grip & ejection on a 1911

geo57 · April 20, 2001, 10:27 AM

can a very strong wristed grip have any bearing on how far fired brass will eject? my new kimber custom classic will toss brass 10-12 feet using win. 230 gr. factory hardball. ive heard that unless your brass ends up in piles 4-6 feet from you, your recoil spring may not be strong enough to prevent frame damage, yet other kimber owners tell me this is normal. my hold is extremely rigid...any thoughts?..many thanks

Art Eatman · April 20, 2001, 11:16 AM

I don't think the difference between "normal" and "very strong" grip will make any difference. Certainly, not from a frame-damage standpoint.

A slightly stronger spring should not hurt anything, if you care to change.

For most of the numerous Colts I have shot, the brass winds up anywhere from six to ten feet away, whether full house GI stuff or 200-grain SWCs...Lord knows how many rounds I've shot, but nothing ever broke.

Heck, report back after another 10,000 or 20,000 rounds...

, Art

George Stringer · April 21, 2001, 07:07 AM

Geo57, with a standard ejector 3 to 6 feet is correct. But with an extended, long nose ejector 10 to 12 is more the rule. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure your Kimber has an extended ejector. George

Southla1 · April 21, 2001, 06:24 PM

Geo57, the only thing that installing a heavier recoil spring can do is reduce the reliability of the functioning. It cannot DAMAGE the weapon. A weaker spring can damage the weapon if full house loads are used with too light a spring. When I was firing competition and wanted to fire GI Hard Ball Match in my Gold Cup I had to put the heavy spring in it. For the 185 grain match SWC's it was the lighter spring. The USAF premium grade .45 had a heavy spring straight from the gunsmith shop, at Lackland AFB and worked fine with Hard Ball, but would not function reliably with 185 SWC Match. We had to do the same thing ........ switch springs. Of course we had one advantage over you ......... Uncle Sam bought the ammo so we did not care where the brass landed. When we went to open matches we never even had to police our own brass.........civilians would fight for it

. There was one little "trick of the trade" too about ejecting hot brass and your nearest competitor but I wont mention that here!

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April 20, 2001, 10:27 AM	#1
geo57 Member Join Date: April 20, 2001 Posts: 58	can a very strong wristed grip have any bearing on how far fired brass will eject? my new kimber custom classic will toss brass 10-12 feet using win. 230 gr. factory hardball. ive heard that unless your brass ends up in piles 4-6 feet from you, your recoil spring may not be strong enough to prevent frame damage, yet other kimber owners tell me this is normal. my hold is extremely rigid...any thoughts?..many thanks

April 20, 2001, 11:16 AM	#2
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I don't think the difference between "normal" and "very strong" grip will make any difference. Certainly, not from a frame-damage standpoint. A slightly stronger spring should not hurt anything, if you care to change. For most of the numerous Colts I have shot, the brass winds up anywhere from six to ten feet away, whether full house GI stuff or 200-grain SWCs...Lord knows how many rounds I've shot, but nothing ever broke. Heck, report back after another 10,000 or 20,000 rounds... , Art

April 21, 2001, 07:07 AM	#3
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	Geo57, with a standard ejector 3 to 6 feet is correct. But with an extended, long nose ejector 10 to 12 is more the rule. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure your Kimber has an extended ejector. George

April 21, 2001, 06:24 PM	#4
Southla1 Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 19, 2000 Location: Jeanerette, La. Near the Posts: 1,999	Geo57, the only thing that installing a heavier recoil spring can do is reduce the reliability of the functioning. It cannot DAMAGE the weapon. A weaker spring can damage the weapon if full house loads are used with too light a spring. When I was firing competition and wanted to fire GI Hard Ball Match in my Gold Cup I had to put the heavy spring in it. For the 185 grain match SWC's it was the lighter spring. The USAF premium grade .45 had a heavy spring straight from the gunsmith shop, at Lackland AFB and worked fine with Hard Ball, but would not function reliably with 185 SWC Match. We had to do the same thing ........ switch springs. Of course we had one advantage over you ......... Uncle Sam bought the ammo so we did not care where the brass landed. When we went to open matches we never even had to police our own brass.........civilians would fight for it . There was one little "trick of the trade" too about ejecting hot brass and your nearest competitor but I wont mention that here!