45 acp reloads

I think there is a confusion between the extractor & ejector. Never formed the ejector but you can adjust tension on the extractor . I did it with the 1911 Extractor Adjusting Tool ( EAT ) made by Weigand Machine and Design , I bought it from Brownells for $ 44.00. The extractor tension for 100% reliability they say is between 25 - 28 ounces checked with a RCBS trigger weight gauge. You can make accurate adjustments with the tool . It worked for me .
That's why I was asking about differences in case rim differences , if the case is wider the tension would be more so when checking tension they use a flat brass plate , one end for 45 the other for 38 , the second plate 9mm the other 40 . Check it out for yourself on line at Brownells. Hope I Helped.

Chris
 
I have never touched the extractor on my Colt 'Series 80' 1911 I purchased new in 1984. I've put about 20,000 rounds or so (maybe more) through it. I wonder if it's "well-tuned?" I wonder how I'd know if it wasn't?

Come to think of it, I've never touched any internal parts inside the slide. It has even gone through an entire wash cycle in my clothes washing machine - yes, it really has. Long story - don't ask.

Is there a solution in search of a problem here?
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You were lucky that your Colt worked correctly out the box. Two of mine did not. A Government Model Series 70, extractor with too little tension. And an XSE Colt Combat Commander in which I had to replace the recoil spring (way too light), and the firing pin spring (way too light, allowed the firing pin retainer plate to slip out of position when fired). I have not had the best of luck with it comes to new Colt 1911's. One has a tendency to think all Colts are somehow reliable out of the box unless they happen to get one of their all-to-frequent lemons.
 
dahermit
I guess some are lucky , l can't say it was a problem because it didn't jam but the gun ejected pretty sloppy . Most auto eject with the same arc , this one didn't , now it does . It's a simple fix , the tool worked as directed. Same with your fix on the firing pin spring & recoil . The gun will let you know when something's wrong. I'm not one that looks to fix things that aren't broke. But like yourself to fix & maintain your weapon is a good thing . Be Well.

Chris
 
Many of the younger shooters I know look at me as an "Old Fart" because I still frequent gun fora ..... "Just go watch a youtube video." Mayhaps some people here could take a cue from the young whippersnappers ......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_ybp51lx6w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSmJd7HaDY

The problem with watching "youtube videos" for information is sorting the derp from the good information (much like gun fora) ...... but both of the linked videos are from Wilson Combat ..... there is little doubt in my mind that they are an authority on 1911 handguns.

That said, with regard to the question about varying rims on cases ....... SAAMI is supposed to take care of standardization ...... but with ammo coming in from everywhere these days ..... I haven't really checked them .....
 
That said, with regard to the question about varying rims on cases ....... SAAMI is supposed to take care of standardization ...... but with ammo coming in from everywhere these days ..... I haven't really checked them .....
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SAAMI cannot control the "growth" of the rims in cases shot many, many times. They would get so tight that they would no longer fit into a shell holder...thus the punch I posted a picture of that would reduce the rims.
 
SAAMI cannot control the "growth" of the rims in cases shot many, many times.
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I'm trying to fathom how hot one would have load a 45ACP case to cause the rim to get bigger because ....... the brass flowed ..... outward?

I've got 45ACP cases that have been reused so many times that the headstamp is barely legible .... and when I started, loaded them hot enough that the breech face and extractor hole left visible marks on the case (dumb stuff, I know)...... never had a problem with the rims getting bigger and not dropping into and out of the L. E. Wilson case guage thingy ..... the edge of the rims become more rounded (I could see them getting smaller, if anything) and the headstamp becomes less distinct......
 
The majority of the cases are fine , I'm talking 10% ,. Federal seem to be the one brand with the problem. I'm not loading hot I'm at the low end of the scale 4.6 of W231 under a 230gr. FMJ. I threw the guestion out there to see what others were doing with the cases . Punching them back in spec is something I will try . Thanks JB

Chris
 
jimbob86 said:
I'm trying to fathom how hot one would have load a 45ACP case to cause the rim to get bigger because ....... the brass flowed
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I have some brass which is noticeably marked (one might say dimpled) by the ejector. It almost resembles a .22 rimfire strike. I can't recall the headstamp offhand. I can see where successive loadings on this brass could result in areas which were flattened out, causing this issue.
 
I'm trying to fathom how hot one would have load a 45ACP case to cause the rim to get bigger because ....... the brass flowed ..... outward?
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It was not a matter of too hot...it was a matter of repeated shooting and reloading. I was not the only person to experience that phenomenon, it was written up in the gun magazines of the time...I did not invent that method of reducing the rims, it was from an article in either Guns & Ammo or Shooting Times back in the late sixties, early seventies as I remember.

Thinking about it, it may not have involved pressure at all...it may have been the peining effect on the "rim" from repeated firings and ejections that was making it grow in diameter.
 
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Jes thinkin'. The speed and direction of my 1911's ejection isn't all controlled by the extractor. The chamber pressure (speed of extraction) and the ejector have a larger part to play, IMO. When I was playing with my 1911 (lots of reading, research) I read a lot about "customizing" the ejection by altering the length and shape of the ejector...

I only have 18-20 years of reloading my 45 ACPs and I have never had a rim "grow" from firing/reloading. I have had some cases shrink, shorten due to the repeated pressure on the case head and "squishing" the extractor groove. I don't do a lot of measuring anymore, but every round passes the plunk test (I gave up using a Wilson case gauge because I was chasing ghosts a lot of times). Anytime there is a "fit problem" measure. Measure every dimension on a case/cartridge and find out where and why the case is too big...
 
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milkld
I also read on tuning the ejector by filing , not comfortable doing that at this time. You can test if the extractor has enough tension by simply , with the slide removed place a loaded round into the extractor an see if it stays in place with alittle wiggle , if it does it's fine . When it comes to removing steel from a part , that would be my last resort. Recoil spring change to start .

When using your own reloads , that adds to the problem sometimes too . Just add another step in the fun of owning a 1911.

Chris
 
The majority of the cases are fine , I'm talking 10% ,. Federal seem to be the one brand with the problem.
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It has been my experience that Federal has just about the softest brass across the board (.270WIN, .327Mag, .357Mag) ...... the only more problematic headstamp I've run across was "A-MERC" ..... I take a hammer to those whenever I find them.
 
You were lucky that your Colt worked correctly out the box.
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I have two other 1911's; but they're much newer. A Kimber and a Springfield - both purchased in '15.

The Kimber had a broken rear sight screw (adjustable) out of the box - they made it right on the first call. It also went through some minor "break-in" feed-eject issues - I think the slide/receiver rails were microscopically scruffy. Nothing a couple hundred rounds didn't clear up. It's now a fine running gun.

The Springfield was awesome out of the box. If I had it to do again, both would be Springfields.

But to get back to the point, my three 1911's seem to have properly tuned extractors from the factory.
 
Nick_C_S said:
But to get back to the point, my three 1911's seem to have properly tuned extractors from the factory.
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I think aside from being so bad they can cause failures, there's a whole spectrum of "working." A tuned extractor will drop the shells consistently in a coffee can almost, where that ejection area gets a little larger the more out of spec it is. Not a huge deal at all. Just something to be aware of really, in case it ever happens.

I've only had one 1911 out of a good many which needed to be adjusted. Surprisingly it was a Colt Model 70 new right out of the box. Both of my RIA's ran like tops (triggers aside) without being touched.
 
Nick
Most auto run better after a smoothing out period . The broken sight , hopefully it happened in shipping , would want a large reputable company shipping it out like that. Puts a damper on a new gun out of the box . I wouldn't expect a company to fine tune every gun , as long as it fires their test rounds , it's good to go .

With my gun , it worked but the cases ejected very sloppy. There had to be a way to improve it . Looked on line , read some articles and ordered the tool . It could have been other things but the gun has about 1000 rounds through it . The extractor tool corrected the problem , simple fix .

Chris
 
there's a whole spectrum of "working."
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Yeah, as is the case with most things.

These days, my Colt is in a well-deserved state of semi-retirement. I wrote in my first post that I have about 20k rounds through it. Since writing that, I've given it some thought, and it's probably more like double that. There was a long period where it was pretty much the only gun I shot.

Back to the point: my Colt now has an 11# spring in it and only shoots very low power (600 f/s) 200 LSWC's. In this configuration, it actually ejects the brass right in front of me, and slightly to the left (don't even know how that's possible, but it does). A minor annoyance, but it sure makes it easy to identify my brass at a busy range day :p - all considered, I'm okay with it. Maybe that is considered an out of tune extractor?

Now my Kimber on the other hand, it flings brass really far and rather skattered about. I often shoot +P ammo though it with a stock spring. So that's likely a factor.
 
Nick
I would give your old faithful a try at increasing the tension on the extractor. That's why I increased mine. I have other guns but just shoot the little guy , a 3" 1911Colt New Agent , what a fun gun to shoot.

Chris
 
If you are gauging ammo and one stops short by rim thickness, turn it around and give the rim a twist in the mouth of the gauge. The steel gauge will often iron out a small burr and salvage the round.
 
I don't doubt your experience at all, dahermit, but the burrs can happen, too. Mr. Watson's trick has worked for me, too. As someone else inferred, the Wilson gauges have been known to be on the tight side.
 
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