Recommend ammo for compact 1911

[william_munny]

I recently picked up a Rock Island Armory 1911A1-CS (the compact model) with a low round count, and it's proving to be very picky with ammo. My understanding is that the compact 1911s are especially finicky with this. So far, I know that Winchester White Box and Remington UMC will jam at least once per mag (mostly FTE). I figured it was worth asking if anyone else has had a similar experience with compact 1911s, maybe even this one in particular, and what ammo you were able to use for practice?

Also, I'm hoping to carry it by summer time, so I'll need to try some carry ammo before then (less important at this moment). The guy I bought it from gave me 2 mags worth of Hornaday JHPs (I don't know anything else about them beyond that), and he says these feed reliably. I currently use Speer Gold Dots in my .40, but I'm open to suggestions, as I've never tried carry ammo in a .45 (and I have no idea how finicky this thing will be when it comes time to try some).

Any info is appreciated.

 

[drgrant]

I hate to break this to you but if the gun isn't running on 230gr ball ammo properly something is fundamentally wrong with it. I had two officers models and I never had that kind of problem with ball. So you are having extraction/ejection problems? What exactly is happening?

Some small 1911s are finicky, but they're not that finicky, unless the gun is broken. I had two Colt Officer's mods and both ran fine with ball and a few varieties of JHP.

-Mike

 

[PixelPusher]

I have the Citadel version of that. I have to say I love mine.

I currently shoot MagTech out of mine and it eats it up.

Other than the first few hundred rounds (break in)it has had no
issues with WWB and American eagle, UMC, PMC, and Remington ammo.

As for carry ammo I have found it likes the Remington Golden Sabre stuff.
It doesn't reliably feed the truncated cone stuff like Hornady's TAP.

Hope this helps. If you want more details just let me know.


EDIT: The first thing I did when I brought the gun home was to strip it down completely. I did find
a few burrs that I cleaned up as well as polished up the extractor.

 

[william_munny]

No worries about breaking bad news to me, I'm all about getting the problem solved. MOST of the issue is the extractor not removing the case from the chamber after firing. This usually happens within the first couple shots from the mag. I never had a mag jam twice, but out of the 10 or so mags I fired, it happened to every single one. I have 2 different mags: one factory, and one aftermarket (marked Pro Mag). I personally know the guy I bought it from, so I know he's not taking me for a ride (that doesn't mean there wasn't a problem he was unaware of though, because he only put ~200 through it before selling it to me). He said that it hated WWB and it performed the same exact way as it did for me when using that (if not worse), but that it fed some other ammo that came in a black & orange box without any issues. I've only personally tested Remington UMCs. I'm only second owner, so this gun hasn't seen a lot of mileage that we aren't aware of.

 

[william_munny]

Other than the first few hundred rounds (break in)it has had no
issues with WWB and American eagle, UMC, PMC, and Remington ammo.

Good point on the break-in period... I don't even think I'm past that yet. I'm actually kind of embarrassed that I didn't think of that myself.

 

[PixelPusher]

I have to say I've NEVER had a FTE with mine. Had some Feed issues early on but not FTE's

Once again, look at the extractor and see if it could use some TLC.

 

[william_munny]

I have to say I've NEVER had a FTE with mine. Had some Feed issues early on but not FTE's

Once again, look at the extractor and see if it could use some TLC.

Definitely, I'll check that out a little more closely. I gave it a once over when I cleaned it and didn't notice anything. I didn't give it any special care though, so I'll be sure to treat it right.