Bought an Ed Brown 10mm and took it to an indoor range to try it out. Loaded the magazine, racked the slide and fired a round. Hit dead center, spent casing and another round chambered.

Now the problem: I pull the trigger and nothing happens. I rack the slide and it if frozen, I mean zero movement. So gun is totally locked up with a round in the chamber. Remove magazine, try and put sideways pressure on the slide and nothing works. I realize the gun is built "tight" but this unit is locked tight.

I pack up my gear and go to the desk to check out. There is a long line of pope waiting to check in and get a range as well as people leaving a very busy time for the business.

I mention to staff my problem and one of the admin range guys says let me try as he has a trick. He walks away to a safe place and unjam the gun. Needless to say I'm pleased there is no longer "one in the pipe."

The place is hoping so I grab my stuff and leave. Never learned the "trick" of having a tight 1911 un-freeze.

Anybody know what the trick is?

Addendum "spent caring ejected properly" and then another round chambered before it locked up.

No clue, but very interested.

You didn’t put fluorescent orange paint on the front sight, did you?

You don't wanna know what he did. It includes more force than you'd feel comfortable with on an Ed Brown.

Were you shooting reloads?

Perhaps he put the muzzle end of the slide against a padded hard surface (like the side of a work bench) and pressed forcefully forward against the grip.

quote:

Originally posted by BuddyChryst:
You don't wanna know what he did.

Maybe he doesn't but I do.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Perhaps he put the muzzle end of the slide against a padded hard surface (like the side of a work bench) and pressed forcefully forward against the grip.

Bet you're correct. That's exactly what I'd do.

Not shooting reloads and no paint on the sight. I am very curious about what the tech did but due to the crush of business couldn't get into a discussion with him. Will go back over the weekend and talk to the guy. Thought someone intros collective brain trust might have an idea of how a jammed 1911 can work the slide open.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Perhaps he put the muzzle end of the slide against a padded hard surface (like the side of a work bench) and pressed forcefully forward against the grip.

This or pushed in the recoil spring plug and disassembled it.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Perhaps he put the muzzle end of the slide against a padded hard surface (like the side of a work bench) and pressed forcefully forward against the grip.

This or pushed in the recoil spring plug and disassembled it.

I would not want to do that with a round in the chamber.

Yes, the general approach would be to apply force against a padded table, but the trick with a 1911 might be the barrel bushing. I had my PPQ seize up on a hourglass shaped reload so tight that the usual table trick wouldn't cut it. I had to very carefully apply a mallet and punch. My point with that is that amount of force against a barrel bushing wouldn't make me feel comfortable on a really nice 1911. A knockaround RIA, no problem. Not an Ed Brown. So I'd try removing the bushing and the recoil spring cap and spring. Then pad across the dust cover and apply force as necessary. I'd also be more apprehensive about striking instead of pushing if it was a series 70. Probably not likely to cause an unintentional discharge but I'd err on the side of caution.

Anyway, glad they got you straightened out and that you did the right thing by asking for help.

This is why I sold my Ed Brown 1911 and went to Wilson Combat. There are different ways to tighten an action. The Brown guns are tightened up by the locking lugs (top of barrel, cuts in slide). I had 2k rounds through mine and still had to push the muzzle against something to get it open.

Wilson spends more time on the barrel to slide, and slide to frame fit for accuracy, which allows for easier handling/functioning characteristics.

The Brown was accurate, but if you can’t open the action by hand, it is not usable in my opinion.

Had to do the same thing with a new Les Baer Commanche to knock it out of battery it was so tight. Baer's are kinda known for that, being tight from the factory. It did loosen up a bit after about 50rds. Never had that problem with my Brown, Wilson, and Nighthawk out of the box. I'd definitely guess that after 2k rounds it wasn't loosening up there's a problem or misalignment.

What ammo? Sounds like a round was jammed into the lands.

If it is not stuck so tight as to require tools...
Take a HARD overhand grip on the slide, then SLAM the other hand into the backstrap as though taking a firing grip only X10. This will often pop them loose.

quote:

Originally posted by beltfed21:
This is why I sold my Ed Brown 1911 and went to Wilson Combat. There are different ways to tighten an action. The Brown guns are tightened up by the locking lugs (top of barrel, cuts in slide). I had 2k rounds through mine and still had to push the muzzle against something to get it open.

Wilson spends more time on the barrel to slide, and slide to frame fit for accuracy, which allows for easier handling/functioning characteristics.

The Brown was accurate, but if you can’t open the action by hand, it is not usable in my opinion.

I bought my Ed Brown Kobra 5" s/s new, and while it is a tight gun, I have zero issues racking the slide or disassembling it by hand.

quote:

Originally posted by beltfed21:
This is why I sold my Ed Brown 1911 and went to Wilson Combat. There are different ways to tighten an action. The Brown guns are tightened up by the locking lugs (top of barrel, cuts in slide). I had 2k rounds through mine and still had to push the muzzle against something to get it open.



Wilson spends more time on the barrel to slide, and slide to frame fit for accuracy, which allows for easier handling/functioning characteristics.

The Brown was accurate, but if you can’t open the action by hand, it is not usable in my opinion.

This statement is false. What you are describing is hard fit barrel. There are only two semi-custom makers that utilize this type of fit; Les Baer and Springfield Custom.

If just pushing against the barrel does not work.

I have a piece of an old solid fiberglass fishing rod, just fits down the barrel, place it against the bullet and jam it into the bench - has worked well over the years.

I just went through this Saturday at the range. I had a reload with a bullet that didn't seat as straight as it should be. I had to put the muzzle against the bench and push to move the slide. It was my wife's Wilson so it was done with as much care as possible.