Minor Ejection Problem

[Wes Janson]

My 1911 works quite well, but I've noticed that almost all of the spent brass on the floor has been damaged. Out of 21 rounds I picked up and inspected, 19 had anywhere from visible markings, to a serious dent ~1 cm in width, and more or less flat. Only two had been left almost untouched. This was CCI ammo, 230 gr FMJ, brand new. While I don't see myself reloading in the near future, I'm curious as to what's causing this problem, and if anything can be done about it. At this point it's not so much a "problem" as it is an "effect", but I'm fairly certain it's doing something it's not supposed to. Next time I get the chance, I'm going to mark each round as I put it in, so we can find out what the orientation of the damage is in relation to the gun. Dunno if anyone else has run into this before, but I'm curious as to what's going on. Thanks!

[stumbler]

Do you have any pics. Without seeing the brass, there could be a number of causes.
How old is the recoil spring? Consider a change out if you haven't for a while.
How clean is the chamber?
Are the dents caused by the firearm or when it lands on the concrete floor? (let some eject on grass)
I hope this helps.

[Wes Janson]

Everything in the gun is brand new. It's not caused by landing on the floor or by impacting a surface, I'm fairly certain, because the markings are highly consistant, and the walls/floor are both carpeted. And the chamber should be very clean, since it's only had 100 rounds through it, and has been cleaned two or three times.

[care-less]

Wes, you are speaking of your WW1 Repro 1911 right? That being the case; you will experience dented or dinged brass. It is quite normal and is to be expected. The ejection port on your 1911 is not lowered and relieved; nor is it supposed to be. I would suggest that most all of that brass can be reloaded; but if you must have undented brass; you will have to get yourself a new Colt; not one modelled on the WW1 model. Colt and alll of the other manufacturers right on up through the world war two contracts had the smaller ejection port. Lowering and relieving that ejection port became big business for gunsmiths during the fifties, sixties, and into the seventies. By then, most manufacturers were offering models with those points already taken care of, and continue to do so today. Yours is as it should be for what it is.

[Wes Janson]

Ok, thanks! I had a suspicion it was the high port that was doing it, but I wasn't sure. As of right now I have no plans for reloading, so I suppose it's really rather unimportant. Thanks for the info!

[1911 TERRY]

I have a Springfield WWII GI model with the small ejection port, and almost every ejected casing has a flat spot up at the cartridge neck. My gun smith says thats typical with the small ejection port. I haven't tried reloading any yet, but I've been told they should be okay after resizing. The only way you can stop the dinged brass is to open up the ejection port, and "I know" you don't want to do that to that Colt WWI replica.