Kimber Extractor Question

[Jorah Lavin]

I was reading about reliability in the 1911 on this site:
http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/reliability_secrets.htm
and found a description of how to evaluate the tension on the extractor in your 1911. My Kimber Ultra Carry has always thrown brass all over the countryside, so I was curious as to how my gun compared. I took the slide off the frame, slid a round under the extractor... nothing. So loose that you can't imagine the extractor retaining the round on its own.

I made a diagram attempting to show the relative sizes of the gap in relation to the shell.

http://www.madstone.net/extractor.html

Please forgive the amateur "artwork."

Can anyone tell me what I can do, or if I need to do anything, to correct this situation?

Thanks.

-Jorah

 

[Jorah Lavin]

Whoops, I think I've got it!

I got some help on another board and tried slightly bending the extractor to add tension.

I'm thinking now that the Kimber probably never was functioning correctly. Changes noted on the page:

http://www.madstone.net/extractor.html


-Jorah

 

[Wayward]

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

Go to that site and click on "Extractor Tuning and Installation Tips (by Bill Wilson)"

While you have the extractor out you may want to use a small file and gently round the edges of the extractor claw where the round slides under it. You just want to break the square edge and not remove a lot of metal.

 

[Jorah Lavin]

Wayward,

The description there is pretty much exactly what I did today. I'm not going to start filing on my extractor unless I find a problem after I go to the range tomorrow... I've examined the extractor under a powerful magnifying lens, and it looks like it was properly radiused at the factory, so I'm not going to touch it unless I have to.

This is my carrry gun, so I have to be careful with the home gunsmithing...


-Jorah