Colt Combat Commander question...

[trio]

I just picked up a custom colt combat commander...the previous owner is a very trustworthy guy that I know (former LEO, now works for Feds) so I trust him...I have written to ask him about the problem I am about to describe...but wanted to ask you guys too...

At any rate, he said the gun has had no FTF issues with him...i came home tonight, broke it down, cleaned, reassembled...

i then loaded it, first with hardball...and it is having trouble ejecting the live round....

it looks to me like the front ejection port has not been radiused...just wanted to know if this was common...it isnt an issue with my 5" guns...wondering what I should do to fix it....

I am using wilson magazines, I replaced the recoil spring (i had an extra one laying around)

At any rate, thanks a ton...

I will try and get pics of the gun up...it is a beaut

[motec]

I'm definately not a pro but from what I understand I'd not be very concerned about it not ejecting the live round when you are cycling the slide with your hand. Not only is the live round heavier than the empty brass, the force and speed of hand-cycling doesn't approach what happens when it is fired.

I'd take it to the range and send some rounds down range before I got too worried about possible FTE's.

Good luck, and looking forward to the pics!

[John]

Being a Commander, I have to assume it has a long ejector, right? Now, if you had told us if the ejection port is lowered and flared, it would be nice, but let me try and explain what may happen here.

The long ejector in the Commander, is used to compensate for the shorter travel of the slide, and start the ejection a little earlier than in a standard Government model with the short ejector. This means that the case is hitting the ejector a little earlier than in a 5" pistol. If your ejection port is not lowered, flared and slightly enlarged at the front, the length of the loaded round makes it difficult to eject it. Basically, it hits the inside of the ejection port and gets trapped there. I had that happen with a friends Gov. which had a long ejector and a standard, mil-spec ejection port. We still haven't solved the problem, but we'll work on it.

What you should look first, is the nose of your ejector. Let me know how it is shaped and we'll take it from there.

And as motec said, hand-cycling is not the perfect way to check the operation of the pistol.

[trio]

i am sorry i do not know how to tell if it is a long or short ejector..i will look for that in the technical sections...

I also thought that by saying that the ejection port had not been radiused in my original post that this was synonomous with saying that it had not been lowered and flared...i apologize that i was not more clear....it is about 2am here, so i am likely not as cogent as I normally am....


i have read some of the other threads on this, and have tried some of the things recommended (ie, clean out the ejector port, test the tension)...

If i drop the magazine and leave the round in the chamber, and then slowly and deliberately retract the slide, the round almost always ejects out the top...

it sounds like what is happening is what you are describing...that the nose of the live round is getting caught...

i am not terribly good with the internet and pictures, but I can try and take some photos of the pistol, the extractor, etc...

with my les baer, and my TRP (both 5 inch) you can load a magazine and cycle through the whole thing by hand (ie, yank the slide 8 times and the magazine will empty and lock back)

I admit, though, that the majority (read almost all) of my 1911 experience is with 5" government models...although I have had a springer champion

at any rate, thanks for all the help...maybe i can find a way to shoot it some tomorrow


EDIT: Also, another question...my slide stop has a divit in it where the slide stop plunger hits it (essentially the slide stop clicks when it moves up and down, very similar to the actually thumb safety) from what I can see, when the plunger sits in this divit it doesnt want to go all the way up when releasing the slide back....the practical effect of this is that the magazine spring is getting more resistance when the follower wants to push the slide stop up...could this effect ejection?

[Hawkmoon]

Look at the front end of the ejector. The standard GI ejector probably has a "nose" that's roughly shaped like a chevron, with the upper/forward corner approximately above the lower/forward corner where it kits the frame rail.

The typical Commander ejector has a small projection that extends the upper portion by about 1/8" to 3/16" forward of the main body of the ejector. You should see it instantly if you have it -- looks like a cantilever, sort of a very short "diving board" on the forward end of the part.

[OD*]

it looks to me like the front ejection port has not been radiused
It probably hasn't, Colt didn't start elongating the ejection ports until sometime in the '90s. My Series 70 repro won't eject live rounds consistently even with the shorter ejector.
It's not a problem, for me anyway.

[trio]

cool..it definitely looks like the commander ejector....

i will try and not be so anal with the gun...it is purty....

the sad thing is I have to go to the range to meet someone today, but I have to bring my 5mos old with me, so i lilely wont be able to shoot..grrrr...


as just an experiment i tried to cycle a mag of gold dots through, and it worked fine...that extra little nose on FMJ is what matters..


thanks again for all the help and support!

[John]

Also, another question...my slide stop has a divit in it where the slide stop plunger hits it (essentially the slide stop clicks when it moves up and down, very similar to the actually thumb safety) from what I can see, when the plunger sits in this divit it doesnt want to go all the way up when releasing the slide back....the practical effect of this is that the magazine spring is getting more resistance when the follower wants to push the slide stop up...could this effect ejection?


No, that can not affect ejection. This is a way to prevent the slide stop from prematurely locking up the slide.

[44 Man]

What you have is a pretty common problem with some guns, Commanders included. I would not loose any sleep over it. If you need to unload the gun, drop the mag, then lay the gun over on it's right side and work the slide as you jiggle the gun a little, the round should fall right out. Most hollowpoints will eject fine as they are a little shorter. As long as the gun functions, fires, and ejects when you are shooting it, I wouldn't worry about it at all. It's just a personality quirk of those guns. If it bothers you, have a good gunsmith open the ejection port up. 44 Man

[Hoss Fly]

My Commander is the same way - don't bother me none :)

BTW - :fp: