another 1911 ejector can of worms.

[priestfoxley]

this well worn piece of metal is my ATI FXE thunderbolt. It is not my daily carry, it is not my favorite pistol, and it is not even one I regularly use, so I am not as familiar with it as I should be.

Me and my wife went to a pistol match, and she shot it. (I stuck with my glock). There were no misfeeds, FTEs, or FTFs, and it was fed a steady diet of 230 grain jacketted hardball, all from the same manufacturer.

She scored third in the womens division with it, only after firing it a few times. She ignored the ruger MK3 in favor of the 1911, claiming it was "more fun" and had more "stink" behind it. first and second place girls both used .22s.


Upon cleaning it, however, we find THIS!



The ejector looks funny to me. I checked google, who didnt have an image to compare it to. I checked youtube, who only detail stripped a compact titan in 9mm. not the same. I checked ATI, who told me to send it in. I checked the ATI website, and the exploded diagram shows a similar drawing.
the internet in general told me that ejectors, even for .45 ACP 1911s can vary greatly.



forward facing shot. the "face" of the ejector is a different color than the rest of the ejector. the face is NOT square with the rest of the assembly. in the picture, the right top corner is further back than the left top corner.

It doesn't seem to have that rough, chewy texture that you get from snapping a MIM part, but under a bright light you can see small marks. Breakage? Tooling? hundreds of .45 ACP rims? I dunno.

Is this part actually broken? Is it supposed to look like this? I don't want to shoot it if it is broken, lord knows doing that would make the gun snowball itself into a piece of junk. I don't want to arbitrarily send it in, as my wife is now desperately in love with single stack, single actions.

Questions I think you might ask me:
No, that part was not exceptionally dirty. it wasn't shiney and perfect, either. I might not have noticed the last time I shot it.
It has shot a LOT of ammo. several thousand rounds.
I've never detail stripped it. I've owned 1911s before, and I found out even pulling and replacing the extractor wrong could deadline your weapon.
It is completely stock, with the exception of a TLR-1 weaponlight, and a set of sticky hogue grips instead of the original wood.

 

[Jim K]

It looks to me like the standard (original) 1911 ejector. Over the years, a lot of folks have played with the 1911 ejector not always with happy results.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

There were no misfeeds, FTEs, or FTFs,

I see no can of worms.

As Jim K said, you have a standard 1911 ejector.
You said it woks 100%.

And if it works, don't mess with it.

+1 on 'Don't fix it if it isn't broke'.

rc

 

[Maj Dad]

Question #1: does it work?
If Yes, don't fix it.
If No, replace it.
Ejectors can indeed vary greatly, but the general design is simple and effective. I recently had to replace the ejector on my S80 Combat Commander when the rear leg broke and it was flopping around when I removed the slide. Still worked, but it would have failed eventually, so I replaced it with a Wilson Extended Ejector (Brownell's 965-034-045WB, .45 Extended Ejector, Mfr Part: 34 http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/ejector-parts/ejectors/1911-extended-ejector-prod16396.aspx ). Just tap out the frame pin (under the front leg, in the slide groove above the plunger tube) that holds the front leg of the ejector (from left to right, not all the way - just until the ejector will come out). Replace the new ejector and BEFORE you tap the pin back in, use a scribe or similar small pointed tool and mark the front leg from the left side of the pin hole. Remove it, and with a small file (I used a small round Swiss pattern), make a very small groove on the front side of the front leg so the pin can pass to hold it. You can look at the old one and get a good idea of the depth - doesn't take much at all. I believe some recommend, and I used, blue loctite on the front leg (or both, but I just used it on the front) when you place it after getting it right. There are other tutorials on this and other forums, but that's it in a nutshell. Really simple and easy, but as always, use the right sized pin punch and tap gently - a small brass hammer or even a brass rod are more than enough. Less is better...

Here's a link to a schematic from Brownell's: http://www.brownells.com/schematics/Colt-/1911-Government-Models-sid141.aspx

 

[BBBBill]

I will only add that "She's a keeper!" Good on her to place with a 45 against 22's.

 

[priestfoxley]

thanks a lot, guys. I appreciate the advice.