picky about ammo?

[Jhaynes08]

i have a 1911-b with Novak low profile three dot sights. after going to the range and putting mainly lellier and bellot 230 gr hardball down range it seems to shot low and left. i am taking my low experience with shooting pistols into account. i spend more time behind a shotgun at the skeet field. i did send it in to get looked at and i guess nothing is wrong with it. i did put a mag (8 rounds) of federal hydra shock to see if it would feed hollow-points and the grouping improved greatly. i was wondering if anyone else is having the same issue with their pt1911 being picky about ammo or what you guys, and gals, are having good results with. any help would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. i shot my fathers Kimber 1911 at a bowling pin shoot a few weeks ago and did just fine.

[Jake3501]

Anytime you have a handgun that doesn't seem to be shooting to your point of aim, try resting the front part of the frame on sand bags and then squeeze a few rounds off and see how the point of impact looks. This will allow you to see if your accuracy problem is gun related, user related, or possibly ammo related. You usually won't see much difference in point of impact with different ammo until you start getting out beyond 7-10 yards.

Shooting low and left is usually mostly user related and not ammo or gun related. Like I said usually, but the sand bag test will tell the tale of the tape.

[MOONDAWG]

The infamous "low-left" syndrome...pilot error 98% of the time.

...and yes, 1911's can be "ammo-picky"; that's why we should test drive them with any new type of ammo before depending on it for self defense.

[mingaa]

I started ammo bench testing for IDPA matches and to find the best gun / ammo match. Some of my regular practice and SD ammo dont perform as well as I thought and there were some surprises as well. Results could vary gun to gun - shooter to shooter but I have made some changes based on what I found. Nothing was so radical that I will sell off stock but findings will affect future purchases. I shot long, mid and short barrel guns, Glock 19 & 34, Kahr CW9, Taurus 709.

A few 9mm notes: white box Winchester 115 was mid pack across the board.
My 709 likes Winchester Ranger 147 jhp and is now my SD load for that.
Fiocchi 115 and 124 jhp were not top performers but 147 fared much better in most guns
Surprises: Herters brass 115 fmj (sellier & Beloit marked on box), Federal American Eagle 115 & 147 consistantly outshot name brand Federal and was consistantly among the best Remington 147 fmj was on par with the Am Eagle. Atlanta Arms 147 reloads did not shoot as well as the last two. Their new match ammo probably do but for now I'll be stocking up on Am Eagle and Rem 147 for IDPA matches with the Glock 34. I have lots of targets with notes if anyone is interested and testing will continue.

[cuban]

What sight picture are you using #1,#2, or #3.
The correct sight picture for the PT1911 is #3, if using #3 is still producing low hits you will need to change your front sight with a shorter profile sight.
The left bullet impact are usually caused by squeezing your hand simultaneously as you squeeze the trigger (milking the grip), dry fire practice drills should fix that.
Good Luck.

[olfarhors]

well I wouldn't say that its picky ammo problem!
well unless the ammo not only printed low and left but also failed to chamber, extract, and eject on a many different brands.
Typically the low and left issue id trigger related, either yanking the trigger ,over pulling the trigger and pulling the entire weapon downward as its fired, etc.
the reason that you likely shot better with the kimber is that the trigger was smoother or it had a longer/or shorter trigger than the Taurus and possibly a shorter trigger pull than the Taurus.
simply put a smoother .crisper trigger will normally give better results to the shooter, esopecailly if they have a flaw in their trigger pull.
More time behind the grip may improve all this and certainly there are a lot of improvemnets that can be had to improve the problem, but practice is a great palce to begin.

[TexasAviator]

Like others have side, low left usually is just an excuse to get more range time.

My PT-1911 likes everything except the steel wolf stuff. When it gets hot whatever the coating on the steel is will cause it not to extract a round every now and then. Others don't have that issue. Like Moondawg said, find what works for you by trying all sorts! Thats part of the fun!

[Jake3501]

The Kimber may also have had a couple of thousand more rounds through it than your PT1911. Nearly any handguns trigger smoothness as well as the rest of the firearm improve with use. If you were shooting a new PT1911 or any other brand, the trigger simply won't be as smooth. Get a couple of thousand rounds through the beast and the trigger will be smooth as silk!

[olfarhors]

Yep! round count makes a difference, more so in some pistolas than others!
I had a 709 that after jsut 100 rounds became an entirely different pistol as to total smoothness and function, continued to improve through about 400 rounds.
MY new RIA took about 4-500 rounds to get the trigger acting a lot better, but as mentioned more rounds helps you and the weapon usually.

[Jhaynes08]

The Kimber may also have had a couple of thousand more rounds through it than your PT1911. Nearly any handguns trigger smoothness as well as the rest of the firearm improve with use. If you were shooting a new PT1911 or any other brand, the trigger simply won't be as smooth. Get a couple of thousand rounds through the beast and the trigger will be smooth as silk!

the kimber only had about 100 rounds through it, my dad just bought it a few weeks before hand so there was only a little bit of time to put some rounds through it.