Unloading issues with my 1911 .45

SturgeonSlayer · Apr 26, 2013

I have a new Rock Island .45, I have run about 300 rounds through it and the gun fires flawlessly, I like the way it shoots and all that. My problem im having is when im unloading it (its my carry gun and I clean it weekly) after dropping the mag and racking the slide back it will not eject the round, the extractor is pulling the round from the chamber as it should but the ejector will not pop the round out, I have to pull the slide back and lock it and get the round out manually. any suggestions on what i may be able to do short of sending it back to the factory would be great.

Blitzkrieg · Apr 26, 2013

OK, show us a picture of your ejector.. and is this a full size Government model, or a compact?

Creeper · Apr 27, 2013

Aside from Blitz's inquiry, you don't happen to have a shock-buff in it... do you?

stmcelroy · Apr 27, 2013

Normally without a magazine in the gun and without having fired the gun the round will fall down through the magazine well. If it's sticking against the loading block then it sounds like you have extractor tension issues.

Blitzkrieg · Apr 28, 2013

stmcelroy said:
Normally without a magazine in the gun and without having fired the gun the round will fall down through the magazine well. If it's sticking against the loading block then it sounds like you have extractor tension issues.

Which is akin to saying the extractor is pranged or needs tuning.. especially if it's the one piece original 1911 type, as I believe the RI has

wileyjackhammer · Apr 28, 2013

If you are carrying this gun daily you need to get something done. I carried a 1911 (Colt, Detonics or Para P14) for 18 years as my primary duty gun and if there is one thing I know, it's when you need a gun, you need it to work. I have always used Richard Niemer as my pistolsmith. he currently works for Olympic Arms down near Lacey, Wash as their chief pistolsmith. If you are an LEO in Pierce or Thurston County and you carry a 1911, this is the guy that keeps them running at 100%. There are lots of other people who work on 1911's and I saw a lot of them in classes taught by Niemer on 1911's. I don't know the turn around time for sending a 1911 back to Rock Island, but it's not as fast as a phone call of visit to Richard.

Blitzkrieg · Apr 28, 2013

wileyjackhammer said:
If you are carrying this gun daily you need to get something done. I carried a 1911 (Colt, Detonics or Para P14) for 18 years as my primary duty gun and if there is one thing I know, it's when you need a gun, you need it to work. I have always used Richard Niemer as my pistolsmith. he currently works for Olympic Arms down near Lacey, Wash as their chief pistolsmith. If you are an LEO in Pierce or Thurston County and you carry a 1911, this is the guy that keeps them running at 100%. There are lots of other people who work on 1911's and I saw a lot of them in classes taught by Niemer on 1911's. I don't know the turn around time for sending a 1911 back to Rock Island, but it's not as fast as a phone call of visit to Richard.

I've talked to him out there about another issue.. he's an ace gunsmith and knows a lot about the 1911 platform. If anyone can make it perk he can

SturgeonSlayer · Apr 28, 2013

Creeper said:
Aside from Blitz's inquiry, you don't happen to have a shock-buff in it... do you?

No shock buff and I cant get a good pic with my crappy phone, I watched my buddy drop the mag in his .45 that is identical to mine and rack the slide and it popped the round out about head high, I actually have to either shake the gun around to get it to drop or just lock the slide back and remove it by hand.

SturgeonSlayer · Apr 28, 2013

Thanks for the info jackhammer, ill get on the horn tomorrow and see what they say.

wileyjackhammer · Apr 29, 2013

Good Luck SturgeonSlayer. Make sure you ask for Niemer by name, he is in the pistol shop.
I'm guessing that St Helens is the Mt St Helens area of Washington, so you're not that far off from him.
Let us know how it turns out...
Wileyjackhammer

jakk586 · May 1, 2013

Sounds like extractor tension. Pull the firing pin stop and firing pin. Remove the extractor until the last half inch or so is still in the channel. Use your thumb to press the back of the extractor away from the center of the slide. A dab'll do ya. If this doesn't work, you'll need to reprofile the extractor head.