WE 1911 consistently shooting only half of mag capcity

[G.I. Joel]

I have a WE 1911 that had a cracked slide and was replaced with an aftermarket one. Using the stock spring the mags only shoot off 5-7/15 rnds consistently using a brand new propane bottle.
Brand new bone stock the GBB would get 15/15 sometimes and rarely 13 or 14 before not having enough gas to discharge the remaining bbs.
What are the most likely culprits to fix this?
Thanks, Joel

[Kos-Mos]

Easy

The WE part of the 1911.

But more seriously, you might want to find a new nozzle. Since the slide is cracked, the nozzle might as well have cracked at the same time.

[Shirley]

Was the mag cold when you shot it?

[13Fido13]

Even with Finch's stock slide, It's uncommon to get a full mag out of the pistol. Warm mags be damned.

At CAPS with an over half full propane bottle was struggling to get 10. (About 5-7 was average for what I saw.)

It's a small single stack mag, it won't compare to a Glock or Hi-Capa with the large reservoir.

Hope this helps Joel.

[Mart83]

I own a WE 1911A1 too and I find that at this period of the year the consistency is not the same as it used to be this summer. I could get twice as much shot this summer than now. At best I can get to 12-15 shot, sometime even less once I start shooting faster.

That's why I am thinking about putting my hand on a double stack mag pistol.

[G.I. Joel]

thanks guys, It seems that we all have similar experiences with this. and yes I realize it a WE lol. Im helping a friend work on it and get parts. Trying to track down a suplier with 5.1 battle sights is proving difficult! The slide and bushing were replaced, adn spring cut down to prevent it from locking after every shot.
I'll look into the nozzle, and the mags would be warm or about room temp. and using propane in warm conditions helps with gas pressure. If you know of a WE or equivalent supplier for that part, shoot me a PM, Im not having much luck. even for the sights, anything that looks or sounds like it'll work is either not for sale or out of stock.
The only other way I could describe it...is that it seems to be going through too much gas, or there isnt enough capacity for gas volume inside the magazine itself.

[m102404]

There's dozens of things that could be causing this...and they're all guesses until you try to eliminate them one by one.

1. Warm the mags....I mean tuck them in your belt so they're against your skin and keep 'em there until they're warm. It'll take a lot longer than you'd think. Just leaving them out on the table doesn't do it (or it takes much longer). When the ambient temp is warm/hot, that's not so much of an issue. Keep your propane bottle at room temp (20C)...I keep mine in the workshop where it's colder than the rest of the house and working on gas guns this time of the year is frustrating since the mags get "icy" cold.

2. See that the blow back unit isn't cockeyed in the slide. Any little rubbing where it shouldn't will hang things up. There's not much of a fix to this...if it's really bad, scrap the slide. If it's minor get out the file.

3. See that the loading nozzle isn't rubbing on the top inside of the slide. Look for wear.

4. See that the loading nozzle is sealing nicely with the piston head o-ring...you might need to try different o-rings to get the right fit.

5. See that your knocker valves are moving freely...there shouldn't be any grit/grime/hangup to them...if there is, tear them down and clean/lube them up.

6. See that your top seal isn't torn/chewed up.

7. Hold the mag up from the baseplate...does it fire better. If so, the new slide might be holding the loading nozzle high off the top seal. The only way to adjust that is to shim between the BBU and the slide.

8. etc.....

There's just sooooo many things that can be wonky with a GBB once it goes funny...if you've got more than $400 invested in the pistol, it might be worth trying to fix/troubleshoot it. If it's worth less than $200 I'd consider selling it as-is/fixer/parts gun (or better yet keep it for parts, that's what I'd do) and just buy a new pistol.

ALL GBBs break down...how long they last and how easy they are to rebuild is the difference. I've used my TM Hicapa A LOT...and have rebuilt it for worn parts 3 times so far (mostly sear/hammer stuff and other bits because I was testing stuff out...but the grip as well because it's taken some hard abuse). So far it's all been "drop in" parts...so much of the TM Hicapa stuff is within spec, but even then it's no guarantee.

Best of luck

Tys

[G.I. Joel]

Originally Posted by m102404

There's dozens of things that could be causing this...and they're all guesses until you try to eliminate them one by one.

1. Warm the mags....I mean tuck them in your belt so they're against your skin and keep 'em there until they're warm. It'll take a lot longer than you'd think. Just leaving them out on the table doesn't do it (or it takes much longer). When the ambient temp is warm/hot, that's not so much of an issue. Keep your propane bottle at room temp (20C)...I keep mine in the workshop where it's colder than the rest of the house and working on gas guns this time of the year is frustrating since the mags get "icy" cold.

2. See that the blow back unit isn't cockeyed in the slide. Any little rubbing where it shouldn't will hang things up. There's not much of a fix to this...if it's really bad, scrap the slide. If it's minor get out the file.

3. See that the loading nozzle isn't rubbing on the top inside of the slide. Look for wear.

4. See that the loading nozzle is sealing nicely with the piston head o-ring...you might need to try different o-rings to get the right fit.

5. See that your knocker valves are moving freely...there shouldn't be any grit/grime/hangup to them...if there is, tear them down and clean/lube them up.

6. See that your top seal isn't torn/chewed up.

7. Hold the mag up from the baseplate...does it fire better. If so, the new slide might be holding the loading nozzle high off the top seal. The only way to adjust that is to shim between the BBU and the slide.

8. etc.....

There's just sooooo many things that can be wonky with a GBB once it goes funny...if you've got more than $400 invested in the pistol, it might be worth trying to fix/troubleshoot it. If it's worth less than $200 I'd consider selling it as-is/fixer/parts gun (or better yet keep it for parts, that's what I'd do) and just buy a new pistol.

ALL GBBs break down...how long they last and how easy they are to rebuild is the difference. I've used my TM Hicapa A LOT...and have rebuilt it for worn parts 3 times so far (mostly sear/hammer stuff and other bits because I was testing stuff out...but the grip as well because it's taken some hard abuse). So far it's all been "drop in" parts...so much of the TM Hicapa stuff is within spec, but even then it's no guarantee.

Best of luck

Tys

Thanks. I'll try out some of your suggestions and keep em in mind. upon further inspection I've discovered the mags lips need replacing and maybe its time to freshen some e of the internals. with a real good cleaning and oil, and after s little use it'll spit damn near allmost 15 each time. I think the fill valves are to blame.

I greatly appreciate the help guys you have steered me in a better direction from wasting my time aimlessly tinkering.
Merry Christmas all and happy holidays!