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Problems with Sig Nitron

116K views 235 replies 52 participants last post by  gumbee 
#1 ·
So I've had a Sig Nitron (the standard base model) for awhile now. When I first bought it-the gun had serious reliability issues, numerous failures to feed, failures to eject, the works.

I sent it back to Sig and they polished the feed ramp and throated the barrel. The gun ran much better...only have a few rare hiccups, but it was much improved so I was fairly happy with it.

Due to the ammo shortages I've pretty much been using only Winchester white box which seems to work most of the time with the SIg. Now I got some Federal ammo and I'm having major issues with it in the Sig.

Every single time I try to rack the slide and draw a bullet into the chamber, the slide jams about 3/4 of the way back and the bullet is stuck. It hits (the ramp I believe) with such force the bullets are actually getting pushed back into the casing. I've tried this with multiple Federal rounds from different boxes, same issues. These same bullets feed without fail in my Colt.

What gives? Is Federal really that differently shaped from other types of ammo?

What's my next move here?

I don't really want to have to send it to Sig again, but this is really unacceptable. I really feel like this gun is a lemon and I would not trust my life to it, its had too many issues for me to feel confident in it.
 
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#85 ·
I did not. My Springfield USGI was eating and extracting them just fine, however.

Do you think going from a 20 to an 18 lb recoil spring on my RCS might help?

I'm going to try some quality brass, see what it does, then try a standard 18lb commander spring in the gun with the Tula.
 
#87 ·
Well, I got the gun back from Custom2, he done good with it.

I ran 100 rounds of Federal brand ammo through it without a hitch. If you recall, that was the type of ammo that the gun would jam upon racking the slide on almost every time...and if it didn't jam outright, it would slam the bullet down into the casing. That issue seems completely taken care of.

Mega kudos to Custom.
 
#89 ·
Very good thread, I do not own a Sig 1911, but a couple of my shooting buddies do and they , too, have feeding problems. At least now I have more an idea where to start.
Custom2, what you did is one of the most generous and heartwarming things I've heard in a long time. Makes me feel good. Tis the season.
Happy New Year to all and, with Custom2's help, all those poor running Sig 1911's have a new lease on life!
Best, Bill
 
#90 · (Edited)
So I found out the gun doesn't run well at all with an 18 pound Wolf 1911 commander recoil spring installed. It likes 20 lb recoil springs. Also, it doesn't like Tula Ammo at all. Extraction is nearly uniform with brass case ammo but it'll fling Tula straight at your face most of the time.

Whenever Glock 30S models became more available I'm ditching the Sig RCS and switching over. I was going to buy an HK USP or HK45 just to try something different, but apparently those jam with some Hornady rounds. I wish I could diversify when it comes to my self-defense guns but the ugly Austrian blocks just work for me.

Thankfully my full size Springfield (which has been 100% reliable for a decade now) is around when I want to scratch my 1911 itch.
 
#91 ·
May I make a suggestion? Please don't take this wrong. Stop putting crap ammo in your guns.

You have some very nice taste in guns from the brands you mention but horrible taste in ammo. It's like putting regular gas in a sports car when 93 octane is preferred.

Is your choice of Tula due to lack of availability of quality brass cased ammo or is the cost or maybe even both?

If you need good ammo for a decent price PM me. I got a guy for that. :)
 
#95 ·
I've read this thread a couple times and followed any other thread I could find on this same type of issue. I have a scorpion carry that had a few ftf when new. I only saw this issue with Wilson etm mags. The Sig mags and power mags seemed to work fine. Well, after reading this thread I decided to polish the breach face and disconnector track a bit. Just used a cleaning patch with some rubbing compound and used a popsicle stick to apply flat pressure. Well today passed 1000 rounds on this gun. My log shows that the last 300 have been without failure. And 200 of those have been with those one time problematic etm's.
Just want to express my appreciation for all the discussion and good info that can be found here.
 
#97 ·
Personally, I think a gun should fire any major American made, brass cased ammo without any issues. You could say that's being too picky or what not...but I have other 1911's that can do it so why shouldn't all my guns?

If a gun doesn't like Tula, Aquila, or Wolff, okay thats acceptable but if the thing will jam on Federal or Remington I think that is an issue worth being upset about.

Reliability is always my number one thing.
 
#98 ·
I agree. It should feed all American production brass loads made to SAAMI spec, FMJ and JHP. I can understand if the gun won't feed SWC reliably but would give it a pass because, for me, it is a target or range only load.

Steel cased ammo doesn't react the same as brass. If you use cheap ammo in a gun, you really can't blame the gun to some extent.
 
#100 ·
Just to toss in an opinion worth .02, I have a pistol I really like that feeds almost anything until my wife got a "deal" on some aluminum cased Blazers once. I was able to completely solve the problem at home, with no help at all.


I stopped trying to feed it aluminum cased Blazers and the problem cleared up immediately.
 
#102 ·
Bump to thank you for a very enlightening thread and discussion complete with pics!!

Thank you!!!
 
#103 ·
Hi all,
I've been following this thread with interest because I, too, am having Nitron problems. The problems started as FTB, where the slide stops about 1/4" short of being closed. The gun is out of warranty, so I took it to a local gunsmith rather than paying shipping to send back to Sig. LGS found that the chamber was undersized and reamed it out. Alas, I continue to have problems. I have FTB, though less often, and I've had a few FTF issues.

After re-reading this thread, I looked at the gap between the ramps, or lack thereof (see first picture, below). I compared to a Kimber 1911 and determined that the distance from ramp lip to lug bracket face is longer on the Sig than on the Kimber (see second picture, below). The Sig measures 0.260", while the Kimber measures 0.238". This causes the bbl lip to be further back by 0.022". (the caliper is not in aligned in the picture, but was properly aligned when I took the measurement).

When I put the Kimber bbl on the Sig, there is a gap between the ramps. When I put the Sig bbl on the Kimber, no gap. So the bbl seems to be the cause of the no-gap issue.

Does anyone know what the spec is for that measurement? Or would someone please measure their bbl to see if the distance is less than 0.260"?

I probably voided my warranty by taking to LGS. My options are to sell the gun at a loss to some poor unsuspecting buyer (not cool) or replace the bbl (more $$$). I'm very frustrated and disappointed with Sig right now.



 
#111 ·
Hi all,

I've been following this thread with interest because I, too, am having Nitron problems. The problems started as FTB, where the slide stops about 1/4" short of being closed. The gun is out of warranty, so I took it to a local gunsmith rather than paying shipping to send back to Sig. LGS found that the chamber was undersized and reamed it out. Alas, I continue to have problems. I have FTB, though less often, and I've had a few FTF issues.



After re-reading this thread, I looked at the gap between the ramps, or lack thereof (see first picture, below). I compared to a Kimber 1911 and determined that the distance from ramp lip to lug bracket face is longer on the Sig than on the Kimber (see second picture, below). The Sig measures 0.260", while the Kimber measures 0.238". This causes the bbl lip to be further back by 0.022". (the caliper is not in aligned in the picture, but was properly aligned when I took the measurement).



When I put the Kimber bbl on the Sig, there is a gap between the ramps. When I put the Sig bbl on the Kimber, no gap. So the bbl seems to be the cause of the no-gap issue.



Does anyone know what the spec is for that measurement? Or would someone please measure their bbl to see if the distance is less than 0.260"?



I probably voided my warranty by taking to LGS. My options are to sell the gun at a loss to some poor unsuspecting buyer (not cool) or replace the bbl (more $$$). I'm very frustrated and disappointed with Sig right now.








I understand being frustrated. I had issues with mine the first couple of hundred rounds. I tried some of the things that Custom2 did like clean up the slide and the slide stop. I have put 4-500 and it's running like a dream. I love it. I think you will still have good luck by giving Sig a chance to make this right for you. I'm not sure you gave them a chance if I read your post correctly. It doesn't sound like the LGS did much and hopefully that doesn't void the warranty. You could always send it to custom2 and have him work his magic. If you can get it running like mine you will love it.
 
#104 ·
I too am having a Nitron issue. FTE. Never had prob before. It consumed my reloads, factory, normally PMC and Remy/UMC Speer Lawman work fine. I have never had problems with CCI or Speer Ammo. This time I used Speer brass 45acp the cheap ones with the small pistol primers. I went to Gander to buy the Rem/UMC they were out. Told these as good just a little dirtier. To make a short story long has anyone experienced a problem with these Speer. I did have some issues with their Mini-Mags 1st time in 40 years. Quality control maybe?
 
#105 ·
Failure to extract or eject?
 
#107 ·
Wow. Lots of good commentary, and some expert perspectives. In defense of Sig, my 1911 XO has been flawless. The only mods were a factory trigger job (during which time they may have done other tweaks, but I don't know what) plus a set of checkered walnut stocks. Got to have wood. All the ammo has been Winchester White Box, Federal, Remington FMJ, Remington Golden Saber and others of similar quality. The XO works with FMJ, JHP, 230 and 185 grain without incident. No aluminum or steel cased ammo.
 
#109 ·
Mine is somewhere between none and barely there. Should I be looking at it when the bbl is pushed all the way back, such that the rear face of the lug block is touching the forward face of the frame, or should the barrel be pulled forward with the slide-lock pin in place? When the pistol is assembled with the slide back, the bbl can move forward so that the clearance is >some. It seems that the bbl would be that far forward when chambering a round, right?
 
#112 ·
Thanks, Phil. I hope you're right. It's frustrating because I've been so happy with Sig 22x pistols and their flawless reliability.

I called Sig shortly after I discovered the problem with my 1911. They told me that because it was 14 months from date of purchase, I would have to pay $55 shipping. They also gave me a song and dance about how Sig 1911s run tight and recoil springs go bad after a year, so I just needed to put a new spring in it annually, whether I shot it or not. Needless to say, I found their customer service underwhelming.

I had the chamber reamed by a good gunsmith. I'm going to do some of the polishing that I learned from Custom's work. I also got a 17# recoil spring and full length guide rod. I don't really want to go above 17# because I don't want to rely on a spring that's only masking a gun problem.

The question now is, if I get it running (as you did), how will I know that it's really fixed? I want this to be a nightstand gun. I'm thinking I could put 150 rounds of dirty ammo through it, followed by 15 rounds of premium JHPs. If it fires all 165 without jamming, then that's a good indication that it is running reliably.
 
#113 ·
Reliability is such a subjective thing. I generally take 100 rounds to the range. If any of my guns will run 100 rounds without issue, I'm happy. I don't foresee any extended firefights in my future.
Now, sometimes I'll make two or three trips before field stripping my range guns. So they may in fact, go up to 300 between cleaning. My carry gun has about 1300 rounds through it now. So it only gets a couple mags every other trip. And every time it's fired, I field strip, clean and relube it that night.
I know it's a long answer to a short question. Sorry.
 
#115 · (Edited)
I don't see how reliability is subjective. The gun either feeds a round, fires a round and ejects a round or it doesn't.

If I have a malfunction I want to know why. I just won't shoot some arbitrary number of rounds and hope it doesn't fail agin in between then and now.

100% reliability is pretty easy to achieve. It isn't too much to ask for your gun to function all the time, short of pouring sand directly into the mag that is.
 
#116 ·
Custom, I understand what you're saying, and I agree - reliability is not subjective. If I could be confident that I or a more qualified gunsmith could identify and correct each and every issue with the gun, then a subsequent shooting test would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, not every gunsmith is going to identify every issue every time. Firing x number of rounds without a malfunction is a reasonable indicator of reliability.
 
#117 ·
I think I chose the wrong words for my post. By subjective I was more referring to the determined round count before one calls any given gun "reliable".
My point really is to shoot, observe and correct any issues that may arise, and shoot some more. I think we are on the same page. Possibly just stating it differently?
 
#119 ·
Range report: My Sig is running now! I polished the feed ramps, breech face, and extractor as shown by Custom2. I'm not sure I did much good on the breech face as there was no way to polish it without changing it's shape. I also put in a 17# spring and got a 47D magazine. I'm happy to say that it fed 100 rounds today without a FTB or FTF.

The only issue I had today was failure to eject after firing without a magazine. It was the strangest thing. My shooting buddy was using my Sig and realized it was an 8 round magazine after firing 7 rounds and removing the magazine - thus leaving one in the pipe. When he fired the 8th round sans magazine, the round did not clear the ejection port before the slide closed on it. It was clearly out of the chamber. We tested firing a single round without a magazine and it failed to eject 4 out of 5 times. Is that normal for a 1911? I rarely fire without a magazine, and don't see the need to do so, but I'm curious as to why it ejects when a magazine is present but not when the magazine is removed.
 
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