my new A/O 1911 .45

[flugie]

hey all !
just took my new Auto Ordinance 1911A1 to the range last night for the first time.I was looking at the spent brass and many-prob 60%- of the cases were dented about 1/4" wide at the open end. typical of a new 1911 or a 1911 in general? maybe because its not broken in yet?only put about 100 rds thru it last night. and does this make the brass less desirable for reloading.... thanks for your input...

 

[Keystone]

I'm pretty sure those guns don't have the flared ejection ports. The problem is typical of your standard 1911, the brass clips the side of the port on the way out. It might get better with time.

I don't know a whole lot about reloading yet, but from what I have read as long as there are no creases, when you resize the dents will go away and be fine. Don't take my word for it.

 

[Dan S]

If it's the G.I. version, the ejection port is not lowered. Flairing the ejection port makes no difference, it's the height of the port. The case mouth is hitting the slide on the way out.
Flattened case mouths will be taken care of in the sizing step.

 

[ArmySarge]

Hey, Flugie. I was thinking about getting one of those, be honest, how do you like it? How much $?

 

[flugie]

thanks for your input.I was pretty sure that it is nothing to worry about-yet- but wanted a little input. I really like it so far. I have a few other handguns that im pretty comfortable with but this is my first .45.
I have a .357 s/w revolver,a german made Walther ppk/s and the 1911 was a great addition to the collection.also have a few .22 pistols and rifles.the fit and finish of the A/O 1911A1 is what you would expect for a less than
$600 1911. I had a coworker who is also a range officer at a local range and owns one of these as well as a few other 1911's check it outand he thought it was very nice.(and I dont think he was blowing smoke up my backside).
so off to buy more rounds and shoot it a bunch more and break it in.I'll let you know how it goes...

 

[Greg Derr]

Shooting 230gr FMJ? It may be the recoil spring- too heavy a spring can retard the cycle/ejection to the point that the spent case in not clearing the ejection port before the slide starts to return to battery, the spent case gets pinched in the process. A real bad senario would result in stovepipes( a round sticking out the port looking like a "stove-pipe" or really crushed cases. Like Dan S. said, lowering the ejection port is the first thing done to many GI guns in civilian hands.

 

[flugie]

Shooting 230gr FMJ? It may be the recoil spring- too heavy a spring can retard the cycle/ejection to the point that the spent case in not clearing the ejection port before the slide starts to return to battery, the spent case gets pinched in the process. A real bad senario would result in stovepipes( a round sticking out the port looking like a "stove-pipe" or really crushed cases. Like Dan S. said, lowering the ejection port is the first thing done to many GI guns in civilian hands.

Hey Greg,
Yes I am using 230 gr FMJ as that what the owners manual says to use. I figured I would run a bunch of
these thru and break it in that way. I figure maybe after 7-8 hundred rounds if it is still an issue i would deal with it. It seems to eject at about 2 oclock,which no matter what I am shooting, my .380 or a .22, or this the shell is always going right past my head as I am plagued w/being left handed!!

 

[45collector]

Greg's idea about the recoil spring could be the issue though I'll assume that if this gun is brand new it has the standard 16 lbs spring in it. If it were short cycling you'd notice brass not being ejected very far, or most likely at least a few FTE's (failure to eject). One of my Colts puts small dings at the mouth of each case but it functions beautifully, no issues. Sometimes its just the nature of the beast. For carry I run a Wolff 18 lbs spring with 230 grain +P HP's. I've left that 18 spring in for range visits with Magtech or WWB FMJs and still had no issues.

 

[flugie]

ya know,I didnt know Jerry was a .45 collector....

 

[flugie]

And yes the gun is brand new and being run as it came out of the box. It does eject pretty far,I actually watched another 1911 being fired and ejected about the same distance and angle...

 

[saltydude]

If it's the G.I. version, the ejection port is not lowered. Flairing the ejection port makes no difference, it's the height of the port. The case mouth is hitting the slide on the way out.
Flattened case mouths will be taken care of in the sizing step.

Dan is right,
If your having this problem, You can adjust the extractor tension, change the ejector length/ angle, change the recoil spring/ slide speed, BUT more times than not, the only way to solve the issue is to lower the ejection port.
A common dissapointing symptom of the GI version.

 

[ArmOnFire]

I have the same issue with a Springer GI Mil Spec.

Can anyone recommend a good gunsmith that can do the ejection port lowering?
I like to hear from folks that have had the work done, and if they were in southern NH would be great.

 

[dixidawg]

Greg Derr