New Colt WC 9mm LW Commander

[FrankB]

My wife shoots a Colt Competition Government Model in 9mm, and its extraction was less than stellar out of the box. Wilson Combat has a video on adjusting extractor tension, in which they say you need to remove a slight amount of material behind the claw. This allows the increased tension on the extractor to actually move the claw closer/tighter to the rim. I know a member of Team Ruger, and when I told him about the weak extraction, he said “As long as they come out, it’s not a problem.” I stopped worrying....

[Wayne Dobbs]

My wife shoots a Colt Competition Government Model in 9mm, and its extraction was less than stellar out of the box. Wilson Combat has a video on adjusting extractor tension, in which they say you need to remove a slight amount of material behind the claw. This allows the increased tension on the extractor to actually move the claw closer/tighter to the rim. I know a member of Team Ruger, and when I told him about the weak extraction, he said “As long as they come out, it’s not a problem.” I stopped worrying....

That's a BS answer from Mr. Ruger. Extractor configuration and fitment is one of the pillars of reliable autopistol function and many manufacturers apply that mediocre standard to this critical task. It's even more important when you realize that the extractor has three jobs and that this one in question is failing one for sure and likely two. The jobs are to 1) control the feed of the cartridge from the magazine, up the feed ramp and across the breechface, 2) to extract the fired case from the chamber and then 3) to maintain tension of that fired case against the breechface so that it presents consistently to the ejector's face. Failing job #3 results in what Darryl and I have called "lawn sprinkler ejection" (a Glock hallmark) or it results in a variety of BTF malfunctions, some quite horrible.

1911 extractor fitting is not drop in (as Colt did on this one) and in doing it and teaching it, I've come to the conclusion that it's about half art and half science (and maybe a bit of witchcraft). Dimensional variations in extractors, extractor tunnels, slides, firing pin stops and breechfaces can combine to create some challenges. The extractor bench test has always been moderate retention of a loaded round against the breechface, but that doesn't prove that it's right. The 10-8/Hackathorn single shot, no magazine test is much more illuminating and gives us a better idea of whether we have a properly set up part. It requires shooting the pistol and perhaps going back to the bench for more fitting and hook configuration work, too.

[45dotACP]

I found this picture on 1911forum.



What fixed my gun was filing on the portion of the extractor marked E also known as the locating pad.

This picture is primarily for a .45 automatic, and the main difference here is that the 9mm and to a lesser extent, the .40S&W have a smaller case, but the extractor tunnel is located in more or less the same area in a slide that is the same dimension. That means the locating pad will need to be reduced to get the extractor in the correct contact with the case.

You'll notice the picture of the extractor I attached is that of a gun fitted by Rock River Arms, and it appears that the locating pad has been dressed with a file to some degree. The gun runs like a top.



I would recommend buying a spare extractor to mess around with just to be sure, but I'd bet a few swipes of the file fixes your problem.

[FrankB]

@45dotACP That’s the picture! I filed my wife’s extractor down a little, and it did work better than simply bending the extractor.
ETA Most of my Ruger, Colt, S&W 1911 extractors came with very poor holding power, even with a spent casing.

[Greg]

The Wilson Bulletproof is an excellent extractor but the Colt part is solid as well. You might want to buy the Wilson as a backup but use the Colt extractor to experiment reshaping the hook.

Give this thread a read before picking up any files.

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=829865

[FrankB]

@Wayne Dobbs I should have clarified myself further. This was in relation to my .45 acp 1911’s, and I did adjust the extractor before I stopped worrying about it. 😉

[Wayne Dobbs]

@Wayne Dobbs I should have clarified myself further. This was in relation to my .45 acp 1911’s, and I did adjust the extractor before I stopped worrying about it. 😉

Good deal. Hope those pistols are working well now.

[45dotACP]

Give this thread a read before picking up any files.

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=829865

Yes and no. That thread is awesome (it's where I got the photo in my post) but even the guy who wrote it said that the way he fits a 9mm extractor is to have the claw in contact with the case groove vs the .45 in which the extractor should only contact the case rim with the tensioning wall.

Incidentally, that is why I had issue using the Weigand extractor tension gauges for my 9mm guns. They measure extractor tension on the tensioning wall, but you can have a LOT of tension at the tensioning wall and still not have the claw in correct contact with the case and end up with extractor issues.

If you use the photo of the extractor that Jerry Keefer fitted to a .45 you might end up fitting the 9mm incorrectly. I've heard of some guys fitting 9mm guns that way, but I personally just fit mine so the claw was on the case groove and it passed the 10-8 test easily.

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[MK11]

Post #26. Send it back to Colt. I know there's been some nightmare Colt CS stories but in my case they fixed it fairly quickly (three weeks).

Some of the old heads on 1911 forum dismiss any complaints about Colt's lack of extractor tension as something you should be doing yourself anyway but it's unacceptable to leave the factory that way. Have them fix it, and then learn how to do it yourself in case you have to do it all over again 30,000 rounds from now.

[Greg]

David P. from Evolution Armory (former Colt Custom Shop ‘smith) advocates using the tensioning wall on 9mm 1911s.

The thread is still a good read even if you disagree with some of it because a 1911 shooter needs to know about extractors.