Smith & Wesson SW1911SC E-Series Round Butt Help

[radioman]

I have a new to me S&W 1911SC E series Commander 4-1/4in barrel scandium frame etc...

Just took it to the range yesterday. Loads were 220gr copper washed 3.5gr Unique. These loads work awesome in both of my full size 1911's. No problems at all. I bought the gun from a local dealer and it looked and I was told it was in flawless condition.

What's happening with the new gun is stovepipe jam after jam. Every other round. Also I'm getting propellent gasses back in my face bad. If I weren't wearing my shooting glasses I'd have injured an eye. I was able to get 4 rounds off in a row and when I did all was well but it went right back to jam-o-matic after that. The only thing I see out of the normal is the slide is harder to pull back, like a stronger recoil spring has been installed. I've ordered a stock spring as well as two others 1lb and 2lb lighter. Can a to strong recoil spring cause these problems? I know the jams could be a spring but the gasses back in my face is a new one on me. Anyone have similar experiences?

 

[JackOfAllTrades]

I have the same model pistol and I can tell you that they seem to need to break in a little... my first 100 rounds or so were a little rough with several stovepipes and almost feeds. After that it has been flawless.

The other thing is that they are so light weight that you really have to hang onto them or they will bounce the brass off your head and jam all over the place.

If I limp wrist mine at all, I will get stove pipes and brass hitting me in the head. If I hold firm, it works flawlessly and puts the brass up and over my right shoulder.

 

[Machete]

Commander length guns tend to be more problematic than full-sized. Check your magazines; if you have a strong recoil spring, and week mags, you'll get all kind of bolt over base malfunctions. Since the E-series have the external extractor, you should be set there. I would perform the MSW "Extractor Test" just to be sure.

The propellent gasses are worrisome. Are you popping primers or anything like that? I know your hand loads are probably just fine, but try some 'factory ammo' just to try to narrow it down.

Good luck!

 

[M60]

Hold tighter. My shorter 1911's work flawlessly for all but the limper wristed shooters.

 

[dcmdon]

I'm surprised that nobody has yet suggested that the OP try some quality AMERICAN MADE factory ammo, rather than reloads in the gun to see how they work.

If you have problems with factory ammo, then just give S&W a call. They will email you a shipping label, you ship it back to them and it will be back in 2 weeks.

There's no point in really getting into diagnosing thing other than trying factory ammo. The lifetime service policy is part of what you paid for. Use it.

Don

p.s. Recoil spring in a 5" 1911 is typically 16 lbs. In a Commander, its typically 18 lbs. Remember, there are two things that control slide speed:
1) Recoil spring tension
2) the mass of the slide.

The lighter the slide is, the stiffer the recoil spring needs to be. Compare the recoil spring on a 9mm 1911 with the recoil spring on a 9mm Kahr PM9 and you will see what I mean. The Kahr's recoil spring is roughly 2x as stiff.