Jam diagnosis

I had this happen last season in a leg match and thought fitting a new extractor had cured it, but with the wrong ammo and spring I found can make it happen again.

A fired case will remain captured by the extractor and somehow get bumped up where the ejector can not hit it. The mouth of the empty case rests in line against the end of the barrel hood, so a stovepipe hand swipe is ineffective. Racking the slide will not disloge the case (becase no ejector contact) and will only partially push a live round onto the feed ramp, fouling removal of the magazine.

Besides not using that ammo and spring combination again, is there a way to make this mode of failure less possible?

I assume your talking about a 1911, can you send a good photo so the ejector can be seen, my guess is you have an ejector problem.

jjfitch wrote:"Besides not using that ammo and spring combination again, is there a way to make this mode of failure less possible"?


This might be a clue! it just might be a symptom of short stroking!

I think you are very likely right.  It's a horrible type of jam to try and clear as a leg match slips through your fingers like sand. I guess the problem is not that it can jam, it's that it can cam in a way that won't clear.

On inspection my ejector is .227-8 tall. That may not be helping.

One way to check if it's is short stroking just put one round in the mag, close the slide and fire the gun. It should lock-back.