Ejection Experiments

[ColtAllure]

Ejection must be the most mysterious part of the 1911 cycle. It is totally impossible to simulate it at slow speed, as even a small difference in slide velocity changes the ejection process a lot. These are no good high speed photographs available (that I can find, anyway). Here are some experiments I intend to perform to try to understand this:


1. Put some Dykem inside the slide and around the port rim to monitor case impact points. I have done this a few times before, with limited success. I came to the conclusion that the case always had two collisions with the slide.
First, the case mouth area must hit inside the slide near the lower port edge, and bounce upwards (no lowered port is low enough to avoid this completely). This explains the contradiction of why a higher ejector impact point on the case head leads to more vertical ejection. The higher ejector impact throws the case mouth more directly into the inside wall of the slide, and the resulting bounce is more upwards.
Second, as the case rolls over, its mouth will hit the exterior side or top of the slide.

2. Remove the recoil buffer and change ejector length.
A major event happens during ejection, the crash of slide and frame. The ejector length and presence or absence of a recoil buffer change the timing of this crash relative to the ejection process.


3. See what happens with *no* extractor (extractor cut off behind breech face), or no hook. I once bought an old Mexican police gun that functioned fine. After about 100 rounds I noticed that the extractor was broken off just about flush with the breech face. It continued to eject fine until I replaced the extractor.


These are deep waters, and I would appreciate anyone's ideas on ejection.

CA

[1911Tuner]

Ejection isn't really mysterious...just a little frustrating at times.

You may be surprised to find that...with a gun with a standard, non-extended ejector...that the up-coming round in the magazine bumps the empty just prior to ejector impact. Since the extended ejectors make that contact before the slide uncovers the next round in the magazine, this doesn't occur
with those pistols so equipped. Sometimes that bump is enough to dislodge the case from the extractor before the ejector hits it.

Extractor tension plays a role. If the case isn't firmly held, it tends to
"Roll with the Punch" instead of getting a solid smack from the ejector.
This affects distance of ejection as well as exit angle. The old advice to
choose a recoil spring that allows empties to hit the ground 6-8 feet away
doesn't take this aspect into account.

Extractor hook depth and shape are also players. Sharp corners or radiused?
Hook dead square or undersquare in relation to the breechface? How high on the case rim does the nose of the ejector impact? Which direction does the shape of the nose cause the case to twist and roll?

Is the case clearing the port in time to get out of the slide's way? If not, it bounces around and can go in any direction, including straight into your face.

All these things have an effect.