My TRP was going to roll over 2500 rounds today at the range so I decided to try out the extractor test on it. Needless to say, it failed miserably.
1st: failure to eject
2nd: brass ejected down through the mag well
3rd: failure to eject
4th: failure to eject
5th: brass ejected down through the mag well.
I stopped at this point because I was just getting frustrated with the gun.
I then went ahead and loaded several mags and ran some drills with the gun. First two mags ran beautifully. Then the gremlin really showed up. After those first two mags I couldn’t get through a single mag without having extraction issues as well as an occasional feeding issue.
Am I wishing on a star here for the gun to run for more than 2500 rounds without needing anything but cleaning? I know 1911’s need a little TLC, but needing work at only 2500 rounds seems a bit crazy.
Gun details:
2014 build TRP.
Wilson BP GI guide rod.
Fresh Wilson 17lb recoil spring (installed before range trip)
10-8 spring plug
21lb main spring. (ILS deleted)
I use Wilson ETM 8rd mags in the gun
The gun was cleaned and lubed with FireClean before this range trip, as it had been right at 1000rds since I last cleaned it. I installed the fresh recoil spring while I had it apart.
I’ll be calling SA in the next few days to get it sent in. I’m sure there won’t be any issue with them fixing the gun, but hopefully this isn’t something that needs to be done every 2500 rounds.
Anything I should mention to SA to have them address while it’s there?
Like they said, check extractor tension. Also any reason tension might be getting loose. I ended up adjusting my TRP extractor around 4k rounds after trying “the test” as well. Ended up over doing it and introducing failures to feed. Bought the weigand adjustment tools, all better now.
I figured it was a tension issue. I’ve never done an adjustment before so I just thought I’d send it back to SA. I’ll look into the procedure and see if it’s something I want to tackle. I was just a little surprised it needed it after so little shooting. I kind of had in my head that the gun should go 5K rounds or so before I needed to dig into it.
No, this was the first time I had tried the shooting test. I did the bench test when I first bought the gun, but haven’t messed with it since then. It held the brass just fine during that test. Hindsight, maybe I should have done the shooting test as well, as it may very well have failed right out of the box.
I have always been told to toss in a fresh recoil spring every 2K or so to keep it running well, so I did that while I had it down for cleaning.
Adjusting with the tool set I mentioned is insanely easy. But you’ll spend about 60 bucks at Brownells for the gauges and adjusting tool assuming you already have a trigger pull scale, otherwise probably 70-80 total.
Possibly dumb question: Do you load rounds by dropping them into the chamber and then releasing the slide?
I also recommend learning how to tune & adjust 1911 extractors. I’ve had extractors go for 16,000 rounds (an Ed Brown) before breaking the hook off; then replace it with the same model, only to have the 2nd one chip at 2,000 rounds.
I’ve found the Kimber and Wilson “Bullet Proof” extractors work well with only tensioning, but still prefer to polish up the hook area. I’ve found some Kimber extractors not holding tension too well after ~5,000 rounds. I have also had a broken hook with one Wilson extractor at ~2,500 rounds.
My current favorite is the EGW HD extractor. It does need the hook beveled/fitted, however, with my little files:)
I haven’t yet bought the Weigand tool and gauges. Perhaps I’ll try them the next time I order parts.
Don’t tune your extractor. Throw it away. Tune a new extractor if it needs it, trash an old one.
If the Wilson spring is a flat wire, get rid of it and get a proper Wilson or Wolff spring (same springs).
23lb mainspring. You need to slow the slide down.
If it’s not a Wilson 47+p HD 7 round mag or maybe an ETM +p flat wire mag, ditch the Wilson mags.
Your pistol is likely inertia feeding, that’s why most extractors die. A light mainspring and Wilson mags is a very common combination that cause ‘extractor problems’ quite frequently. The extractor is only showing the symptoms of the problem.
I recommend Powermags with Tripp kits, or even Wilsons with Tripp kits or 10 round springs and followers. It makes it a seven round mag, but a seven round mag that works.
Colt and EGW make good extractors, Wilson’s Bulletproof is nice, but I never used one for a lot of miles…
OP, you need to learn how to change your oil, sparkplugs and filters on your classic car. Nothing unusual about adjusting extractor tension. Tuning an extractor entails removing it, inserting it backwards into the rear of the extractor tunnel, and bend it. Reinsert, check tension with a live round, repeat as necessary.
Sending your gun back to SA for extractor tension is like going to the dealership to have them install new wiper blades. This is why the 1911 is not for everyone.
Samuse usually gives darn good advice when it comes to the 1911 platform… Minus his hate for WC ;). I have seen most of his posts on the 1911 platform and they are usually spot on. I will not agree on the Flat Wire Recoil Springs being garbage though as I believe those will be the standard, but either way
OP when you mention failure to extract on some of them you state “brass ejected down the magwell” and others just state “failure to extract.” What happens to the ones that just “failure to extract?” The ones that eject down the magwell are easily Dx as a tension issue or geometry… Most likely both.
edited to add… Samuse is correct in that if you plan to tune your own extractor completely ditch the old one. If you are mechanically inclined, have a steady hand, some small files, and do alittle homework tuning an extractor is easy. Then again you do have a Springfield 1911 who happens to have one of the best customer services in the gun industry, so if you don’t feel up to the task I don’t blame you. Have never heard of Springfield not coming thru for the customer.
I don’t hate Wilson, far from it, I like a lot of the stuff they make. I have had had repeated issues trying to use their mags for very long though. The best ones I used were the 7 round +p and the 8 round ETM+p mags. The 47Ds suck, the ETMs are better but have weak springs. Their flat wire recoil springs for 5" guns is a gimmick. Plain and simple. It’s a Glock 17 recoil spring, nothing more.
A regular 16 or 17lb Wolff spring will last every bit as long as the flat wires will and the flat wire have shown to cause issues in some guns, while doing what? It’s a spring. It doesn’t do anything but smack the slide back forward.
As a rule, I don’t tune old extractors. They lose tension and quit doing their thing because they die. Toss it and get a new one. In a proper 45, they are very close to a drop-in part and usually only need a little tension. Yes, you can radius and polish, and tune until it’s perfect, but it’s not completely necessary. An extractor in a gun that runs correctly will easily outlast the barrel with no retuning…
Set up correctly, a 1911 is a very low maintenance gun. They rival any handgun for reliability and surpass most anything in durability.
I took a 1911 maintenance class with John Jardine in 2012, he was adamant about 18.5# recoil springs. I switched to the flat wire recoil spring for my Wilson in 2013. Have shot a few IDPA matches and some classes with Hack and Proctor with it in my Supergrade; works like a champ. I wish people were a little more DIY with their 1911s, so the phones and gunsmiths weren’t busied with stuff the end user should know how to deal with.
