para ordinance p14 feed problems

[weatherbyman]

Ok so I finally got my hi cap 45 from my earlier post and I went to the range to shoot it today. About every 3 rounds it would fail to feed, and after 4 clips it wouldnt feed at all. The round was getting jammed between the feed ramp and the slide. What I didnt know is if theres a break in period for the feed ramp or should I send it back to the manufacturer.

[weatherbyman]

This is my first 1911 so I am a newbie to them.

[ellis4538]

OHHHHHH, you said the C word.  Was the same MAG or different mags?  What type of ammo?

Richard

[weatherbyman]

it happened with both of my mags. i was shooting 180 grain winchesters, and some of my buddies hand loads same result           

[1911 Junkie]

Most feeding problems I've encountered are due to either ammo or mags.  I've never had luck with para's
factory mag springs, they seem weak to me. I replace all my mag springs with wolf springs.

The other thing is to make sure the gun is lubed enough. A dry gun can cause similar malfunctions due to
the slide moving to slowly to pick up the next round in the mag.

[Sponsor]

[weatherbyman]

ill try tomorrow with more lube thanks

[PegLeg45]

And definitely try it with different magazines.

[MikeBjerum]

What bullets are you using?  FMJ or JHP are usually the most reliable, followed by LRN, and SWC tend to have enough ledges and sharp angles to cause issues in many guns.

From another thread, did you clean and lightly lube everything?

[Michael Bane]

If it's new, send it back to Para!

If you got it used, definitely replace the mag springs with new Wolff magazine springs:

http://www.gunsprings.com/SemiAuto/ParaOrdnanceNF.html#P14_16

Hi-cap .45s are notoriously hard on magazine springs because of the way the cartridges are required to roll as they move up in the magazine. .45s are heavy little beasts and that weight hugely stresses the springs. When I shot a P14 in competition, we always carried spare mag springs and replaced them before any major competition. I run Wolff springs in my current (and largely sitting on the shelf) P18 9mm competition gun.

You've got to keep the mags cleaner than you do with single stacks...any dust, dirt or lube build-up in the mag tubes will have a huge effect on reliability. Note that top USPSA competitors routinely disassemble their race mags and clean them between stages of a match.

Also replace the recoil spring (get that from Wolff or Wilson Combat), just on principle. Good idea to do that on my used 1911 you purchase.

+1 on the lubing. My experience with a stainless P14 in comeptition was that it was more sensitive than some of my other 1911s to running dry.

Finally, I like to start any new or used gun with I get with standard ball ammo (in the .45, 230-gr FMJ) for a couple of reasons:

1) It gives me a quick baseline as to whether the gun works with the most plain vanilla of ammo (also the ammo for which the gun was designed from the ground up). If the gun won't run with white box ball, there's a problem with the mags or the gun. If it runs with ball and not with specialty ammo, then I've narrowed the problem to (typically) feed ramp angle/smoothness or recoil spring weight issues.

2) Ball tends to "knock the rough edges off," what you might refer to as break-in on a new gun. Despite all the modern advances in manufacturing, my experience is that old design guns like the 1911 can require some sort of break-in period with ball ammo. A Taurus 1911 I had took more than 200 rounds before it settled in and became an excellent shooter. On a used gun I might run a box of ball through it pretty quickly for the same reason.

Sometimes I stupid myself with 1911s, and I should know better. Just in the last couple of weeks I was in a snit because one my my newer 1911s flatly refused to run with a bunch of my reloads. I jumped around, barked like a seal, bayed at the moon, considering call my gunsmith friends, considered getting rid of the gun, bitched, moaned...then took my own advice and shot the gun with ball. Ran perfect. Shot 180-grainer JHPs...shot perfect...hmmmm. OTOH, reloads shot perfect in my "baseline" match guns but not in the new gun or the 1911A1...hmmm hmmm...conclusion...reloads wouldn't run in mil-spec barrels. So what was I doing differently  on the loads?

Harrumph harrumph...big embarrassment...red face...I decided a couple of months ago to "use up" a whole bunch of mixed quantity bastard-weight .45 bullets (225-gr, 190-gr, whatever) that I'd accumulated over the years and recently I found in an overhaul of the gun room for practice ammo. I decided to seat 'em all short, crimp the crap out of them and keep pulling the lever.

So I seriously looked at the bullets...weirdest .45 lead bullets I'd ever seen, almost like a round-nosed H&G 48 semiwadcutter but with a much higher, sharper shoulder. Since I had thrown away the box, I had no idea where the things came from...I think I won 'em in some match...but with that high sharp shoulder, I'm surprised they'd feed in anything. The chambers in my match guns, however, by my specification are reamed to "forgiving."

I ditched the bullets...situation resolved...

Michael B

[weatherbyman]

thanks micheal and others for the reply.this is a new gun so ill try some 230 grain ball ammo this afternoon.i didnt realize 1911s were so a touchy. if i experience any more ftf i will definately send it back.ill give a range report tonight