New 1911 is denting the brass

[WNC Seabee]

I picked up my first 1911 on Friday and have put 160 rounds through it so far. It's a Springfield "Loaded" target model..

~80% of the ejected brass has a small "ding" a little more than 1/2 way up the case. Is this normal? Or do I need to have Springfield's customer service take a look at it?

Here's a picture.

Also, would this ding prevent you from reloading this brass?

Thanks all!

 

[jdc1244]

My Colts don’t do it but I’ve seen similar dents on .45ACP shells I’ve retrieved from other shooters. The dents I’ve seen are not as deep as the one your picture, however. I’ve reloaded and shot the dented brass with out a problem.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Time to tune the ejector. The ejector is spinning the brass so much that it's hitting the ejection port on the way out, and pretty hard.

You could send it back to SA but they might not mess with it. FUNCTIONALLY that's a good thing, you're getting positive ejection so it's hard to say it's a flaw.

Read up on tuning ejectors. They are cheap and you can grind on them without too much worry and if you ruin one they are easy to replace.

Chances are that it wouldn't hurt anything to reload that way, but it's an easy problem to fix.

 

[The Bushmaster]

What TexasRifleman said... You might even look into having the ejection port relieved a bit more. That will cost a bit though.

What ammunition are you firing? Some factory ammunition is rather hot and aid in the making of the offending "dent". Lighter hand loads for target practice will help in elliminating or at least reducing the "dent".

No problem reloading them as the dent will iron out upon firing and a new one may appear...

 

[NavajoNPaleFace]

One of my 1911s (Colt 70s model) also dents cases but not a dimple dent like shown.

My cases have an elongated dent that is caused by striking the upper edge of the ejection port.

That, can, of course, be worked out by enlarging the edge slightly.

I'm trying to figure out what may create a dimple impression but not having too much luck.

 

[WNC Seabee]

I think the "dimple" that you're seeing is due to the bad photography. I would describe it as if the case had hit a hard, sharp edge. So, hitting the ejection port makes sense to me.

These are all White Box loads from Wally World (shooting them up so I can reclaim the brass!). Sounds like it's not something to be overly concerned about right now. I'll try some different loads and see what I find.

 

[makarovnik]

Seen it before but can't remember if the cure was a different ejector or extractor. I think it was the ejector.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The extractor is holding the case head against the breech face, and the ejector is not breaking the extractor's hold early enough. A slightly longer ejector would probably cure the problem.

The slide is supposed to give the case a slight blow as it goes forward -- remember, at extraction, the case is moving straight back, and if nothing deflects it, the case will hit you in the chest or face.

 

[WNC Seabee]

A slightly longer ejector would probably cure the problem.

So is this actually a problem? Or am I just not familiar yet with 1911 quirks?

 

[BADUNAME37]

My Bushmaster does that (not quite as large a dent). I reload the brass without a problem.

I agree with others in that the ejector may need fine tuning.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

So is this actually a problem? Or am I just not familiar yet with 1911 quirks?

It's a problem if your brass is too damaged to reload, or if you're getting stovepipe jams. Otherwise, it's just an annoyance.

 

[NavajoNPaleFace]

I agree with the reloading comments.

If the case is not ruptured or punctured the case is likely reloadable provided the dent is not a severe one.

 

[Five of Clubs]

I've reloaded brass that looks like that and didn't have a problem. I didn't like it either though. My Springer is also rough on brass, but in a different way. The dent you have shown in the pic may be high enough for bullet seating to be effected (possibly positively or negatively if seating partially presses out the dent). To be honest, my 1911 is a much nicer pistol but I shoot my XD-45 more since the brass is perfect when I pick it up.

 

[Creade]

I recently purchased some 45 brass from a THR member. I was a bit dismayed that every single piece had this ding in it.
They reloaded fine and I havent had any problems though.

 

[TexasRifleman]

So is this actually a problem? Or am I just not familiar yet with 1911 quirks?

As others have said, it's only a problem if the brass is too bad to reload and you care about that.

Nice positive ejection is a good thing, which is why you won't get Springfield to "fix" it. It's not really broken.

But, you can make it behave like YOU want it to easy enough.

My hand built Delta Elite IPSC gun will drop the brass into a perfect little pile about 2 feet to my right.... all day long.

I ruined a dozen or more extended ejectors getting it that way LOL

 

[kcshooter]

Actually, if you call and talk to Springfield about this, they will fix that issue if you are unable or unwilling to tackle it yourself.

 

[BADUNAME37]

In addition to what has been said, they may send you another extractor or two that you can try without having to send your entire gun in.