Ok so I just bought a Para Ordnance P12 .45 ACP and I am very pleased with it and it shoots very accurately. My problem is that I put 200 rounds thru it today and I had at least 6 times when I fired the hammer would not stay to the rear forcing me to cock it back to continue firing. I was using military issue ball ammo. I had cleaned it two days before firing and it was lightly oiled. I also purchased 2 used clips to use with it, I dont believe those were the root cause because it did it with all three different clips. Can anyone give me some guidance on this? I purchased it used from Gander and got the service warrenty with it but I was hoping for a little advice before I take it in to be looked at.

There are several possible causes of hammer following. If the gun isn't doubling (going full-auto for a couple of rounds), then the hammer is following forward as the slide goes forward, rather than the hammer being dropped by the slide jarring home. A few things to look at:

After checking that the gun is empty and with no magazine in place, cock the hammer with your thumb and pull the slide back all the way. Now pull up as well as back on the slide and let it go slowly forward. As the back of the slide passes over the nose of the hammer, do you see the hammer move up away from the grip safety before it stops in the cocked position? It should do so at least a 1/32"; a 1/16" is good; 1/8" is a bit much. If you don't see it move up, the hammer is improperly fitted and will have to be replaced. If it is an eighth of an inch or so, it may be bouncing off the sear as the slide returns forward, dropping it onto the sear nose. You can stone down the hammer nose where the slide rubs against it until the upward motion you just checked is between 1/32" and 1/16".

You may also have a disconnector that has been rounded and is too short.

Knock the pin at the bottom rear of the grip frame out and slide the mainspring housing down just half an inch, so it doesn't let go of the flat spring. Remove the thumb safety and the grip safety. Push the mainspring back up into place and put the pin back in. Let the hammer go forward. Now pull the slide rearward and watch that the disconnector moves completely under the feet of the sear as the slide cocks the hammer. The sear feet must pivot forward with no interference from the disconnector for the hammer to remain cocked. If the disconnector is rubbing the sear feet and not letting them pivot forward freely, the disconnector must be replaced. That may require hand fitting if the gun has been tightened up at all?

If the disconnector is OK, the hammer may still be bouncing off the sear nose, not because of how far its hooks drop onto the sear, but because the leaf of the flat spring that pushes the sear feet forward is weak. It can also be a combination of the two. You may need to remove the 3-leaf flatspring from the back of the grip frame and put a slight permanent bend in the leftmost leaf (the one with the little hook on the end). Bend it forward (in the direction the hook is pointing), so it takes a set such that the tip is maybe 1/16th" forward of its original position with respect to the other leaves. This will increase the pressure with which the sear feet are pushed forward and make it harder for the sear nose to bounce out from under the hammer hooks. It will also increase your trigger pull weight, so don't overdo it. Try it in stages. You can also replace the whole spring if you aren't confident about making the adjustments.

Finally, if this gun has had a trigger job, it is possible the sear nose or hammer hooks or both were not given the correct angles. Unless you want to buy jigs and get into the business of learning 1911 trigger work, you will likely be in for replacement parts and a new trigger job.

There are several possible causes of hammer following. If the gun isn't doubling (going full-auto for a couple of rounds), then the hammer is following forward as the slide goes forward, rather than the hammer being dropped by the slide jarring home. A few things to look at:

After checking that the gun is empty and with no magazine in place, cock the hammer with your thumb and pull the slide back all the way. Now pull up as well as back on the slide and let it go slowly forward. As the back of the slide passes over the nose of the hammer, do you see the hammer move up away from the grip safety before it stops in the cocked position? It should do so at least a 1/32"; a 1/16" is good; 1/8" is a bit much. If you don't see it move up, the hammer is improperly fitted and will have to be replaced. If it is an eighth of an inch or so, it may be bouncing off the sear as the slide returns forward, dropping it onto the sear nose. You can stone down the hammer nose where the slide rubs against it until the upward motion you just checked is between 1/32" and 1/16".

You may also have a disconnector that has been rounded and is too short.

Knock the pin at the bottom rear of the grip frame out and slide the mainspring housing down just half an inch, so it doesn't let go of the flat spring. Remove the thumb safety and the grip safety. Push the mainspring back up into place and put the pin back in. Let the hammer go forward. Now pull the slide rearward and watch that the disconnector moves completely under the feet of the sear as the slide cocks the hammer. The sear feet must pivot forward with no interference from the disconnector for the hammer to remain cocked. If the disconnector is rubbing the sear feet and not letting them pivot forward freely, the disconnector must be replaced. That may require hand fitting if the gun has been tightened up at all?

If the disconnector is OK, the hammer may still be bouncing off the sear nose, not because of how far its hooks drop onto the sear, but because the leaf of the flat spring that pushes the sear feet forward is weak. It can also be a combination of the two. You may need to remove the 3-leaf flatspring from the back of the grip frame and put a slight permanent bend in the leftmost leaf (the one with the little hook on the end). Bend it forward (in the direction the hook is pointing), so it takes a set such that the tip is maybe 1/16th" forward of its original position with respect to the other leaves. This will increase the pressure with which the sear feet are pushed forward and make it harder for the sear nose to bounce out from under the hammer hooks. It will also increase your trigger pull weight, so don't overdo it. Try it in stages. You can also replace the whole spring if you aren't confident about making the adjustments.

Finally, if this gun has had a trigger job, it is possible the sear nose or hammer hooks or both were not given the correct angles. Unless you want to buy jigs and get into the business of learning 1911 trigger work, you will likely be in for replacement parts and a new trigger job.
Very informative and helpful thanks a bunch

More on hammer follow and much more on the operation of the M1911.

http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?t=10996

Bye
Jack

You guys are awsome. I was wondering if the condition discussed could ever be cause by grip, or limp wristing, as is the stovepipe jam? I know nothing about 1911s but I would have never thought that the hold on a firearm could make it jam or not function correctly but it sure does.

The springs or dimensions are too far out of spec if limp wristing causes hammer follow. Ross Seyfried tests by laying the 1911 down and squeezing the slide stop off with thumb and forefinger. I suspect that the stovepipe jam is due to over strength recoil springs. There was an 18 lb recoil spring fad about 10 years ago, but most people decided that JMB was right and went back to 16 lb springs.

Bye
Jack

Its best to check your carry ammo to see if limp wristing will cause a jam. If it does try a higher power ammo.

I should have thought to mention loose grip? It seems to me that I don't see nearly as much of that as I did before two-hand holds became the usual way most people shoot a pistol. I don't think I've ever seen it shooting hardball through a 1911. I can do that using my thumb and trigger finger as the only grip.

My "school gun" that I took to Gunsite currently has a 20 lb recoil spring and a square bottom firing pin stop, both of which retard the slide. With a Weaver hold it fires hardball fine and even 200 grain cast bullets over 4.8 grains of Bullseye operate it with that hold. (All the slide resistance is for testing a 300 grain bullet I had a mold made for.)

The kind of inertial sear depressing by the trigger mass that Seyfried was testing for usually causes a slam fire on loading. A lot of the bullseye shooters keep the trigger pressed while they depress the slide stop to chamber a round. That keeps the disconnector under the sear as happen's during normal firing. Not ConcealCarryNY's issue, though, if I understand his description correctly?

Pretty sure its not limp wristing shooting 230 grain. After the first time it happened I thought that might be my hold on the gun so I intentionally focused on my grip and hand position. I have a warrenty so I am going to take it back to gander and make them fix it. Havent found a good local gunsmith yet.