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Slide Frozen Open


konkapot

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New, recently built Open gun. Gun is still in the white. I am not the original owner. Original owner claims to have fired about 50 flawless rounds. 

 

Ran flawlessly for 500 rounds. Shortly after, it was not ejecting reliably; casing would get stuck in ejection port. Not a classic stovepipe but with the casing paralell to the ground.

 

After another 100 rounds, the slide locked back, partly but not completely to the rear. By "locked" I mean seriously locked. 

 

Gentle tapping with a rubber mallet freed the slide. Disassembly and cleaning revealed a gun that, well, had been shot about 500 rounds. 

 

On reassembly the ejector would not allow the slide to move past it; the left corner of the ejector was blocking the slide movement. Light....fractional...micron removal...from the ejector cleared up the problem. 

 

Shokbuff was removed; 10lb spring was removed and replaced with a 9 lb spring. Gun was oiled and reassembled with no drama. 

 

Another 150 rounds were fired with no drama. At about round 150, slide again locked back, partially to the rear. 

 

Smith is very well known and respected. I've contacted him as well, but am hoping that somewhere here has a quick fix that I am missing. 

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Sounds like the ejector is the root cause. Is it pinned to the frame as it should be? Is the tip of the ejector getting bent upwards?

 

Take the slide off the frame and insert a fully loaded magazine. Is the top round in the mag touching the under side of the ejector? If so, that is your problem. When the under side of the ejector is cut with the proper amount of clearance the top round in the magazine shouldn't touch the under side of the ejector.

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I checked that ejector issue right after picking up the gun; plenty of clearance between top round and bottom of ejector. 

 

I do also lean towards the ejector being the culprit; almost as if it's somehow being bent "outward" towards the left of the gun. 

 

The causality eludes me though. How x Why Divided By=x. Solve for x. Show your work

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Remove more material from the left sides of the ejector.  After firing a lot the gun heats up, expands and you have friction.  You should also check to see that the ejector does not wobble up and down in front.  I have a 1911 from the Sig Custom Shop that does exactly that.  I'd recommend the Cheely Custom ejector.  http://ccgunworks.com/pistol-parts/bottom-of-the-gun/ejectors/  Just put the bevel you want on the nose and you are done.  It fits so tightly in my pistols I don't need the locking pin.  In fact, for the 1911 Open gun the pin is not in.  I've shot that gun for SCSA all season with no problems. 

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I still pin the ejectors, and don't see any benefit to not doing so.  Either way, I would disassemble and check the ejector fit in the frame, because pinned or not it should be snug and not move at all.  Then check the ejector clearance on the slide.  You should be able to see some daylight between the parts.  If it needs replacement, I prefer the EGW ejectors and typically cut and shape the nose depending on the gun, cartridge, etc.  

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Been busy with a file and stone on precisely that side of the ejector. There is, now, daylight. 

 

The slide is stainless...the frame is steel but in the white......does anybody think galling is a possibility?

 

If it is the ejector, how/why were the first 500 rounds problem free?

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k, just to clarify, I was not suggesting not pinning the ejector.  I was saying how tight the Cheelys were.  All of mine are pinned except the one.  On the 1911 Open I originally intended to use it for RFPO by swapping top ends.  That would require removing the ejector, because the conversion units are set up for 45s.  When I decided to go another way, I just forgot about the pinning.  I didn't discover it was not pinned until recently when I stripped and cleaned the gun for finishing.

 

FWIW, I started using EGW's extended ejectors, and their gunsmith fit ejectors.    You always had to trim the nose, but with EGW you trim the side as well.  Once I went with Cheely there was no work involved.  Just put the bevel of the nose where you want it for ejection and you are done.  As much as I admire and use EGW parts, if Cheely makes a particular part it will go in/on with minimal or no fitting.  If he doesn't, he sells and EGW part.  I have both in my parts bins.

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5 minutes ago, Don_B said:

If the mag contacted it just right it could bend sideway but I would think there should be some wear marks on the ejector. 

This usually happens when doing a reload while the slide is locked back which will allow the mag to over insert. 

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Hello: I would remove the ejector and see if one of the legs is broken off or cracked. I had an open pistol that did this same thing. Also see how tight the ejector sits in the holes in the frame. Lastly if the ejector tip is being bent easily it could be soft and you should replace it. Thanks, Eric

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I had that issue and it was the magazine over insertion bending the ejector up and out into the slide. The dawson precision mag release seems to have fixed it after I replaced the ejector, but I took some material off the bottom to prevent it from happening again if I really slam a magazine home.

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Gun has been thoroughly/chemically cleaned, heavily lubricated, and I removed a good bit of material from the left side of the ejector. There was perhaps three sheets of paper of clearance between the ejector and the slide. 

 

Range day was today. 260 rounds. Two ejection problems. When I went to disassemble the gun the slide froze ever so slightly when trying to remove it. 

 

Got the gun apart and........most of the tip of the ejector is broken off. 

 

Should I just have a new ejector installed, or send it back to the builder (with me paying shippingx2) and have him fix it?

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Putting a new ejector in without curing the problem is only going to result in frustration because it is going to happen again. 

 

There have have been a lot of good pointers here. Find out if one or all  mags is hitting the ejector. Pretty sure that is the only way it

can be damaged unless there is something very weird with the pistol. 

Then fix that problem.

Until then it doesn't matter how well you clean, oil and shake a chicken foot over it!😀

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2 hours ago, konkapot said:

Gun has been thoroughly/chemically cleaned, heavily lubricated, and I removed a good bit of material from the left side of the ejector. There was perhaps three sheets of paper of clearance between the ejector and the slide. 

 

Range day was today. 260 rounds. Two ejection problems. When I went to disassemble the gun the slide froze ever so slightly when trying to remove it. 

 

Got the gun apart and........most of the tip of the ejector is broken off. 

 

Should I just have a new ejector installed, or send it back to the builder (with me paying shippingx2) and have him fix it?

For the price of the part Vs shipping a gun I would  put a new one in. Its an easy job.

 

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Try forcefully inserting a mag with the slide off, ejector on, but unpinned. Does it lift up the ejector? If so, that’s your problem and where you’ve got to remove material. Also make sure to try it with a fully loaded mag to see if the brass presses it. Just my thoughts, take it for what it’s worth. 

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John, put a new ejector in.  I like the Cheely Custom because it is so well made and fits so tightly.  You can remove some of the underside like Brazos does.  Here is what it looks like.  http://www.1911store.com/ejector-bcg-pro-series-performance-tuned.aspx  BTW, you do not have to remove that much material.  You might also want to invest in a Dawson Mag release.  It is designed to eliminate mag over-insertion.  https://dawsonprecision.com/mag-releases-sti-2011-by-dawson-precision/  This does not work with the STaccato G2 grip.

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