Inconsistent ejection in a 1911: causes?

O

Oleg Volk

Staff Alumnus
Have a 1911 series 70 Colt from about 1980-82. It ejects all over the place, some empties go ten feet, others three inches and some just stovepipe or even stay in the slide held by the ejector. Some hit me in the head and that breaks my concentration.
Would swapping out the ejector be a good first step or something more serious is wrong? I tried a dual-spring Detonics recoil kit and that did not change the problem much.
 
Several things to check. 1) tension on extractor; Strip the slide off the frame, remove barrel then place a 230 gr round under the extractor and rotate the slide around a bit. the round should be held firmly, if it slides out, more tension is needed on the extractor, just give it a little bend. 2) how much bite the extractor is getting on the rim; remove the extractor and hold a round against the hook, is the bevel on the face of the hook bearing on the beveled part of the round? if so, need to relieve the face until you get a full depth engagement of the hook on the rim. 3) with the extractor reinstalled in the slide, put your round again under the extractor and see if you have full engagement of the hook, if not then you need to relieve the bearing point on the extractor INSIDE the slide tunnel....The whole point of these checks is to insure that the extractor has a firm grip on the empty so the ejector can give the case a good whack..Of these, the low tension is the most frequent problem, but I have seen examples of each...hope this helps...
 
In addition, it would be helpful to know if you are firing factory ammo or reloads. Also, do you have an aftermarket recoil spring (heavier) set up? That could be a problem with spotty ejection.
 
Also consider the ejection port. Is it cut down the side of the slide or is there more than about 0.475 inch of slide wall height. The ejector could also be loose and causing inconsistent ejections.
 
...I think maybe your first stop is one of these links...The info is correct and provided in a way that allows even a first timer to follow it easily...

http://www.sightm1911.com/index.htm

http://www.m1911.org/technic.htm

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/reliability_secrets.htm

http://www.detnet.com/fuselier/
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