-700 rds and even then some of the parts were not quite right. It's a runnin' dog now...after about 900 and a bit'o tweekin'...just enjoy the "getting to know you " phase and decide what you want (if anything) to do with it after it's become a part of the "family"...

BTW...welcome to the fray

 

[Eugene D. Goodwin]

My new Mil-spec has quite a bit of "drag" to it as you pull the slide off but I think it's only because of the angle that the slide is going as it's removed. You may not notice it but as you remove the slide you may be tilting it up or down just a hair, enough to cause the "tight" feel.

I could be wrong though. Mine seems to have the ejector fit nicely with just the right amount of light showing as I look through the back of the slide. but it is overall nice and tight with no niticeably bad "drag" when hand cycled nor when shot.

Eugene

 

[RMLamey]

Ive had a few of them like that, Dont worry about it, shoot it... dont bother sending it back if otherwise its ok.

Matt

 

[Brandon]

No, it's not the angle when I pull it off. I didn't quite cover just how tight it is, either. The first time I stripped it, I was afraid something was broken inside, because it moved about 1/2 to 1 inch forward from normal lock-up position, and just stopped. Like something was blocking it. After putting the slide stop back in, and cycling a couple of times, I realized there was no blockage. It was just tight. I had to grip the frame with both hands and push the slide off with both thumbs to get it off. I don't see how they got it together to begin with. This, to me, is totally unacceptable in a gun I may have to defend myself or my family with. Got an RMA from Springfield, who is picking up the shipping BTW, and sending it in. Will post the results when I get it back....

 

[Brandon]

Not the extractor, either. Extractor looks clear, and mine is pinned in, if I'm looking at the right pin (just below and toward the front of the extractor). Guess I got a gun made pre-2001.

 

[gyp_c2]

That's not right...It shouldn't be dragging on anything. If you've established there is nothing blocking the frame or rails and the barrel can fit through the slide, then I have no idea what it could be...unless the disconnector is unusually long or somethin' similar...I don't see any way the ejector could be holding it on. If that was the case, you'd have trouble with it cycling...Hmmm

 

[imported_Bob Brown]

I wish I'd seen your post earlier. Oh well, here's some advice for the future. Sometimes after you pull the pin and start moving the slide forward, the link will rotate and bind against the frame. You need to rap the muzzle to dislodge it and try again. It works best if you keep the pistol upside-down while removing the slide assembly
but even then that link can rotate and drive you nuts.
For 50 years, every accurized pistol I've built, I've made it to where the slide to frame fit is tightest right at the in-battery position. It'll then be a little stiff to remove at first but after a couple of hundred rounds will be perfect and will last a really long time. I see you'll be using this pistol for other than Bullseye accuracy-type shooting so you aren't really concerned with 50 yard accuracy, mainly reliability I suppose. I'm sure SA will fix the fit and make it function to your satisfaction, but I suspect you could have saved the trip just by shooting it for a while to smooth out that tight spot.

 

[Brandon]

Thanks for the info, Bob. Actually, when I decided to try and figure out where it was hanging, one of the things I did was to just put the slide on the frame with no barrel in it. Still hangs, and badly. It starts to hang basically as soon as you move it past the normal lock-up position, and stays hung except for a little loose spot about halfway off. I would have been OK with it a little snug, but this is pretty seriously tight. I think maybe somebody went a little overboard with the fit, but my concern is more reliability than accuracy. I was shopping for a mil-spec, and Springfield has evidently still tuned this model past the actual military spec, which was pretty loose as I understand it. I guess the bottom line is, at this point, I don't trust it.

 

[gyp_c2]

Hmmm I'm pretty sure the Mil-Spec is about like before. I know the loaded has changed, but I'm not aware of any real changes in the Mil-Spec...at least until now. Maybe there is a new spec for them. I've not heard anything about it though...

 

[Brandon]

Lowered ejection port, high-vis 3 dot sights, beveled mag well, thicker front strap and dust cover, and apparently tighter frame-slide fit :wink: Mine also has the ILS.

 

[Mute]

I'm really not sure that the ability to pull the slide off the frame has much to do with reliability. If you read some of the Les Baer posts, you'll see that it's almost impossible to even rack their slides by hand or to strip them, yet they shoot just fine.

Are you having any failures of any kind when shooting the gun? If not, I'd do what's been recommended. Shoot it some more and see if things smooth out. No sense having your gun away from you unless it's necessary.

 

[gyp_c2]

...that's kinda' what I'm gettin' at. My Champ was way tight too. It had some break-in issues and then after about 600rds really started workin' perfect. But it was always TIGHT... I just used some real fine stones to touch up the high spots a buff here and a slip there and it's real slick now...I'm also up to the end of it's first case of a 1000 and it really will eat mag after mag of mixed cartridges as fast as I can work it...I know they don't finish these things because mine wasn't finished. I really like it a lot better now that I've become so familiar with it...

Good luck with whatever you decide and I hope it works out the way you want...
:wink:

 

[mike357]

i have sent a gun to springfield for repair and it took about six weeks to get it back, but it had the frame replaced and while it was getting that done i had them checker the frontstrap. so something simple(i hope)like what you have shouldnt take too long. mine was a mil-spec stainless,kinda, it was a satin finish, with wood grips and extended mag release and extended thumb safety,but milspec grip safety and mil-spec sights, it also had the old style angled thin cut cocking serrations on the back of the slide. it was really a weird combination and i have never seen one like it since.

 

[Andy]

I still don't see where the original poster actually SHOT his gun. I hate to sound harsh, but it's pretty hard to judge functional reliability from just field stripping. Kinda' like saying your car probably won't drive o.k. because it won't roll forward easily while the engine's off and it's in gear...

 

[Brandon]

Andy: You don't mean to sound harsh? Asking if I've fired a gun when I have what I feel to be serious functional doubts, and comparing that to trying to move a car in a way it wasn't designed for, is quite intentionally "harsh." I would think it's more like asking if I've driven a car with a fuel leak. It's a safety question. Would you fire a gun with an obstructed barrel? No. Would you fire one with a bent barrel? No. With a cylinder you weren't sure was lining up? No. Why would I fire a gun with a slide that is nearly seized up, right out of the box? My Delta Elite wasn't this way (a correction from my first post, sold that one a while back and forgot I'd had it). My Berettas weren't this way, and neither was my S&W, my Walther, my Kahr, or any other gun I've had. A piece of equipment that is supposed to be finely machined shouldn't be nearly immovable. Why would I fire a gun I don't trust? I'm no gunsmith, but I do know gun safety. My local dealer agreed that I should sent it in. I've since read postings regarding Baer's fit being extremely tight, but that's at lockup, and that's a CUSTOM GUN. A Mil-Spec IS NOT A CUSTOM GUN. At least, it wasn't represented as such. And it's not tight in a functional way, like at the in-battery position. It's tight in a place that, to me, it shouldn't be. Should I fire it, and, after I pick slide shards out of my face, send it back? Since I'm not a gunsmith, and I have a functional question, I sent it to the professionals. If they send it back with a letter saying "this is fine, we've fired it without a problem" then so be it. I'll be satisfied. My bad. But I'm not firing a gun that I don't trust. Who would?

 

[Mute]

I don't think Andy was suggesting that you do something unsafe. If I recall, in your original post you stated that working the slide by hand it seems to function properly. If that is the case, it should not function any differently when being fired. Also your difficulty with the slide occurs while it's being moved of the frame. An assembled 1911 should not have this kind of contact between slide and frame when being fired.

Based on your description, it sounds like the gun is not dangerous to use. Your described problem is not quite the same thing as having an obstructed barrel.

We're only hoping to help you save some time and money. However, if you'll fee more confident after having SA look the gun over first, then you absolutely should. After all it is your safety.