1911 Case destroyed - Any ideas?

[Palouser]

I recently purchased Para Expert 1911 in 45 auto. I have shot approximately two boxes of ammunition through it. I recently took it to my gunsmith to have the trigger cleaned up a little. At the gunsmiths yesterday I fired two test rounds. The first test round the case was completely destroyed although the gun functioned perfectly. It loaded a second round and the second round came out looking fine. I have never seen this before. The shells were Hornady 230 grain XTPs.

Any ideas????

 

[26NosFan]

those look like crush marks as if it didn't quite make it out of the ejection port before the slide went home on the second round.

 

[Guy Miner]

Agree.

I just noticed it's +P ammo - hotter than standard. Your gun might work better with a slightly heavier recoil spring, if you're going to run higher pressure ammo regularly.

Was the gun brand new when you got it?

If used, it might need to have the recoil spring replaced. I do that about every 1,000 - 2,000 rounds on my 1911.

If new, it is still "wearing in" and an occasional hiccup can be expected. A few hundred rounds of 230 gr hardball through it should do the trick, and has the wonderful benefit of being great fun!

Guy

 

[Palouser]

Thanks Guy and 26NosFan. Brand new, I'll try running a couple Winchester white boxes through it. This is one of my "carry" guns and don't normally shoot +p just wanted to make sure they functioned properly. I wish I could find some Nosler defense ammo for it but can't find it anywhere. It shoots ball ammo just fine.
Thanks again!
Todd

 

[truck driver]

Diffidently a light recoil spring for the load and since it's brand new it still needs to be smoothed out by breaking it in. The other guys are spot on with their diagnoses. %00 rounds of 230 ball should smooth it out and slick up the action just keep it well oiled so you don't gall the slide, barrel bushing and frame.
If your going to shoot plus+p ammo go with a heavier than factory spring to protect the slide, barrel and frame.A 20-22lb spring should work for the heavy stuff and an 18lb I believe is factory.