Failure to feed in Ed Masaki .45 GoldCup 1970

Hi All,

I have a Colt 1911 .45 National Match Gold Cup 1970's, tuned by Ed Masaki.

In a recent 900, I had six occasions where the new round ALMOST fed properly but did not. It leaves a large nick on the casing right below the 185g Brazos bullet.

This happens with different magazines, and different brands of casings, including brand new never fired Starline.

Do I need a heavier spring or a lighter one? Any other ideas?

Try cleaning the extractor hole.

Or check for excessive extractor tension.

Is this on the top side of the case?

mhayford45 wrote:Is this on the top side of the case?

Yes sir

Merick wrote:Try cleaning the extractor hole.

Extractor hole was absolutely filthy, the Q-tip had a huge glob of goop on the end at the first push through.

I have a 300 to shoot tonight, will report back.

Extractor tension was good.

If the nick is on top of the case, check the barrel hood on the underside for a relief chamfer. If there is no chamfer, then this can cause the nick with lead bullets. Jacketed bullets will work fine.

So...

I had five misfeeds in 30 rounds. Two were actually the first round in the magazine, I put in the magazine, pulled back the slide and let go, and the round didn't chamber, but hung up at the top.

I am looking for some 185JHP to try, right now all I have are some 230JHPs and don't want to try them in a wad gun.

is this a new problem on a pistol that has been functioning well for a while?

what if anything has changed ?

Just spitballing here, but it seems like it could be that the magazines are not tuned for the cartridge you are shooting.

jglenn21 wrote:is this a new problem on a pistol that has been functioning well for a while?

what if anything has changed ?

Also has the gun been cleaned lately?

So a few answers.

Yes, gun cleaned.
Nothing changed.
Not sure how to tune a magazine.

Shot a 300 today and zero issues, so now I am super confused.

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I would recommend to start taking notes detailing specific of use which lot of ammo, which magazines used, round count since cleaning, ect. Once you get some data together it typically is easier to find contributing factors that could cause the problem.

I have a notebook for both the gun (even if it doesn’t have issues)and the ammo I reload. If I ever do have a problem it helps to know what could have contributed.

My father Ed Masaki has passed away.

Edmasaki daughter wrote:My father Ed Masaki has passed away.

I was aware. Please accept my sincere condolences. If it is any comfort, just know that his advice, craftsmanship and memory will live long in the minds of bullseye pistol competitors, both current and former.

Mike
Did you sort this out?  If not, I had a similar problem, though not affecting just the first round, with Brazos 180 LSWC. Long story short, bullet shoulder needed to be seated no more than 1.25 if I recall.  Any longer and I was getting that same stoppage with a thumbnail dent in the case. Hope it helps if you haven’t sorted things out yet.

BE Mike wrote:I was aware. Please accept my sincere condolences. If it is any comfort, just know that his advice, craftsmanship and memory will live long in the minds of bullseye pistol competitors, both current and former.

I wish that were true. John Bickar had the archive closed and removed from web viewing. I'd very much like to read Ed's musings, but I'm afraid John put that bit of knowledge out of reach.

We are diminished.