1911 feeding????

[rojkoh]

A well tuned 1911 should put empty cases 6 to 8 feet away from the shooter to the rear right.
The angle of the ejected rounds is controlled by the angle on the face on the ejector.
erratic pattern of the ejected rounds is caused by an extractor
that is moving in it's tunnel (clocking ) not saying you have any of those problems.
But 16 to 18 feet is way to much slide inertia, even with ball ammo. Cases at your feet or hitting your head are from under-sprung pistol for the rounds your using. It sounds like your pushing the limits of your recoil spring in both directions. It's been said that Ruger uses an 18# recoil spring with the 1911, that should be 16# for normal shooting with an occasional +P round.
I would try a 14 or 15 # for those light loads and look into the 16-18 foot ejection.
I have never seen a 1911 through case that far. It's power of the loads verses proper spring weight. 23# main spring and 16# recoil spring. BUT--if your happy with it then all is fine.

1000 FPS with a 200 grain bullet is way hot, that could be why your battering your frame, and I bet you are.

Your gun is over sprung for a load at that velocity, 600 FPS needs a 12# spring.

You didn't get lucky, and it does need or should have different springs, you just don't see it or don't know it.

Inch and a half at 25 yards is a fin-nominal 1911, a decent one should do 1" for every 10 yards
for a 2.5" 25 yard group, if you can shoot 1" groups at 15 yards with consistency your a heck of a shooter. ( not off a bench ) 1.5 at 25 standing is something I don't see on a regular basis.
Sounds like you have one heck of a special pistol, best of the best with it.

Try shooting IDPA. Always best to see if you can place your shots under pressure. It's why I loved IPSC in it's early days when Cooper was still involved. I've watched some of the current 3 gun matches and get a great laugh out of them. We call them "Spray and pray".

[35remington]

The design is pretty durable....which means that all kinds of wrong spring strengths can be used and the gun can still come up with a respectable round count as far as longevity. What's being discussed is optimum in terms of the best way to get there from here. I've already discussed how frame battering is oversold, the real reason not to overspring your 1911, and the best way to get to where you're going with the least amount of downside.

It's mostly about putting the odds on your side by going to JMB's original design specs. A heavy spring is not needed nearly as much as is thought, and with JMB's original stop installed really not at all. Even with IPSC "major" loads when the PF was way up there instead of the wimpy levels found now.

The shorter you go with a 1911, the greater the odds it will malfunction. That's pretty much a given. Not saying it will......just that over a given number of guns, more likely to. Rack the slide to the limit of its travel and it's easy to see why looking down into the ejection port.

[rojkoh]

[QUOTE=gray wolf;2146876]A well tuned 1911 should put empty cases 6 to 8 feet away from the shooter to the rear right.
The angle of the ejected rounds is controlled by the angle on the face on the ejector.

Simple issue, put an extended (or NM as some people call them) ejector in the pistol.

erratic pattern of the ejected rounds is caused by an extractor

Change extractors to a Wilson. They're reliable.

[jonp]

Well, I started thinking on this question of "frame batter" after reading the excellent post by 35Rem so went to another forum specializing on 1911's and posted the question. Started a debate on this and the general consensus so far is that springs do indeed help and more force resulting in a premature failure of the firearm would occur from the rearward motion of the slide than the forward movement back into battery.

I am following the comments with interest because "common knowledge" on this seems to be another instance of "hey, everyone knows....." and not actual testing.
If someone here knows of any links to articles where a manu actually tested this out and compared accelerated wear of a firearm due to high pressure loads vs regular loadings please post so I can read them.

None of this probably would occur until the shooter has run far more rounds through a 1911 than an actual owner would over several lifetimes and be more of a "cover our butts in case of a lawsuit" thing.

[35remington]

It would be helpful to remind oneself that the slide isn't going that fast when it strikes the frame, and that the frame is indeed specifically designed to be struck by the slide. I've already detailed my experience in examining NG range beaters that never had a shok buff, never had their springs changed, and shot ball exclusively to very high round counts. All of these had standard stops.

None showed "frame battering."

If you're deriving a consensus, it's important to determine whether that consensus is from knowledgeable people or ones simply formulating an opinion. IPSC shooters run "undersprung" 1911's all the time to very high round counts without premature frame failure to change how the gun behaves when fired. The lighter sprung gun, to the tune of 2 to 4 lbs. under normal "recommended" spring rates, is to make the gun bounce less on return to battery, which the gamers feel slows their accurate followup shot.

[jonp]

It would be helpful to remind oneself that the slide isn't going that fast when it strikes the frame, and that the frame is indeed specifically designed to be struck by the slide. I've already detailed my experience in examining NG range beaters that never had a shok buff, never had their springs changed, and shot ball exclusively to very high round counts. All of these had standard stops.

None showed "frame battering."

If you're deriving a consensus, it's important to determine whether that consensus is from knowledgeable people or ones simply formulating an opinion. IPSC shooters run "undersprung" 1911's all the time to very high round counts without premature frame failure to change how the gun behaves when fired. The lighter sprung gun, to the tune of 2 to 4 lbs. under normal "recommended" spring rates, is to make the gun bounce less on return to battery, which the gamers feel slows their accurate followup shot.

Indeed, 35Rem. That is why I asked for actual testing to prove or disprove this point.

[KYCaster]

Try shooting IDPA. Always best to see if you can place your shots under pressure. It's why I loved IPSC in it's early days when Cooper was still involved. I've watched some of the current 3 gun matches and get a great laugh out of them. We call them "Spray and pray".

Cooper held IPSC back as long as he could, but it grew in spite of his best efforts.

Some of the "spray and pray" 3 gunners actually hit their intended target on occasion. You can't miss fast enough to win.

What gives me a chuckle is the 5,000 round torture tests the gun rags are fond of. There are many competition shooters who go through 10 times that amount in a year and any failure will cost time, points and over all place in the match.....not acceptable!

Jerry