1911 troubles, please help

[CrabPirate]

I recently bought an Auto Ordnance 1911 parkerized and only after i went through the first 500 rounds, did i see any jamming, it was only my third time out with the weapon and I was getting a failure to eject one out of every 5 rounds. Just recently I bought a book titled something around everything you ever need to know about 1911's care and maintenance, in this book the author states that if wear around the rings on the barrel and or the slide in the corresponding area exists to replace the barrel immediately, seeing as I bought this firearm in the middle of August, the warranty should still be on it. I have pics below showing the details of the damage. If I am right and this damage is something that needs to be addressed, should i contact Auto Ordnance, and send it back, or would the dealer of the firearm be of any help, I really don't have any idea what I should be doing at all. I'm embarrassingly new at this, and everyone I talk to seems to be of no help what-so-ever.

Keep in mind the images were taken after only 500 rounds
as always, any and all help would be greatly appreciated, also, sorry that I seem to only post when I need help, once I learn enough to share with others, I will

-James

 

[DavidC77]

Ya that doesn't look right. I would start with the dealer you bought it from, he/she should send it out to the gun manufacture to be repaired for you, I would think. Or they may be able to fix it there for you.

Allways start with where you bought it 1st.

Good luck.

 

[DavidC77]

PMed ya back.

 

[TY43215]

Is it the pics or is the gun full of grease?

 

[dreppucci007]

Ya that doesn't look right. I would start with the dealer you bought it from, he/she should send it out to the gun manufacture to be repaired for you, I would think. Or they may be able to fix it there for you.

Yes, this would be my first move, as well.

Is it the pics or is the gun full of grease?

I was curious about this, also.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I can't really tell from the photo, however, the front lug looks almost as it it has a casting void visible in the lug. I also notice a thin line just ahead of the first lug - I hope that's just a machining mark and not an indication that this is one of those barrels where the tube and chamber are made separately and then welded together.

My guess is that this is a badly fitted, mediocre, barrel.

 

[Executive]

I recently bought an Auto Ordnance 1911
-James

There's your problem.

 

[CrabPirate]

Its just the photos, I've never used grease on this weapon yet, I've just been very liberal with oil, yeah, I found out about auto ordnance's less than perfect record ex post facto so I'm kinda up crap creek without a paddle.

 

[sdavid]

That is a lot of wear for one thousand rounds, never mind five hundred.

Find out what the dealer will do for you, then Auto Ordnance; if they can’t or won’t fix it for you pick up another barrel, and have it fit by a gun smith.

 

[adweisbe]

I agree the wear appears excessive. I am gonna go out on a limb here...

If the link is too long it delays unlocking and will eventually roll the lugs on the barrel. I am going to go with the too long link theory based on the scratches on the inside of the slide forward of the lugs (towards muzzle). It would seem that the forward lug on the barrel is rubbing the inside of the slide because it isn't unlocking? That would also match the wear on the barrel.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=211889&highlight=norinco

Similar problem to the linked one. You are only seeing wear on a single lug though... It's a tough one, send it to a gunsmith or the dealer.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=97144&highlight=rolled+lugs

 

[Pilgrim]

I've got the same gun and it runs perfectly.

Maybe yours went thru the QC dept about ten minutes before the inspector went on vacation.

I'd check with the dealer and see what he says.

I'm sorry you're having issues with your AO . Most people don't.

 

[Peacemaker]

I have the same gun. I bought it at Four Seasons (not my first purchase there) After firing 300 rounds through it, trying all different types of ammo, and cleaning it thoroughly it was having failure to extract. I took it back to Four Seasons only 3 weeks after I had bought it, and the store was of no help. I spoke to the owner of the store, and he was extremely unfriendly, and refused to assist in my problem. He was willing to charge me to send it back to the factory. Even after I showed him receipts from my purchase only 3 weeks prior he did not care. I told him I was a long time customer, and would never buy another gun from him agian. Still he did not care. I left the store very upset.

I shipped the gun back to Auto Ordnance, now owned by Kahr (legal to do if you FedEx overnight insured) and wrote them a letter explaining what was wrong with the gun. I stated the Extractor was canted, and it was beat-up looking. Auto Ordnance was extremley helpful, and not fixed but REPLACED my 1911 within a week.

New problem: where it was a brand new gun it had to go to an FFL. I thought maybe Four Seasons owner just had a bad day, so I called Four Seasons, and asked for the owner. I explained my whole situation, and that they are giving me a new gun. I said may I please have it shipped to your store and he still said he would charge me full price. Full price to replace a gun I had bought from him 3 weeks prior, and was replaced by the factory??? On priciple I said no. I have worked for many years in the customer service industry and could not believe the way he did business. I then called Roach's Sporting Goods in Cambridge Mass, explained my situation. They were extremley helpful, felt bad, and charged me half price of the normal transfer charge. I since have not been back to Four Seasons, refuse to shop their, and give all of my business to Roach's.

New Gun: new gun ran great. The single action trigger was honestly like a 10 pound pull. I dont mind heavy triggers, but of course the 1911 bug got me. I bought a C&S kit with sear, hammer, disconnector, and main spring. All CNC machined. I popped it in, and the trigger is a crisp 4.5 pounds. I fitted a long aluminum trigger in as well. Still it is not extremley accurate because the barrel fit is sloppy, but the trigger feels real nice.

Problem: now thousands of rounds later, it agian is not extracting. I think this is just what we get with 100 year old technology, it requires adjustments. I tweaked the extractor just a bit by bending it, and she is back to smooth running. I love 1911's, but the fact remains they do require tuning.

all in all I am very happy with the AO pistol. the second gun i got out of the box was a fine shooter, I just have the 1911 bug like we all get if we shoot too long.

 

[dwarven1]

I'm puzzled... why does the transaction have to go through a FFL? When Para replaced the receiver of my P10 (effectively making it a new gun since it now has a new serial #), they shipped it directly to me.

 

[Peacemaker]

Auto Ord told me that because I had a brand new gun with a brand new Serial, not just replacing parts, I had to reregister it at an FFL, and I got some paerwork saying my other gun was now outof my hands. That was factory rules at the time

 

[adweisbe]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Peacemaker, especially sorry to hear how Carl treated you. I have bought a number of guns from Carl and always found him to be helpful.

The extractor losing tension is usually the result of bad magazines allow the extractor to jump the rim of the case. Try getting some 7 round USGI, Colt, or Metalform magazines with the flat dimpled follower. You can also try fitting an oversized firing stop made by the likes of EGW so that the extractor cannot clock (rotate) inside the tunnel. The latter fix won't help with an extractor that has lost tension, but it improves extraction in general.

You should be able to retension the extractor you have.
http://www.blindhogg.com/gunsmith/extractor.html
I would recommend replacing it with an extractor made with decent spring steel unit or an AFTEC spring loaded extractor.

I am not a fan of Auto-ordnance, if you want a .45 in that price range the Rugers are a better choice. While I'm naming names, throw Para-Ordnance (alah AO, not Ruger) on that list. You can't really find a decent 1911 in that price range in Mass, expect to pay 600 for one that runs and is manufactured by a company that will correct any problems you have and pay shipping for their mistakes.

 

[FPrice]

Peacemaker,

Interesting story. I am curious why it is that your experience does not seem to jive with the experiences with other people have related regarding Four Seasons.

I am also curious why Kahr decided to send you a completely new pistol when all that apparently was required was a new extractor. I'm not all that mechanically inclined but even I can disassemble a standard 1911 far enough to remove the extractor. And you seem to be able to do the same thing since you replaced the trigger.

 

[Adam_MA]

Interesting story. I am curious why it is that your experience does not seem to jive with the experiences with other people have related regarding Four Seasons.

+1
I have bought half a dozen guns there, and done several transfers, as well as using them as an receiving FFL. Nothing but outstanding experiences!

 

[drgrant]

I'm puzzled... why does the transaction have to go through a FFL? When Para replaced the receiver of my P10 (effectively making it a new gun since it now has a new serial #), they shipped it directly to me.

That's bizarre... I thought that they're not supposed to do that, although
there may be some ATF variance for a bonafide frame replacement, I'm not
aware of what it is offhand. Most of the time whenever a frame is replaced
the manuf has to send it to an FFL. Maybe it's unecessary but they just are
overly cautious?

-Mike

 

[dwarven1]

They said that because it was a repair it didn't need to go through an FFL. Of course, the repair consisted of a whole new receiver...

 

[drgrant]

Peacemaker,

Interesting story. I am curious why it is that your experience does not seem to jive with the experiences with other people have related regarding Four Seasons.

I'm puzzled as to why Carl would give him a hard time... unless theres something about all of this that we're not being told. It's also possible the AOis an endemic POS, and he keeps seeing them come back... but if
thats the case... as a salesman I would simply stop selling the guns if they
are that problematic.

-Mike

 

[JonJ]

I have the same gun. I bought it at Four Seasons (not my first purchase there) After firing 300 rounds through it, trying all different types of ammo, and cleaning it thoroughly it was having failure to extract. I took it back to Four Seasons only 3 weeks after I had bought it, and the store was of no help. I spoke to the owner of the store, and he was extremely unfriendly, and refused to assist in my problem...

Doesn't Massachusetts have an implied warranty of merchantability? You should have beeen able to get it repaired, replaced or money refunded.

 

[Bugs100]

I met a guy at the range that had a new AO and was having mag problems. The pistol it self seemed to functioned fine, but the mag well was real rough and was causing problems with removing the mags.

It was so bad the mags had to be forceably pulled out of the gun. One mag was stuck in it so bad that even after getting it out about a 1/2 inch it still needed a tight grip and force to get it out.

The only mag that was problem free was a act-mag, one of the blue polished ones. Even the wilson 47d was stuck.

I'll stick with my smith's.

 

[Cross-X]

I've known Carl for as long as he's owned Four Seasons. He's a superb businessman, offering great prices, selection, and outstanding customer service.

I'm not suggesting that Carl has never had even one unhappy customer, but when it comes to gun shop owners in New England, he's the best there is.

Darius Arbabi

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

.
I'm not suggesting that Carl has never had even one unhappy customer, but when it comes to gun shop owners in New England, he's the best there is.

I have seen Carl dealing with people that I, as a customer, would have forcibly ejected from the store! All Carl would have had to do is give me a nod! And yet, he treated them better than most of us would have.

CrabPirate, definitely get this looked into and sent back to the manufacturer.

 

[Thor67]

Re: Four Seasons - I've bought a few firearms from them, called several times, and been in to see them on other occasions when I didn't buy. Carl AND the staff have always been great. Sorry to hear about any bad experience there.

Re: CrabPirate's 1911 issue - For you 1911 experts out there . . . This may be a stupid question, but is it possible that the weapon didn't get put back together quite right after a cleaning? Being new to the 1911 world, it can be easy to miss the barrel link with the slide release/take down bar.

 

[Len-2A Training]

There has to be a "back story" here!

Carl and his staff have been patient and exemplary in all dealings that I have witnessed while in his shop.

What Peacemaker stated makes me wonder if perhaps he may not have treated Carl with the same level of respect that he'd want to receive in return. Don't know, but this seems so much out of place wrt all other experiences reported at Four Seasons, whether they be from an absolute newbie, or an experienced shooter.

 

[dreppucci007]

There has to be a "back story" here!

Carl and his staff have been patient and exemplary in all dealings that I have witnessed while in his shop.

What Peacemaker stated makes me wonder if perhaps he may not have treated Carl with the same level of respect that he'd want to receive in return. Don't know, but this seems so much out of place wrt all other experiences reported at Four Seasons, whether they be from an absolute newbie, or an experienced shooter.

I was thinking the same, Len...There's more to the story.

Carl is a good friend, and I have NEVER had an unpleasant experience with him...This blows my mind.

 

[JonJ]

Just so everyone knows, Carl sent me a PM thinking it was me who had the problem. I forwarded the PM to "Peacemaker" and notified Carl that it wasn't me. I will not disclose the contents of the message but Carl has expressed to me that he wants to address "Peacemaker's" grievance.

 

[dwarven1]

Behold the power of the Internet...

 

[Peacemaker]

I do not mean to bad mouth the shop or the owner, It may be that this one bad trip was dominating my perception. That said I am glad to see Carl has expressed concerns for unsatisfied customers. By all accounts here, it seems that this was one bad expereince and not a true representation of how Four Seasons or Carl does business.

With Carls expressed concerns, and all of your positive reviews of the store, I am willing to give Carl the benefit of the doubt, assume this was an out of the ordinary situation, and give the store another shot.