1911 throws brass at my head

M

MuzzleBlast

New member
I scored one of the 1911's the CMP was selling. It ejects brass generally up and back, most of which hits the top of my head, brim of my cap, etc.
The loads are pretty light: 4.6gr HP38 behind Berry's plated 230gr RN.
What are possible causes and remedies?
 
Where does it throw standard GI ball ammo??

Where the empty brass goes is dependent on the relationship between the extractor, ejector, and the rearward speed of the slide at the time of ejection.

I've had 1911A1s drop brass on my hat, into my shirt pocket, and somewhere in the weeds of the next county, all dependent on what load was being fired.

Remember a GI gun, shooting GI ammo is just that, and if the empties bounce off your helmet, it is not defective.

IF you "tune" the gun by changing the ejector (or other parts) that will work for the load you tune it to, and a different load can, and usually will go somewhere else.
 
The most common fix for this is tuning of the EXTRACTOR.
That involves adjusting tension and proper profiling of the extractor hook area.
 
Your 4.6 grs. of HP38 is on the light side ... If you don't want to mess with the extractor try the Starting Load shown in the RCBS Loading Manual -
45 acp / 230 gr.LRN / 5.1 grs HP38 / 231 @ 783 fps .
If that 5.1 gr. starting load is too heavy ... try 4.8 grs of HP38 ... that may be enough to get those fired cases over your head or off to the side ...
I found adjusting the load easier for me than tuning the extractor ... but I'm not much of a gunsmith !
Good Luck and Load Safe ,
Gary
 
ejection

I would change the load, shoot some factory ball, change ammo etc, before I started whittling on the extractor. Additionally, since 1911 extractors are easily swapped, I would beg, borrow or steal a "test" extractor and install it in the pistol to see what changes with the original load as well.

With the exception of a genuine 1917 Colt /1911 (my grandad's) any 1911 I've had needed some tweaks, some never really straightened up.

That's why I just bought another one!:D:D
 
Ejector is what pops the brass out of the slide. Compare your ejector to a new or milspec one.

How an extractor holds the brass can effect how the ejector throws it. I was told to make the extractor as much as Colt or milspec.
 
Where the empty brass goes is dependent on the relationship between the extractor, ejector, and the rearward speed of the slide at the time of ejection.
Click to expand...

You left out one other aspect, where the ejection port is pointed when the case ejects.

We had a guy at the club unhappy with his 1911 because it kept ejecting into his face. It didn't eject into anyone else's face. So we video'd him shooting and slowed the video. While firing, the gun would torque in his hands while the muzzle attempted to rise, resulting in a normal ejecting 1911 that was ejecting into his face because of the orientation of the gun at the time of ejection.
 
Good point Double Naught Spy. Sometimes it's good to have someone else try the fyre-arm to see whether it's the gonne or its owner.
 
I'd also begin to get some dented cases, possibly even stovepipes, on an otherwise working 1911 if I left the recoil spring (16 pound) in too long, possibly over 3000 rounds.

I suppose the slide began moving at a faster speed, changing the ejection port's timing of getting the spent casing out. I don't reload and usually shooting some brand of factory 230 grain fmj. Carry ammo is usually 230 grain Speer Gold Dot.
 
I found adjusting the load easier for me than tuning the extractor
Click to expand...

Yeah, the only reason the load is that light is because that is the disk in my Lee Auto Disk powder dispenser, and it is a just-fine load for 9mm and .38. For that matter, it is certainly not a bad load for .45 for the range, and my Springfield 1911 doesn't throw brass at me with them. But I kinda suspected the load might be part of the problem. I seldom load those other cartridges anymore, so I should swap out the disk to the next bigger one.
 
I scored one of the 1911's the CMP was selling.
Click to expand...

Ok, this is a USGI M1911A1, marked US property and made before 1945? All GI spec parts?? Service grade gun that served in one of the branches of the military before or during WWII, and after?? OR is it something else?

Based on what you said, the gun functions. It feeds, fires and ejects. So there is nothing that needs replacement.

If you want to replace parts because you don't like the way the pistol functions, its your gun, so that's your call. But by GI standards, the gun is serviceable, as is.
 
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