The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

rodfac · January 10, 2019, 09:34 AM

Yep, it's easier on the extractor if you feed from the magazine. That said, I've broken exactly one extractor on a 1911 pistol in over 50 yrs of shooting them, and that was while feeding from the magazine. In truth, I can't ever remember dropping one in the chamber and allowing the slide to ride over the extractor....must have been a cpl there along the way though.

As to setback...it doesn't pay to repeatedly re-chamber the top round in a magazine. Most commercial rounds will withstand setback for a number of re-chamberings, but why tempt fate? NRA recommends that you test handloads for neck tension by pressing against a solid surface with a minimum of 40 lbs. pressure. A practice I've adopted over the years, and have never seen set back in any of my handloads.

One commercial SD round had problems with setback in my guns. Hornady's .45 ACP 185 gr FTX Critical Defense rounds that I bought a cpl years ago, would setback on the first or 2nd chambering...I re-crimped them in my dies using a taper crimper and had no further problems....Hornady may have had a one-off lot of bad ammunition then...but it didn't leave me with a good feeling, and I haven't used them since in any of my guns.

YMMV, Rod

January 10, 2019, 09:34 AM	#18
rodfac Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2005 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,623	Yep, it's easier on the extractor if you feed from the magazine. That said, I've broken exactly one extractor on a 1911 pistol in over 50 yrs of shooting them, and that was while feeding from the magazine. In truth, I can't ever remember dropping one in the chamber and allowing the slide to ride over the extractor....must have been a cpl there along the way though. As to setback...it doesn't pay to repeatedly re-chamber the top round in a magazine. Most commercial rounds will withstand setback for a number of re-chamberings, but why tempt fate? NRA recommends that you test handloads for neck tension by pressing against a solid surface with a minimum of 40 lbs. pressure. A practice I've adopted over the years, and have never seen set back in any of my handloads. One commercial SD round had problems with setback in my guns. Hornady's .45 ACP 185 gr FTX Critical Defense rounds that I bought a cpl years ago, would setback on the first or 2nd chambering...I re-crimped them in my dies using a taper crimper and had no further problems....Hornady may have had a one-off lot of bad ammunition then...but it didn't leave me with a good feeling, and I haven't used them since in any of my guns. YMMV, Rod __________________ Cherish our flag, honor it, defend it in word and deed, or get the hell out. Our Bill of Rights has been paid for by heros in uniform and shall not be diluted by misguided governmental social experiments. We owe this to our children, anything less is cowardice. USAF FAC, 5th Spl Forces, Vietnam Vet '69-'73. Last edited by rodfac; January 10, 2019 at 09:42 AM.