Checking The 1911 Extractor - A PIC.
Checking The Extractor.
First of all your extractor should be held firmly enough by the firing pin stop so that it cannot "clock" or rotate.
If it will "clock" even slightly then you should buy an oversize FP Stop at the same time you're shopping for a high quality tool steel machined from bar-stock extractor. Check Brownells. There are many available these days.
The only aftermarket extractor that I would stay away from would be the EGW - while the EGW (fully machined from bar-stock) aftermarket 1911 parts (like their slide stop, thumb safety, and ejector) are some of the very best ever produced for the 1911...their extractor design fully sucks big time.
Just one mans opinion on that.
Please keep in mind that this is with a high quality aftermarket "tool steel" machined from bar-stock extractor.
Remove your slide from the frame and slip your desired carry round up into the extractor.
> The rear of the case head should be able sit flat (or almost lay flat) on the slide breech face.
A very slight even hair-line of light showing between the rear of the case head and the breech face is acceptable.
The vast majority of incorrectly "factory fit" extractors will not permit that to happen.
> Ideally....The "Hook" of the extractor should not contact the cartridge case in the cannelure area of the case.
Notice in my photo that there is daylight showing in the space between the extractor claw and the case cannelure and the case head is flat on the breech face.
There does not have to be a LOT of light showing but, the extractor claw should not be cutting into the cartridge case or forcing the case up off of the breech face.
> The cartridge should be held against the slide breech face in the milled cut - with pressure applied to the case head by the FLAT of the extractor...not the extractor hook.
The function of the extractor on a 1911 (these days) basically just holds the fired cartridge case in position to be whapped hard by the ejector.
Now that wartime STEEL Case ammo is no longer being used the 1911 extractor does not need to forcibly YANK the fired cartridge case out of any modern highly polished & decently smooth barrel chamber.
> Slipping a round of ammo up into the extractor with the slide held horizontally - the cartridge should remain horizontal until the front of the slide is tapped - then the round should drop down by gravity and the weight of the bullet.
That is pretty much the correct tension IF everything else is 100% correct.
> The "FLAT" of the extractor should be smooth and slightly rounded at the bottom of the flat so that the case head slips perfectly up into the extractor during the feed cycle.
> Ideally.........in a fully assembled pistol the cartridges SHOULD still feed from the magazine into the barrel chamber when the slide is eased forward as slowly as possible.
You should be able to insert a loaded magazine into the pistol - hold the pistol upside down and the cartridges should still feed.
I should ADD that there are 1911 pistols with extractors that are differently configured and "fit" ~ and they WILL still feed and cycle with great reliability.
BUT, if your personal 1911 will NOT feed perfectly then some of the above is probably WHY.
http://www.defensivecarry.com/galler.../extractor.JPG
