1911’s in general, 9mm versions specifically

[zdc1775]

I'm shocked there's not much mention of the MAC 9ds comp here yet. $850 on a good sale. 4.25" or 5" bull barrel, bottom pic rail, comes with optics plate for an RMR, easily replaceable different trigger lengths from the factory. It seems to be the new hotness amongst the budget 2011 world right now and everything I've seen says it's for good reason. Doesn't seem to take much work to make reliable. Polishing a spot or two, couple of spring adjustments, red-dirt trigger, seems to make very happy owners.

It's certainly caught my attention. Anyone found differentley?

So I bought one a few months back, took it out of the box and did absolutely nothing to it before I ran ~500 round through it and the only reliability issue I had was with a few rounds where the slide didn't fully close, tapped the slide home and kept going. But it was horribly over sprung and had one of the worst 1911 triggers I have ever used.

After that, I fully disassembled it, polished everything, stoned the sear and hammer hooks, replaced the recoils spring, firing pin spring, and mainspring, tuned the sear spring and extractor, installed an optic, and lubed everything up. Now it has a slightly less than 3lb trigger with a very clean break, and has ran another 2,500 or so rounds with zero issues.

So overall, I think it is a good option for people who have the knowledge and ability to fit and replace parts, and tune a 1911. Not quite so much for someone who wants to just grab a gun and run it.

 

[Bc45]

When tuning the Wilson extractor is this a good video to use as a guideline? Wondering if anyone has a different way to check if extractor needs to be tweaked and how they tweak it.

 

[RockAndSage]

When tuning the Wilson extractor is this a good video to use as a guideline? Wondering if anyone has a different way to check if extractor needs to be tweaked and how they tweak it.

That's one method, which might be something I'd use in the field or at a range if I didn't have access to a work bench. The danger is that it's easy to overdo it, especially with the very wide variety of steels and heat-treatments out there on extractors. Just go really slow, in minor increments.

The old-school gunsmith method had a little more precision, but was still more on the art and experience side of things, rather than actual measured precision - you lay the extractor across the top of the open jaws of a vise, and tap it with a hammer or a hammer and punch to put more or less arc into the extractor, just a few light taps at a time, and check the fit. You get better at it the more you do it, but it definitely offers more control than what was in the video.

What I don't have any experience with, but suspect could be pretty effective, are some of the extractor adjustment tools, like Weigand's. These tools are set up to allow you to apply pretty specific arcs/bends in an extractor, using a screw and stop-screw setup, without over-doing it.

 

[Howler65]

When tuning the Wilson extractor is this a good video to use as a guideline? Wondering if anyone has a different way to check if extractor needs to be tweaked and how they tweak it.

Jason Burton also has an old extractor tuning video that is worth watching…

 

[Dobermann]

What I don't have any experience with, but suspect could be pretty effective, are some of the extractor adjustment tools, like Weigand's. These tools are set up to allow you to apply pretty specific arcs/bends in an extractor, using a screw and stop-screw setup, without over-doing it.

For those who are wondering: https://jackweigand.com/products/1911-extractor-adjusting-tool/



I think this tool, or one like it, was referenced in the first of Sweeney's 1911 books.

I've not used one, but here's a thread from the 1911 Forum about it, along with some comments about tension amounts: https://www.1911forum.com/threads/weigand-extractor-tensioning-tool.1034272/

There are some other threads about extractor fitting and tuning listed at the end of that thread.

 

[Bc45]

Just picked up my tisas 1911 B9 carry and it feels great. I did buy 2 meg-gar mags that everyone recommends and it seems they do not fit in my model the slide won’t shut.

 

[ztc92]

Just picked up my tisas 1911 B9 carry and it feels great. I did buy 2 meg-gar mags that everyone recommends and it seems they do not fit in my model the slide won’t shut.

That’s interesting and unfortunate. I also picked up a Carry B9 and it works fine with factory and Meg-Gar mags. For reference, here’s mine (originally grip next to it) with both mags. The Meg-Gar are slightly longer but not enough to cause an issue with mine.

 

[Bc45]

That’s interesting and unfortunate. I also picked up a Carry B9 and it works fine with factory and Meg-Gar mags. For reference, here’s mine (originally grip next to it) with both mags. The Meg-Gar are slightly longer but not enough to cause an issue with mine.

Yeah messing around with the original mags now the slide won’t shut either. Feeding the mags in it seems there is a tight spot somewhere

 

[ztc92]

Yeah messing around with the original mags now the slide won’t shut either. Feeding the mags in it seems there is a tight spot somewhere

Mine did that after trying to shoot some hand loads and it resolved itself after cycling it a lot. That said, I recently oiled mine and it’s running way smoother now with all mags. Maybe try that?

 

[khuber84]

Picked up a GP Arms Patriot, got the ported barrel plus threaded barrel for supressor use. Installed a holosun comp optic. Will be taking it to the range here in a week or so for maiden voyage. Craftsmanship on this thing is top notch!

 

[Formidilosus]

Just picked up my tisas 1911 B9 carry and it feels great. I did buy 2 meg-gar mags that everyone recommends and it seems they do not fit in my model the slide won’t shut.

Slide won’t close with an empty mag? Of so, the slide release can be very tight when the mag is empty.

 

[Bc45]

Yeah it was just super tight with an empty mag. The meg-gar and factory mags both work with feeding rounds through them. Also changed out the extractor while I was messing around. Going to shoot 200 rounds through it next and see how it goes. This is my first pistol so learning lots through this process.

 

[Bc45]

First range day with my Tisas and got to put 200 rounds down it. I used cheap Winchester 115 grain FMJs for all of it and overall it fed good from slow shooting to dumping 10 rounds as fast I could. I changed out the extractor for a Wilson combat extractor. I also used the factory 2 mags and 2 Mag-gar mags.

I had one failure to extract in the mag-gar mag. I did the test on the extractor before I shot with an empty case to test the tightness of the extractor and it was good. Could this failure to feed be a cheap ammo issue or still need to tweak the extractor more?

My last issue I had happen 3 times was my slide not locking back after finishing the magazine is this normal to not have it happen 100% of the time?

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Picked up a GP Arms Patriot, got the ported barrel plus threaded barrel for supressor use. Installed a holosun comp optic. Will be taking it to the range here in a week or so for maiden voyage. Craftsmanship on this thing is top notch!
View attachment 940471

The 3.1" Forza looks like a sweet little 2011. Let us know your thoughts on the Patriot for sure. If and when my 365 Legion sells. I'll be looking at getting a compact 2011. Between the CS and GP Forza at the moment.

 

[RockAndSage]

I had one failure to extract in the mag-gar mag. I did the test on the extractor before I shot with an empty case to test the tightness of the extractor and it was good. Could this failure to feed be a cheap ammo issue or still need to tweak the extractor more?

My last issue I had happen 3 times was my slide not locking back after finishing the magazine is this normal to not have it happen 100% of the time?

Diagnosing malfunctions is a bit like diagnosing a car that's not working - always start with the basics and fundamentals, before moving on to more complicated and less-likely issues.

More often than not, Failures to Feed are an issue of slide velocity. Slides don't go fast enough if 1) the friction surfaces aren't lubricated sufficiently, or 2) if your thumb is riding the slide a bit. So, how well is the gun lubricated, and was it cleaned of its shipping film before shooting? What was it lubricated with, where placed, and how much?

With FTFs, sometimes a new 1911 will also have fewer as the gun gets broken in and the friction surfaces smooth out a bit. But those problems go away with good lubrication faster. A new recoil spring, combined with lightweight ammo can also keep the slide from going back fast enough for awhile, until things break in - and also clears up with good lubrication and break-in time, as well as hotter ammo.

Regarding the slide not locking back, that can also relate to the slide not going back fast enough, as well as mag-related issues. Does that problem come up with every mag, just the Mec-Gars, or just 1 Mec-Gar specifically? This is why it's important to always number your mags. Also, some of the more modern ways guys grip a handgun can have their thumb or hand resting on the slide-lock, preventing it from moving up. So, double-check that.

With the Failure to Extract, 1 example of that out of 200 rounds on a new 1911 isn't uncommon. Something to watch out for, for sure, but not enough examples to suggest tuning anything yet, especially if you did the empty-case tension check and it looked good. Just to be sure we're using the same language - the casing got stuck inside the chamber and the slide still moved back, with the extractor jumping the cartridge rim, yes?

 

[Bc45]

Diagnosing malfunctions is a bit like diagnosing a car that's not working - always start with the basics and fundamentals, before moving on to more complicated and less-likely issues.

More often than not, Failures to Feed are an issue of slide velocity. Slides don't go fast enough if 1) the friction surfaces aren't lubricated sufficiently, or 2) if your thumb is riding the slide a bit. So, how well is the gun lubricated, and was it cleaned of its shipping film before shooting? What was it lubricated with, where placed, and how much?

With FTFs, sometimes a new 1911 will also have fewer as the gun gets broken in and the friction surfaces smooth out a bit. But those problems go away with good lubrication faster. A new recoil spring, combined with lightweight ammo can also keep the slide from going back fast enough for awhile, until things break in - and also clears up with good lubrication and break-in time, as well as hotter ammo.

Regarding the slide not locking back, that can also relate to the slide not going back fast enough, as well as mag-related issues. Does that problem come up with every mag, just the Mec-Gars, or just 1 Mec-Gar specifically? This is why it's important to always number your mags. Also, some of the more modern ways guys grip a handgun can have their thumb or hand resting on the slide-lock, preventing it from moving up. So, double-check that.

With the Failure to Extract, 1 example of that out of 200 rounds on a new 1911 isn't uncommon. Something to watch out for, for sure, but not enough examples to suggest tuning anything yet, especially if you did the empty-case tension check and it looked good. Just to be sure we're using the same language - the casing got stuck inside the chamber and the slide still moved back, with the extractor jumping the cartridge rim, yes?

Thanks for all the info I definitely got more I need to do and dive into. I didn’t lubricant anything I just changed the extractor and shot. Most any gun oils work good for lubricants? Also I know there’s only certain parts of the slide to lube, is there a good video or photo for that?

It jammed with 1 meg-gar mag so don’t have enough info on the others if it’s going to happen so I’ll number my mags and wait to see if it happens again.

My grip could also be a factor. This is my first pistol so learning that as we go too.

Your last question-the empty case extracted, but the new round got caught in the slide like seen in the photo.