1911 gunsmith in western MA?

exo

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Update: see post 11

I need the services of a 1911 gunsmith in western mass.

I've got a RIA 1911 officer's model that doesn't like to go fully into battery without assistance. I can feel the slide sticking a bit near the end of its rearward travel. Just about every round needs a smack on the back of the slide. Also, occasionally I get a failure to feed that I can't say whether it is related or not. It does not appear to be magazine related as I have tried several. It also does not appear to be ammunition related as I have tried several brands, all standard 230gr FMJ.

Is there anybody out this way that works on 1911's? I know RemSport in Ludlow (I know, some AR issues... but they did beautiful work with 1911's) used to do this kind of work, but I don't know if they still deal with the public directly or if they are even still in business - haven't seen them on NES in a few years.
 
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Call RIA. I did this in a few minutes I was on the phone with a gunsmith. He pretty much walked through what I needed to do and I was good in 10 minutes.

He also told told me with the exception of trigger work or messing with the sear, everything else is under warranty
 
Armscor RIA issues an RMA like Ruger. Pretty much no questions asked. I agree w above would reach out to them by phone.

can be issue w ejector, springs, etc. many possibilities.
 
Dark Horse, no experience at all but they look like they do nice work, advertise a lot, I know they are looking for business.
 
The slide probably just needs to be lapped to the frame. Have you taken it apart to look for wear spots on the frame/slide interface?
 
An update for anyone curious:

I chose to take it to Remsport. I'm impatient and don't want to deal with however long it will take to get it to/from the manufacturer, which could end up taking a few tries to get it right.

I met with Cody at Remsport this morning. In short order (I think I was in and out in about half an hour) he was able to get this gun working 100% with the Federal 230gr ball I'd brought with me. The chamber was too short (more or less at the bare minimum, so almost any variation in ammo would cause a malfunction). The extractor also needed some tweaking, and he did some work on the feed ramp. Before I left the shop, several mags of the ammo I'd brought were put through it and it fed and fired 100%.

At the range today I found that the gun is still problematic with my reloads and also the Remington 230gr JHP's that I had to try. The malfunctions were identical between the Remington factory ammo and my reloads, so I'm thinking that my reloads aren't the problem - though anything is possible. My reloads work fine in my other 1911's.

More rounds were put through this gun today than had ever been possible previously. Now that I've actually been able to shoot this gun, I've found that I absolutely hate the serrated trigger. I'm going to link back up with Cody at Remsport to get that changed out, and continue tweaking to get it to run 100% with my other ammo.
 
Cody's a good guy. I've got a couple of his full custom builds and can't say enough about the work they do over there. Anytime I have a problem or need a change he sorts it out no questions asked.. Lifetime warranty etc.

Can't do better for the money imo.
 
I had a RIA officer's model that could produce every malfunction known to man within a couple of mags. I sent it back several times, eventually they gave up and replaced it. I sold the replacement before I shot it so I wouldn't feel guilty if that one wouldn't run.
 
I had a RIA officer's model that could produce every malfunction known to man within a couple of mags. I sent it back several times, eventually they gave up and replaced it. I sold the replacement before I shot it so I wouldn't feel guilty if that one wouldn't run.

That's the kind of thing I was afraid of, hence my trip to Remsport. Haven't gone back yet because my vehicle needs repairing.
 
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