Many of you have seen me refer to extractor deflection when addressing a misfeed or failure to go to or return to battery. When asked to define what I mean, it's hard to do it via the written word, so I searched and searched until I found this photograph.
This Springfield came across my bench some time ago for intermittent, fairly frequent failures to go to battery. He'd bought the gun used, and it shows evidence of the previous owner recognizing the problem and attempting to modify the bottom corner of the tensioning wall to smooth out the rim's climb up the breechface.
It didn't work, so he probably traded it off and let it become someone else's problem.
I was able to bring it into spec by removing material from the wall with a safe side rail file and patience, then shortening the claw to keep it from bottoming out in the case extractor groove and lightly breaking the corner that the removal created. The gun immediately went from accursed, demon possessed to sweet shooter. As far as I know, he still has it and it's still running.
This has shown up a lot recently, most notably in Springfields with the OEM extractors, but I've seen it in factory Colts, Kimbers, and several others...just not as consistently as with Springfields. I even contacted them to make them aware of the problem, but haven't heard back from them, and it continues to rear its head.
This issue has led Dremel Dan to futz up more feed ramps than that old article in American Rifleman where some wannabe gunsmith showed pictures of a mirror polished ramp and advised one and all to do it to every 1911 pistol they could lay hands on.
Another later magazine article...can't remember which one...showed a drawing of a modified extractor that seemed to be aimed at this very problem. Among the mods suggested was a heavily beveled wall with "Gradual rounding" included.
This is another wrong approach. Don't do it. What the author of that article failed to understand is that, when the barrel links down, it pulls the case with it. If the rim reaches a point just slightly below the bevel, the extractor no longer holds tension and drops the case. It can usually be corrected by the same means as correcting excessive deflection, but it's just best not to fiddle with it.
The extractor in this photo shows over twice as much deflection...tensioning wall...in the breech area as it needs for proper function. It nearly matches the length of the claw itself...which, to spec...is .035-.038 inch. .010 inch is a gracious plenty, but will function with less, and .015 is maximum. All it has to do is place tension on the case rim. It doesn't need to move .025 inch to accomplish that.
But, those numbers aren't always doable. It depends on the width of the breechface between the two rectangular blocks, one of which the extractor passes through. Narrower distance can work with less of the wall showing.
Here's the thousand words thing. To see is to understand.
This Springfield came across my bench some time ago for intermittent, fairly frequent failures to go to battery. He'd bought the gun used, and it shows evidence of the previous owner recognizing the problem and attempting to modify the bottom corner of the tensioning wall to smooth out the rim's climb up the breechface.
It didn't work, so he probably traded it off and let it become someone else's problem.
I was able to bring it into spec by removing material from the wall with a safe side rail file and patience, then shortening the claw to keep it from bottoming out in the case extractor groove and lightly breaking the corner that the removal created. The gun immediately went from accursed, demon possessed to sweet shooter. As far as I know, he still has it and it's still running.
This has shown up a lot recently, most notably in Springfields with the OEM extractors, but I've seen it in factory Colts, Kimbers, and several others...just not as consistently as with Springfields. I even contacted them to make them aware of the problem, but haven't heard back from them, and it continues to rear its head.
This issue has led Dremel Dan to futz up more feed ramps than that old article in American Rifleman where some wannabe gunsmith showed pictures of a mirror polished ramp and advised one and all to do it to every 1911 pistol they could lay hands on.
Another later magazine article...can't remember which one...showed a drawing of a modified extractor that seemed to be aimed at this very problem. Among the mods suggested was a heavily beveled wall with "Gradual rounding" included.
This is another wrong approach. Don't do it. What the author of that article failed to understand is that, when the barrel links down, it pulls the case with it. If the rim reaches a point just slightly below the bevel, the extractor no longer holds tension and drops the case. It can usually be corrected by the same means as correcting excessive deflection, but it's just best not to fiddle with it.
The extractor in this photo shows over twice as much deflection...tensioning wall...in the breech area as it needs for proper function. It nearly matches the length of the claw itself...which, to spec...is .035-.038 inch. .010 inch is a gracious plenty, but will function with less, and .015 is maximum. All it has to do is place tension on the case rim. It doesn't need to move .025 inch to accomplish that.
But, those numbers aren't always doable. It depends on the width of the breechface between the two rectangular blocks, one of which the extractor passes through. Narrower distance can work with less of the wall showing.
Here's the thousand words thing. To see is to understand.
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