The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Gbbear47 · November 10, 2008, 09:59 AM

Years ago, I bought an American Derringer M1 .45ACP at a NV gunshow and recently looking at it as a likely candidate for shooting reloads, possibly Pyrodex, due to it's stainless steel construction(for easy cleanup), I discovered the extractor and the screw that holds the extractor in place is missing! Now, I think I fired regular .45ACP ammo in it to test in this condition, but I am not sure and looking at the gap the missing extractor leaves in the side of the barrel makes me wonder if it is safe to fire. While the base of the brass cartridge would obviously block the pressure to some extent, I just wonder if there is a possibility of weakness in that particular area. This is a really nice little gun, not having the legal complications that sometimes come up with the .45 Colt version, so I want to keep it for some sort of close home protection or for casual shooting of Pyrodex, but I would like some reassurance that it is OK to fire without the extractor attached.
Earlier in this forum, someone said they had this model without the extractor, but did not mention firing it. (American Derringer does not seem to respond so far to my query to buy another extractor.)

November 10, 2008, 09:59 AM	#67
Gbbear47 Junior Member Join Date: November 10, 2008 Posts: 2	Safe to Shoot American Derringer .45ACP with missing extractor? Years ago, I bought an American Derringer M1 .45ACP at a NV gunshow and recently looking at it as a likely candidate for shooting reloads, possibly Pyrodex, due to it's stainless steel construction(for easy cleanup), I discovered the extractor and the screw that holds the extractor in place is missing! Now, I think I fired regular .45ACP ammo in it to test in this condition, but I am not sure and looking at the gap the missing extractor leaves in the side of the barrel makes me wonder if it is safe to fire. While the base of the brass cartridge would obviously block the pressure to some extent, I just wonder if there is a possibility of weakness in that particular area. This is a really nice little gun, not having the legal complications that sometimes come up with the .45 Colt version, so I want to keep it for some sort of close home protection or for casual shooting of Pyrodex, but I would like some reassurance that it is OK to fire without the extractor attached. Earlier in this forum, someone said they had this model without the extractor, but did not mention firing it. (American Derringer does not seem to respond so far to my query to buy another extractor.)