1911 Barrel Link (maybe) Question

[robertc1024]

I've got a compact 1911 that's doing something funny. Completely assembled, slowly closing the slide, it sort of "sticks" a little bit when it's about 1/8" from being completely in battery. I haven't ever had a problem with it, but somebody else was shooting it, probably limp-wristing it, and it wouldn't go fully back into battery - tap the slide, and it was good to go. That just kind of bothered me.

I started messing around with it - pulled the recoil spring out and felt the same "stick". If I pull the slide stop pin out, the "stick" isn't there. The hole in the barrel link barely clears the bottom barrel lug through its travel. For something to try, I put a pin in from another 1911 and it did the same thing.

My first thought was that the barrel link is "riding the pin" instead of riding the barrel lugs and the link is too long. The gun seems to lock up tight. I thought I'd get some putty or something and put it in the lugs on the slide and see how far the lugs on the barrel were engaging while in battery. I also thought about getting a shorter barrel link to see if that solved the problem, but I'm not sure what issues that would that would have on the gun's timing. I don't think its the barrel lug profile since it doesn't do it with the slide stop pin out of the gun.

Thoughts?

 

[Lead Belly]

How many miles/rounds and which Kimber is it?

 

[robertc1024]

Pfft. No Kimbers in this house.

 

[Army 1911]

It may be the barrel feet are bumping the slide stop pin.

 

[Texasgordo]

Post a video of the malfunction or take the pistol apart and see if there's scuff marks where it's making contact.