1911 Troubleshooting

[Guest stevieb615]

Sorry, but I never suggested "high dollar" ammo, just different ammo, as you never addressed the ammo you were using in your post-and ammo is commonly the issue where you have 4 or 5 jams out of 100 rounds…

noted, my b

[Guest Plainsman]

It also seems that the extractor hook needs to be closer to the cartridge itself in the pictures. If it will not hold the cartridge in place then there is a tension issue but the tension can be adjusted. The nose is also a bit too far forward and there is no way to correct that really. You could try filing the nose a bit more but there isn't enough material to totally fix the problem. This pushes the cartridge forward off the breech face when not in the locked position. In the locked position the extractor is being pushed away from the cartridge by the angled potion of the rim. This could be tweeking your extractor and causing it to loose tension because it is being flexed with every shot. A 1911 extractor isn't desined to flex or bend all the time, the cartridge rim slides in under the extractor hook during cycling. You should never drop the slide on a loaded round in a 1911 as it will cause extractor isses eventually.

I think Dolomite likely has this one nailed down. I agree that the extractor hook does appear to be a further distance away from the cartridge rim than normal. Stevie, just FYI, the hook should not actually touch the cartridge rim. It is correct that the cartridge is held in place by the tension of the extractor, not the hook itself. The length problem may also come from a poorly fit firing pin stop, which is giving the extractor that freedom of movement. Try putting some tension into the extractor and see if that helps get rid of the malfunctions.

You may also check to see if your primer strikes are consistent.

You may need to just replace the extractor and firing pin stop for a better quality part. The extractor may need some adjustment if you decide to go that route.

I'm sorry that Taurus didn't resolve the problem in the first place, and sent your gun back with NO tension in the extractor. Wow.

Edited August 19, 2011 by Plainsman

[timcalhoun]

The hook to breech face clearance should be at least .070, .075 being optimum. I have seen them out to .085 and still run fine, but much longer than that and the hook starts up the case bevel (not good). The case rim itself will typically measure .040 thick, so you should see +.030 gap. If you have a set of gauge pins it's very easy to check.

You can actually fix the distance from the breech face to the hook if needed. Depending on what is out of spec, sometimes the only option is to weld up a extractor and recut the notch to get the hook right. Many times the slide itself is out of spec and buying a new extractor and FP stop will not get you where you want to go.

Edited August 19, 2011 by timcalhoun

[Dolomite_supafly]

Taurus has been hit and miss with me as far as their customer service.

I ordered a pistol and erceived it without a the tritium front sight it was supposed to have. The out of state dealer I ordered from recommended I take possession of the gun and then contact Taurus about getting a new sight. I contacted Taurus before taking possession of the pistol and they wanted the gun to be returned to them for the sight install. I refused and called the dealer back who in tunr called Taurus. The dealer assured me Taurus was sending out a new sight. I signed for the gun and took it home. A few days later I called Taurus to check on the sight and was told it would be weeks and that the sights were going to be standard, not tritium, sights. In the end I spent an additional $65 on a new tritium front sight. I got so disgusted with the whole thing that I sold the gun the second I had the correct sight installed. I like the platform so much I ordered another and ahve been happy ever since. As a matter fo fact my wife's new EDC gun is going to be a Taurus as well.

My most recent CS issue with them was when I broke a part. It was no ones fault by my own so I called to order the part. I paid and received the part about a week later. The part was the wrong part so I called back to complain. They agreed it was a mix up and said they would send the correct part out but I didn't have to return the wrong part. Turned out I was able to use the wrong part with a little clearancing and as a matter of fact it worked better than the correct part.

Taurus has gotten better but it is no where near the level of a lot of other major manufacturers.

My offer still stands if you decide to try to tackle it yourself.

Dolomite