Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Rem R1 1911 failure to fire

Title says it all. I installed a 21# mainspring and no joy.
On ftf I can recock hammer and it will usually fire the 2nd time.

Today I took a small plastic mallet and whacked the rear of the slide 2-3 times before pulling the trigger and they all fired this time.

My next thought is to get heavier recoil spring. Is there something else I should be looking at???

Thanks

Neil

Who would have ever expected a Remington pistol not to be reliable.

I also converted this gun from series 80 to series 70.


Neil

When the hammer drops and it doesn't go off, have you pulled the round and see it there is a light strike or no strike at all?

...also why did you put in a 21# main spring...stock is 24# I believe...

Bob

Yes, primer has no mark.Not a light strike it is no strike.

I put the 21# spring in because it is heavier than the one I took out.

Neil

You said in your post that you "converted" the Series 80 firing pin block fire control to Series 70... Did you just pull out the firing pin block or did you also change out the hammer, sear, firing pin and put the spacer in where the activator was...

...also did you shoot the gun before you "converted" it???

Pulled the firing pin block and put the spacer in.I did not replace hammer or sear.

Yes I shot it before conversion but had the problem then also.

Neil

When a Series 80 to 70 conversion is done a pre-Series 80 hammer and sear should be fitted. The Series 80 hammer doesn't have a half cock notch only a shelf. You can have a nice UD mixing the incorrect parts.

Pull the slide off and use something small to push on the firing pin from the rear where the hammer would strike the end and see if the firing pin is moving smoothly and how much of the pin extends out of the breachface.

It almost sounds like you have a sear/hammer interface problem. As in when the hammer releases and starts down it is being caught by the safety shelf. Did you mess with the overtravel adjustment on the trigger...

If you were having this problem before you converted the gun you really should have contacted Remington.... My suggestion is put it all back to original and contact them for a warranty repair....and if you don't want a Series 80 gun, replace it with a real original non-Series 80 style 1911... I have both kinds and never had any issues with either....

Bob

When you whacked the slide, could you see it move forward on the frame?

It may be going into battery enough to deactivate the disconnect but out just enough to cause a misfire...but usually at that point there will be a firing pin indentation on the primer...

No

Not enough info to diagnose the problem from long distance.

RJM is right if it did it as a new gun, send it to Remington & don't waste time & effort.

MM

21lb recoil spring may have come with an extra power firing pin spring, did you install that? If so, that’s likely your culprit. Especially if you have a reduced power mainspring.
All springs work together, gotta know how changing one affects the others.

I know it's fashionable to hate on big green. Shot an R1Carry and it ran like a scalded dog after a spray of Lucas gun oil beforeshooting.

I have several friends with Remington 1911s...no complaints at all...

How did you make that determination?

Do you have a known 24# to check wire gauge, coils & length to for comparison?

As RJM said, a stock 1911 mainspring is 24# unless Remingtons are a rare exception for a stock factory gun.

21# is generally what I go down to for an everyday use gun with the hammer hook depth set to around .021-022". All with a 16-17# recoil spring & with a square bottom firing pin stop...................never don't work if all the internals are right, never.

I've gone as low as a 17# mainspring in certain setups............but not advisable for everyday use.

And in a standard chamber 45 ACP, 1911 there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to go higher than an 18# recoil spring if the balance of the gun is properly set up.

That setup will function just fine from +P loadings down to 230's at about 750 FPS or a little lower.

MM

I have a bone-stock Remington 1911 R1 that functions perfectly, and is quite accurate. I’ve had it a couple years, expected very little from it, but have been pleasantly surprised.

Today I noticed on misfires the hammer is not going all the way forward. It stops before hitting firing pin.

Help!!!

Neil

My experience as well and very accurate to boot.

A gentleman I know who deals in 1911 parts just bought 50 frames and slides from Remington and they all look very nice.