Is your 45 1911 rough on brass?

[ontarget]

I recently picked a new RIA 1911 GI model in 45 ACP. So far it has been flawless and I really like it as an entry into the 1911 world. I have a Taurus 1911 in 45 also but never shoot it much but not because of any particular reason.
My question is, does your 1911 beat up your brass?
I reloaded 100 pcs of once fired brass tonite that were all fired through my RIA. Every case had a ding in it from the ejection port and a very small burr from the extractor I assume. Is this normal?
Thanks for any input.

 

[cfullgraf]

The small, mil-spec ejection port can be hard on cases on ejection. If the ejection port is enlarged (generally lowered), it is easier on cases. Do a search on opening on the ejection port on 1911's.

If the case ding is not severe, you can expand it back to "round" and then resize the case as normal and all will be fine. I generally use a needle nose pliers inside the case mouth and expand back the mouth to near round.

If the "ding" is not too sever, the sizing die will return it to round but sometimes it will crush the case. I get the case back to near round before running it through the sizing die.

I hope this helps.

 

[DocRock]

None of mine are rough on brass, including my RIA Compact. As mentioned above, the ding from hitting the ejection port is no big deal. Worth taking a look at the extractor to see if it can be stoned smooth.

 

[ms6852]

Nope, not rough on brass.

 

[JR24]

My springfield GI I had was very rough on brass, but all the rest I've had have the flared and lowered ejection ports and aren't rough at all.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I get the dings . If i load 200 grain boolets. 230 grain i do not. But they are not as bad a 223/556 deflector dents.

 

[ontarget]

My dings aren't too bad. My sizing die smoothed them out and I checked about 10 random rounds after loading. They all chambered without a problem.
I was mostly curious if this was common or if I needed to make an adjustment.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Your good to go. No need to worry about any adjustments.

 

[drband]

Your good to go. No need to worry about any adjustments.

As long as your sizing die irons it out, you’re good to go.

 

[Otto]

If the dents bother you, tune the ejector. Lots of how-to's on the web.
I would be more concerned with the burrs, I assume they're on the rim. That could indicate an extractor that isn't properly profiled / fitted.

 

[ontarget]

If the dents bother you, tune the ejector. Lots of how-to's on the web.
I would be more concerned with the burrs, I assume they're on the rim. That could indicate an extractor that isn't properly profiled / fitted.

Yes, burr's are on the rim. I haven't had any problems with extraction or ejection though.

 

[CapnMac]

My AMT Hardballer was horrible to brass (and to Blazer aluminum)--5-8mm triangular dents, but no extractor burrs.
My Series 70 would burr case mouths (sometimes, Blazer Brass often--200gr flying ashtrays might have been a factor).
The Sistema Colt with no mods, mil-spec port, nary a ding (it never much was asked to digest SD ammo, though)
No issues with the Officer's Series 80--but that's a higher slide velocity, too.
So far, the AO mil-spec 1911A1 has dinged none--but, it's been on a diet of 230 FMJ, too.

My buddy's 945 seemed determined to destroy all case mouths (as in collapse them entire).

 

[Jimster]

Yes and I sent it back and they replaced a funky extractor. Customer service was unparalleled! No questions asked and fast turnaround.
It ran flawlessly for a couple of years before the “trouble” started. Crushing case mouths and not going into full battery.

 

[doubleh]

No. I have only owned four 1911s and none have bothered the brass.

 

[Old_Grouch]

Yes, burr's are on the rim. I haven't had any problems with extraction or ejection though.

The bottom edge of the extractor probably has a sharp edge. You can remove the extractor and use a fine stone or 600 grit or finer sandpaper to break that edge. Don't try to radius or bevel it, just dull it.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Quality (i.e. American-made) 1911s do not abuse brass.

 

[ontarget]

Quality (i.e. American-made) 1911s do not abuse brass.

None? Not a single one?
Damn, maybe I should throw my RI in the river and run out and buy a Colt.

 

[cfullgraf]

Quality (i.e. American-made) 1911s do not abuse brass.

The Colt Mark IV Series 70 bought new around 1980 dinged the mouth of the 45 ACP cases frequently.

Maybe tuning the extractor may have reduced the number of mouth dings but otherwise, it ejected cases 100% of the time.

It has the small, GI style ejection port.

None of my other 45 ACP 1911's with the lowered and flared ejection port ding the case mouths.

 

[JR24]

None? Not a single one?
Damn, maybe I should throw my RI in the river and run out and buy a Colt.

He said quality.

Oooooh Colt burn

 

[Jonesy814]

My buddies Rock island Full sized Rock ultra model leaves a ding in the brass but my dies iron it out. My Springfield Armory mil spec model does not damage brass

 

[ontarget]

The dings are small and my dies iron them out well.
I almost hate to mess with it because the dang thing ejects the brass so consistently into a nice small spread that I have yet to lose any. I've easily recovered every piece of brass and I shoot over grass.

 

[cfullgraf]

The dings are small and my dies iron them out well.

Yes, small dings will resize out when passed through a sizing die.

But, depending on how sever the ding is, it may collapse the case under resizing as opposed to returning to round. With the the pistol I had that dinged the case mouth, I would return the case to near round before sizing.

I'd use a needle nose pliers to expand the case mouth to near round before running it through the sizing die. Easy to do and it does not take much time. Just set the dinged cases aside while resizing good cases. Then pay attention to the dinged cases.

The numbers were not great that needed attention but it was worth the effort to prevent loss of the case.

It is something to keep watch on.

Lowered and flared ejection ports on the slide can eliminate virtually all the case mouth dings.

Most 1911's made these days have the opened up ejection port these days so case mouth dings are not an issue for the most part.

 

[ontarget]

I'd use a needle nose pliers to expand the case mouth to near round before running it through the sizing die.

My cases are being dented about half way down the side. I should have taken a pic but they have all been reloaded now.
Maybe I need to do some shooting today so I can get a pic.

 

[Reloadron]

My question is, does your 1911 beat up your brass?

Nope none of them. I have quite a few Colt Series 70 guns in .45 ACP and all of the brass comes out the same and looks just fine. All in all maybe a dozen and none dent the brass. That said I have seen plenty of slow motion videos of 1911 .45 ACP ejections and it's a pretty violent process. Below is an image from a video and we can see the case slam rearward into the port.



A Google of .45 ACP 1911 ejection should bring up some videos including the one I made this still from.

Ron

 

[cfullgraf]

My cases are being dented about half way down the side. I should have taken a pic but they have all been reloaded now.
Maybe I need to do some shooting today so I can get a pic.

Manually getting the case mouth near round greatly improves the chances to save the case, like near 100% chance. There may some wrinkling of the case wall but it will be small and blow out at the next firing.

I use a pair if needle nose pliers that are rounded on the back side of the jaws. I stick them in th case and push out the ding by opening the pliers. The rounded backs of the jaws allow it to work around the case mouth and get it near round.

Usually, the dinged case can be sized and it will return to round without ironing out the ding first. But sometimes, things do not work out and the case crushes instead returning to round. So, when I have a dinged case I iron out the ding before sizing it.

Finally, my gun never dings all the cases, just a few here and there.