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Thread: Tanfoglio Witness and Swiss Arms 1911 Jamming Problem Fix

  1. #1
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    Tanfoglio Witness and Swiss Arms 1911 Jamming Problem Fix

    The pistol is not at fault, it's the clip.
    The spring in the clip has more pressure than the plastic feeder tube at the top of the clip can endure.
    After a while, the feeder tube gets warn prematurely from the excessive spring pressure, and it starts double feeding or worse.
    I've spent many hours figuring out the cure for this problem.
    First of all, real 1911's hold 7 rounds, and these are replica's, so why not load 7 or 8 rounds, and make it more realistic ?
    I've found that if only 7 or 8 bb's are loaded at a time, the pressure on the feeder tube is alot less than if you load 18 bb's, and I believe the feeder tube can handle the pressure involved with 7 or 8 loaded.
    If you've been loading 18 bb's since the pistol was new, and the jamming has gotten worse over time, try loading 7 or 8 and see if that cures the problem.
    If it still jams, then the damage is done, but all is not lost.
    What you can do at that point is remove the spring retaining plate on the bottom of the clip, remove the spring, and cut 2 inches off the bottom (larger end), then reinstall.
    Now your pistol with operate dependable, even with 18 bb's, however the auto lockback (when the last bb is fired) will not function.
    I now have 2 clips with shortened springs, and they work great.
    With any new clips, only load 7 or 8 bb's and you should never have any problems as far as I can tell so far, but im still testing that theory.
    So far i've shot alot of rounds, and havn't had a single jamming issue with either of my 2 new clips.
    So we have 2 options, 18 rounds and no auto lockback with the clips that have shortened springs, or 7 or 8 rounds with the stock clips,and the pistol fully functioning.
    There is absolutely nothing wrong with these wonderful KWC made 1911 replica's, but the clips would be better if they had better quality plastic or even better, metal feeder tubes. I hope this helps alot of people experiencing problems with their KWC made 1911 blowback pistols.

  2. #2
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    Well done for a helpful thread. Personally I've always only used 7. It does seem odd to load 18 into a 1911 replica doesn't it.

  3. #3
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    Very helpful as the man above said.

  4. #4
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    How are the Ekols coming on?

    Sorry that should have been; How is the Mak coming on?

    The Ekols went somewhere else.
    Last edited by Ben 36; 04-08-2014 at 03:34 PM.

  5. #5
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    I totally agree with the 7 rounds for replica realism, and these really are awesome replica's.
    I found another thread on this website where a guy was calling these pistols "JUNK", so I cut and pasted the same words I used above, hoping readers will realise the truth about these wonderful replica's.
    Since i've been loading 7 and 8 rounds at a time, I have not had even one double feed or jamming issue. Both Witness and my Swiss Arms versions are working flawlessly. Dennis

  6. #6
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    Since these are replica's of the real 1911's, I think KWC should have designed the clip to only hold 7 or 8 bb's, or at least put a big warning in the instructions about the danger of damaging the clips feeder tube by loading more than 8.
    My Tanfoglio Witness's origional clips feeder tube failed before it had 100 shots on it, but my new Swiss Arms version has never seen more than 8 at a time, and life is good. Dennis

  7. #7
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    If you stretch the spring after shortening you can keep the mag empty hold open feature. If the spring is stretched back to its original length, it's travel will remain the same, but its pressure for any given % compression will be reduced. But as it is full length , the follower should still lock the slide.
    Musketeer, Tin-Horseman and Axeman extraordinaire

  8. #8
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    Been there, tried that.
    Stretching the spring damages it. I stretched one to where the auto lockback just started working again, and within a few days, it compressed, and the auto lockback stopped working again.
    I run 2 kinds of clips, modded and stock. I can run up to 18 bb's in the modded clips (2" shorter spring), with no auto lockback, or up to 7 or 8 bb's in the stock clips, gun fully functioning flawlessly, and im pretty sure that it will stay that way as long as I never load more than 8 in the stock clips.
    Springs are shaped and then tempered, so stretching them is a bad idea in my opinion.
    The length of the spring is not what activates the auto lockback, it's the pressure, and if whatever spring you have in there has enough pressure to operate the auto lockback, then compressed back to the 18bb mark still creates more pressure than the plastic feeder tube's retaining lips can handle. It's a shame the box and instructions tell us to load 18 bb's when this is supposed to be a replica. Real 1911's hold 7 rounds.

  9. #9
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    Here's a little update from where im sitting:
    I've been shooting the heck out of both my Tanfoglio Witness and my Swiss Arms 1911's and have not had any problems with them at all.
    I've been using my stock unmodified clips, loading 8 bb's, and so far both pistols have been operating flawlessly.
    I can still run 18 bb's in my modded clips, but I think it's more fun shooting these pistols like real 1911's, and I love the auto lockback.
    From where im sitting, these KWC made 1911's are totally flawless. Dennis

  10. #10
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    Very interesting thread, thanks for posting the info, I occasionally have problems with my Swiss Arms 1911 and this sounds like it's worth a try.

    I have also noticed that when I load 18 BBs that the spring compressor that you pull down to load can sometimes get caught under the slot even though it was clear of the slot when loading the mag. so I never load a full 18, I might try loading 10 and see how that goes, I'm not to bothered about matching the shot count of the real thing, I'd rather load the mag less often

    I've also had the CO2 spontaneously empty itself for some reason (only a couple of times), any ideas what that is?
    www.gadjet.co.uk
    BSA Ultra SE multishot .177
    Swiss Arms P1911

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gadjet View Post
    Very interesting thread, thanks for posting the info, I occasionally have problems with my Swiss Arms 1911 and this sounds like it's worth a try.

    I have also noticed that when I load 18 BBs that the spring compressor that you pull down to load can sometimes get caught under the slot even though it was clear of the slot when loading the mag. so I never load a full 18, I might try loading 10 and see how that goes, I'm not to bothered about matching the shot count of the real thing, I'd rather load the mag less often

    I've also had the CO2 spontaneously empty itself for some reason (only a couple of times), any ideas what that is?

    First of all, always put a drop of Pelgunoil or equivilent on the tip of each Co2 cratridge before installing. That will keep the air valve clean and sealing properly.
    2nd, sometime when the clip double feeds and jams the gun, the air valve gets held open partially, leaking out all the Co2.
    3d, make sure the piercing valve in the clip is tight. It may be left handed threads, so be careful.
    I read something somewhere about tightening a Co2 could loosen the piercing valve in one or more of the pistols out there, and I notice the cartridges do tend to turn when I tighten them, and I guess that could rotate the valve if it wasn't tight enough.
    I have a screwdriver I ground a large notch in for these valves, but have not found one loose yet, so I can't say wether they are left or right hand threaded yet. Hope that helps some. Dennis

  12. #12
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    Thanks for the feedback, I do put a drop of oil on every other cartridge and I will have a look at the piercing valve but I think it's probably the second reason as it happens quite rarely.

    Cheers
    www.gadjet.co.uk
    BSA Ultra SE multishot .177
    Swiss Arms P1911

  13. #13
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    Make sure you field strip it, and get any stray bb's out that may be doing evil in there. When mine jammed I always found 2 bb's near the entrance of the barrel. I havn't had that issue since I started using 8 bb's. Dennis

  14. #14
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    Yes, that was what I found when I first had some problems that wouldn't go away, I noticed it rattled and after checking I found a couple of stray BBs.
    www.gadjet.co.uk
    BSA Ultra SE multishot .177
    Swiss Arms P1911

  15. #15
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    This is great tip, I'll go the 7-8 round loading, thanks very much for sharing.

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