Patterning An Ejector? Can It Be Done?

[cheers623]

Hello all and happy holidays. I am a lefty that shoots an STI .40 in limited division and have been doing pretty well. I have been very happy with my gun but have the occasional weird malfunction where a piece of brass gets trapped between the breechface and top of the barrel hood and jams up the gun. I have explored all of the usual symptoms such as extractor tension and adjusting spring weight to get a reliable cycle. My gun is sprung at 12# and I am making about a 170 pf. I have quite large hands and have paid close attention to my thumbs not making tight contact with the slide and slowing the cycle down to the point where it doesn't complete the full rearward movement. That is initially what everyone who saw the malfunctions would say they thought was happening but when I would try to force my thumbs to rub on the slide enough to jam the gun I could not make it happen on purpose or recreate the malfunction.

So, my question/theory is this: Because my hands are so big my top thumb of my grip is a good bit above the bottom of the ejction port. Could the brass be occasionally bouncing back into the ejection port off of my thumb and causing this malfunction? I do notice that when I am shooting in a static position just standing erect without moving I can feel the brass banging off of my thumb pretty hard. Would it be possible to file or shape the ejector so that the direction of the brass being ejected is more vertical and less horizontal thus avoiding hitting my thumb and bouncing back into the election port? I should say that I have this weird malfunction with every 1911 pattern gun I own but not with glocks or other style guns.

Any thoughts or advise on patterning your ejector would be greatly appreciated because I am ready to switch away from 1911 platforms because of this frustration. Thanks in advance and have a great New Year!

[Merlin Orr]

Chris

Sounds to me like you have self diagnosed the problem. 1911 style ejectors can be tuned to throw in a specific manner...kinda. I would take the gun to someone who REALLY knows 1911 style guns and discuss it with them. I know you could probably do it yourself with the only downside being you might end up buying another (or two :-}) extractor as you learn while you go.

Most importantly.... Welcome to the Forum!

[L9X25]

Most extended ejectors have a flat face where they contact the headstamp of the brass. If you file the top of the ejector face, so that the lower part of the ejector contacts the brass first, it will eject at a higher (more vertical) angle, like 45 degrees. The flat face is better at making the gun eject flat (horizontal) for an open gun where you are trying to avoid contact with the scope mount or scope.

If you are not comfortable taking a file to your baby, a smith can do that job for you very easily.

Edited January 1, 2007 by L9X25