1911 tuner I need help on this please.

[megatronrules]

I had my 1933 colt 1911 out at the range today and had one failure to extract in 50 rounds. The way this happened was there was an empty casing left in the chamber and the one that was feeding out of the mag jammed the gun. I dropped the mag and pulled the rim of the case with my finger nail and it fell out of the chamber. This was the the first and only time this has happened with this gun in about 200 rounds I have through it,I was using S&B 230 grain FMJ ammo when this happened fwiw. So what do you think is wrong if anything? I don't think its my extractor's tention as this hasen't happened before someone over at 1911forum suggested my extractor was "clocking" So I got an ed brown firing pin stop to replace the old one it had,do you think this will help cure this problem tuner? I was going to go with an egw oversized stop but brownells was back ordered on both so I got the Ed brown (it said the EB one was made to maximum factory specs for a tight fit is this EB's way of calling it oversized?) one it does seem to fit a bit tighter the one that was on there. BTW this only happened with one specific magazine,it stopped and only did it again when I used this same magazine again. Tuner could a magazine aggravate an extractor into clocking?

I also did an extractor tention test with the slide off of the frame I put a live round up under the extractor hook and it held it when wiggled in a few directions without droping it. the round also moved around a bit but not enough to fall out does this mean my extractor's tention is ok? thanks for any help tuner.

 

[1911Tuner]

Help

Without actually having the gun here to check, I'll say that it's an extractor problem. Either not quite enough tension or a worn hook. That extractor is made of the right stuff...assuming that it's original...but even the good spring tempered extractors sometimes needed adjustment once in a while.

With a gun that old, there's a chance of a rough chamber being a player, so clean it and check it with a good light. Look closely for scratches or toolmarks that run around the circumference of the chamber near the shoulder.

Possibility that the rim is slightly undersized. S&B rims run closer to minimum
than most brands. Try a few rounds of Winchester or PMC. Measure the S&B rims with a caliper. If they fall much below .473 inch, that could well be the problem. .470-.480 is spec...with good ammo hanging around .473-.475 or so. I've miked S&B as small as .468 inch, and Wolf even less at .465....

If you have a dummy round...not a snap cap...or carefully if you use a live round, check the tension as follows:

Lock the slide and let it chamber a round at full speed from the magazine.
Remove the magazine and draw the slide back just far enough to clear the chamber, but don't let it touch the ejector. The round should droop slightly.
While holding the slide in place, shake the pistol up and down a few times.
The round should stay put. If it falls down the magwell, the extractor needs more tension. If the tension is good, the hook may just be worn to the point
that it slips off the rim and lets go of the case.

Trial and error is usually the order of the day for setting tension. Go slow
and add just a little...about half what you think it needs. Better to repeat it 2-3 times than overbend it and have to straighten it.

A clocking extractor usually drops the last round instead of somewhere prior to that...so it's not highly likely that's the problem. Not impossible...just not likely.

Standin' by...

 

[megatronrules]

thanks tuner I'll check and keep ya posted.

 

[bigjim]

Nice thing about that S&B brass starting small is after you reload it about 20 or 30 times the case flattens out some and gets bigger. About the time you can no longer read the stampings on the case, they are just about broke in and up the correct size.