the 1911 wiggle

Midget

Midget

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2002
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to date, i have put 424 rounds through my new springfield armory 1911 milspec.

i noticed today after shooting, the top slide wiggles a teeny bit on the frame. it didn't do this when it was new, but i'm assuming this is somewhat normal for an all-metal weapon (i've really only ever experienced polymer + metal weapons). i keep the weapon properly lubed up and everything-- with the wiggle there's no misfires or inconsistancies in shooting, but i figured i'd ask you all *just* to make sure things as they should be.


so... do 1911 top slides normally wiggle?
 
also, when it fires, the brass actually *hits* the top slides on its way out--an effect that i think totally sucks

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also, 750+ rounds on hand in case the zombies attack. and a TI-86 calculator.

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I'm all about having thousands of rounds in store for the zombies, but TI? Come on get an HP GX 48. Like the cord wrapped tonto by the way.
Oh, and for the subject, a new "1911" is often so tight as to stick and not load the next round, after a few C rounds it does loosen up and operated much better. Don't worry about the Wiggle, happens to the best of 'em, even Kimber.
In the words of Martha "It's a good thing"
 
also, 750+ rounds on hand in case the zombies attack.
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Do you have enough magazines to fit all those rounds in? I know zombies are slow and all, but do you think you can load the mags fast enough? Is that when it comes to the TI 86?
 
Midget said:
to date, i have put 424 rounds through my new springfield armory 1911 milspec.

i noticed today after shooting, the top slide wiggles a teeny bit on the frame. it didn't do this when it was new, but i'm assuming this is somewhat normal for an all-metal weapon (i've really only ever experienced polymer + metal weapons). i keep the weapon properly lubed up and everything-- with the wiggle there's no misfires or inconsistancies in shooting, but i figured i'd ask you all *just* to make sure things as they should be.


so... do 1911 top slides normally wiggle?
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You said milspec. So we aren't talking a gold cup/bullseye shooter. You need man accurate and goes boom every time with a wide variety of ammo. THe lesser tolerances, "play" allow for better reliability.



Paul
 
How far does it throw the brass when you shoot? I can’t remember seeing brass marks on any of mine.

A little wiggle is fine but it shouldn’t get any worse with proper lube.
 
Check for muck behind your extractor. It can build up there fast. If you don't want to disassemble to the point of taking out your extractor, a toothbrush and solvent will clean it. If it's all clean and still does this, take it to a competent 1911 smith and they can easily recut the extractor to throw the brass in another direction.

When you checked the "sloppiness" of the slide when new, did you have the hammer cocked or down? The same for this last time when you discovered it was sloppy? When the hammer's down, usually no rattle when shaken. The opposite when cocked.
You are using a good lube on the slide rails, right?
 
No worries. Both my MilSpecs show brass marks on the rear of the ejection port although not quite as pronounced. If it bothers you, follow Mike Hull's advice. And a bit of slide rattle doesn't mean much. The barrel to slide lockup in a 1911 is much more important in contributing to accuracy. Slide to frame fit is a distant second. I have an old Remington rand 1911 from WWII that shoots very well. It rattles like a tin can full of marbles even with the hammer down.
 
Someone is in desperate need of a rifle! The pistol is used to get to the rifle, or as an absolute last resort, and remember save the last round for yourself.:eek:
 
Mine Springfield Armory Champion also has a small bit of play. I've also noticed that on quite a few of the Smith and Wesson 1911's I've handled. One of the few 1911's I have handled that I noticed there was no play at all were the Kimbers.

I don't think I've encountered any issues with the play on my Champion, and I've probably put around 1000-1100 rounds through it.
 
I've been told by people who have put literally tens of thousands of rounds downrange with 1911's that all Colt .45's wiggle from the word "go." I had a Colt Gold Cup in stainless for a while some years back and it had a bit of slide wiggle on it, but was still reliable as hell. Springfield's, I believe, are a really close copy of the Colts, or are at least built to the same specs, so I'm not too surprised that your Springer wiggles a bit. On the positive side of that, as someone else has mentioned, that wiggle, up to a certain point, will probably make your weapon just that much more reliable, since tolerances are looser. I'm no 1911 expert, but as long as it keeps functioning well, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
 
awesome. thanks everyone for all your help.


horned toad, i don't exactly know how far it throws brass--i shoot at a very nice handgun range, and they have these thick steel dividers that separate each shooter on the line, so when i shoot the brass just hits the divider.

but it seems like things are in good shape. if it's supposed to wiggle, i'm happy with that.
 
I have a Colt 1991A1 that has 8000+ rounds through it and it still shoots great. Slide wiggles a plenty and has dings all over it from brass. Perfectly normal for a Mil-Spec gun. The dings add "character".
 
The one I was issued in 1965 rattled when you shook it. Still worked every time, and one time when I really needed it.
 
BenchmadeNut said:
Someone is in desperate need of a rifle! The pistol is used to get to the rifle, or as an absolute last resort, and remember save the last round for yourself.:eek:
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Last round! he is going to be pretty much spent after blasting off the other749 rounds. :D

n2s
 
The slide had play in it from the beginning.
The longer one owns a handgun, the more he notices about it, until finally he starts to wonder who bought this piece of junk. :)

Most mil-spec 1911's slides hit the ejected brass, and some to the point of denting the brass and making it a hassle to reload.
"They" invented the scallop cut in the slide, which Midget has circled in red, specifically to stop the slide from denting the ejected brass.
At least one 1911 I have owned, make that two, does not interact with its own ejected brass; one highly customized and one plain jane beauty right out of the box.
 
Midget,the brass smear is more noticable on rougher finished(read parkerized) 1911's.More pores to abrade and collect the brass.The rattle/play is normal in standard configuration 1911's less so on "match,National match", competition guns.I prefer the slop as it keeps working under adverse conditions.YMMV.tom.
 
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