Colt Govmnt Model killing brass

C

chiefr

New member
I have a Colt Gov. Series 70 which destroys my brass. Does anybody have any ideas how this can be corrected?
 
You didn't mention exactly what you mean by "killing brass". That is pretty vague, so you will get pretty vague responses.

If it is in original factory configuration with the factory barrel, no ramp work done, and the smallish ejection port, my suggestion would be to drop the port and properly fit the extractor.
 
My appology for not being specific. What happens is the case mouth gets dented inward on vitually all rounds and in some case severely dented in. Quite a few are dented in so severly a small crack develops rendering the cases unsalvageable. It does not matter what brand ammo is used: FC, Win, RP, HDY, same results.
 
This is a symptom that the extractor needs to be tuned.
This is fairly common on the 1911, and it's caused by the ejected brass hitting the slide ejection port.

This is the reason the 1950's target shooters started putting a bevel on the rear of the ejection port so their reload brass wouldn't get wrecked.

Take your gun to a good gunsmith and have the extractor adjusted.
 
The 1911 is stock and has never been modified. It is one of the anodized nickel models. As an avid reloader, this is one piece I just do not shoot that much. I am willing to experiment with the extractor. Should I replace the spring as well?
 
The extractor and the ejector need to be adjusted (tuned) to work together. If the extractor is too tight and holds onto the case a little too long or releases it too soon or if the ejector doesn't kick it out the port without striking the port's edge brass will be dented. There are some instructional stickies on both of the 1911 forums describing this. Wilson Combat used to have some details on dealing with this also on their website. A knowlegeable 1911 smith can stop almost all of the denting. The original 1911 ejector design threw cases almost straight up. When competition shooters first started mounting scopes on their 1911s smiths figured out how to reshape the ejector's nose to steer the brass more to the side so cases didn't hit the scope (and sometimes bounce right back into the open port). Unless the dents are severe it's not really a problem as the sizing and expander dies will straighten them out easily. Lowering the port wall and flaring the rear opening definitely helps but is not absolutely necessary. A slightly longer ejector will start the case out the port a little sooner and is a help. There are a lot of GI 1911s out there with no modifications that will eject the brass up and out so they'll clear the port. Do some searches and you'll find details on this.
 
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