1911 Extractor Deflection

[Steve in Allentown]

Folks who have studied 1911 extractors know that they are deceptively simple looking pieces of steel.

Case in point. Today I was working on an extractor and was baffled by the fact that I was getting 0.012" of deflection one time and 0.0" the next time. The the light bulb went off and I measured the case rims. Spec is 0.480". The rounds that were giving no deflection had case rims measuring 0.470".

If I set up this pistol with 0.012" of extractor deflection, it will only run correctly with whatever cartridges have a case rim sufficient to cause the extractor to deflect 0.012".

The question then for those with more experience is, how do I set up the extractor to work with a wide variety of cartridges of varying rim diameters?

 

[1911Tuner]

The question then for those with more experience is, how do I set up the extractor to work with a wide variety of cartridges of varying rim diameters?

The short answer is...you don't. That's another one of the various reasons that I don't like any of the Russian .45 ammunition. The rims are small out of spec...running from .471 down to as small as .465 inch.

 

[Steve in Allentown]

The short answer is...you don't.

Yeah, I kinda thought that was the answer. FWIW, the ammo with the much smaller than spec case rims is GECO which at least is brass and reloadable unlike the Russian stuff.

I suppose I could fit two extractors - one for small rims and one for closer to spec rims. I actually use cut down Starline .460 Rowland brass because it allows me to trim the length of the brass exactly to spec. I haven't found any unfired factory brass that is close to spec length. Anyway, even the Rowland rims are not .480". Makes me think there's a conspiracy among the manufacturers to save money.