1911A1 Extractor

Status
Not open for further replies.
I

Ifishsum

Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
1,165
Location
Portland, OR
Recently I rescued an abused 1943 Colt M1911A1 from my father-in-law. I pretty much have it back to shooting condition and test fired it tonight. Extraction is erratic, and many times failed to pull the fired case out of the chamber. Sometimes the brass flew way back, sometimes into my forehead and sometimes it just plunked down in front of me. So tonight I'm checking it out, and the first thing is as I'm removing the firing pin stop plate, some broken pieces fall out - the stop plate was broken at the point where it slides under the extractor (he had beat on the rear of the slide with a hammer for some reason :banghead:). At any rate, I got the extractor out and it's a bit munged up as well so I'm going to replace it (as well as the firing pin stop plate). My main question is, as I'm looking for a replacement extractor and firing pin stop, they all say either for series 70 or series 80. This is a Colt USGI issue, not commercial and I don't know enough about 1911s to know which models will fit this pistol. Which ones do I order?
 
Series 70 should work for both parts. The series 80 has a firing pin block that wil work on nly those pistols. Hope this helps. Try Numrich Gun Parts, they should have what you need, either online or call them.
 
Brownells.com is a good source for parts.

Yes, buy series 70 parts.

Wilson makes good parts as does Ed Brown. Both are available from Brownells.
 
If at all possible, I would try to salvage that GI extractor; it is ten times better than anything on the market today.

Jim
 
I would try to salvage that GI extractor; it is ten times better than anything on the market today.
Click to expand...

I'll concur with that. I've got a few that are 90 years old...two that have been in a couple of current hard-duty beaters for tens of thousands of rounds...and they're still shuckin'em like they were new. The kicker? They were pretty well used when I pulled'em.

I've got a dwindling supply of real USGI extractors, still in the original paper that aren't for sale.

That said...If you can't salvage it by adding a little bend for more tension...I'll have to agree with Bob. I tried a Wilson HD extractor about a year ago, and it seems to be a bit better than the Wilson Bulletproof, and it's a buck cheaper from Brownells. Win-Win.
 
Thanks guys, I've heard the GI extractors are the best, but unfortunately this one looks pretty munged up to me - maybe beyond just re-bending. Hopefully these pictures will show the damage, you guys tell me what you think. I'm just not sure if it's re-workable.

extractor.JPG
 
Well, I can tell you that my F-I-L did all the work that has been done to this and he didn't do anything else right with this. If you saw this piece and what he did you'd want to hug every other kitchen table gunsmith you run across.

Granted I'm no professional, but I mostly know what I should and should not be trying myself, and I do my research before I dive in. I've never ruined anything that wasn't already ruined to begin with. This guy tried to hammer the slide closed on a new N.M. barrel and bushing that he didn't fit right, then hammered it open when it got stuck. And then did it again a few times for good measure (dinging the crown in the process), and of course lost the original parts. He told me all it needed now was to be "shot in" with some cutting oil. :banghead:
 
I'll post a picture of the slide later because I was going to ask if it's repairable. Looks like cosmetic damage at this point (aside from the extractor and stop plate) and I don't imagine an original Colt GI slide is cheap or easy to obtain.
 
For Tuner - 1911A1 extractor question

I am looking to replace an extractor for my 1944 Colt. You mentioned scarcity of 1911A1 extractors. I hope to see someone this weekend who may have one or two. What is a fair offer to make for one? (By the way, this is the same guy who had all the original WW11 mags a while back.)

Regards, Bill
 
Bill...Caveat Emptor. There are few genuine USGI extractors around that are in good shape. Any that you find that are new and still in the original wrappers are very likely either counterfeit or were government rejected for being out of spec.

Granted, the reasons for being rejeted could be for nothing more than the finish, or it could be because of critical dimensions. The ones that I have on hand, I've had for many years. I bought a few a good while back...probably 15 years...and discovered that they were out of spec. I was able to get a few of'em to work...but it took a lotta cussin' and cryin' and prayin'.
So...Choose your vendor wisely.

Price? Whatever the market will bear. Just for what it's worth...If I couldn't find any real ones that were good, I'd go with the Wilson Heavy-Duty.
 
Thanks Tuner

I am very likely unable to recognize an out of spec extractor. I'll play it safe. Thanks, Bill
 
...I thought these were pretty common. Educate me if not...
Click to expand...

They are common. There were a blue million extractors made for government contracts. It's also not uncommon that large shipments were rejected for being out of spec.

Out of spec, can cover a lot of issues, not all of which affect the fit and function of the part. Then again...It may have a very real detrimental effect.

The gun show vendors often get their parts from the same places...like partsplus...as we do. so, the caveat still applies. You may get good extractors, and you may not.
They don't check'em.
 
Yeah, I was mistaken on this it seems. At least USGI surplus extractors (and parts in general it seems) are getting less common. Thanks guys.

Ifishsum, hope you get your gun running.
 
OK, any quick tips on how to easily identify those old USGI extractors?

I think I have one in the last .45 I built. It is parkerized. I bought the slide in the early 80s. The slide would not have been real old at that time, as it was a series '70 slide.

Considering the mismatched finish, and that USGI parts were probably still fairly common a quarter of a century ago, I tend to believe it is indeed USGI.

Not that I can complain if it is not. That pistol comes closer to the magical figure of 100% reliability every time I shoot it.:)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
1911 Extractor Removal
Replies
2
Views
480
BMC
B
H
  • Locked
1911Tuner, Weird Extractor Problem
Replies
11
Views
1K
Dave Sample
D
B
  • Locked
Kimber .22 Conversion - Extractor disassembly help
Replies
3
Views
569
Izaak Walton
I
F
  • Locked
How to remove Colt Series 80 Firing Pin?
Replies
5
Views
2K
FPrice
F
1
  • Locked
Jammer Six and the Busted Extractors
2 3
Replies
50
Views
3K
1911Tuner
1
Back
Top