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No, folks, it isn't the extractor. It's the particular design of the 1911 firing pin - which is free to travel as far as necessary (given a stout hammer spring) to hit the primer even when it is much farther forward than specs require. If you don't believe this, remove the extractor and fire a few short-cased handloads. Surprise - they still fire and (often) function perfectly! (The extractor's primary function is to pull unfired rounds out of the chamber when unloading.)
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There is no disagreement that the extractor does just exactly what it's name implies, but yes folks, it plays a dual role. You can cut the .45ACP case back to .750, drop it in the chamber, and there is no way the firing pin will be long enough to touch it. Put the same short case in the magazine, and it will feed and fire every time because the extractor is holding it. Hatcher proved the same thing many years ago.
Half way up the breech face, and the cartridge rim is already sliding under the extractor.
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I think this article addresses the issue pretty well. Its pretty interesting.
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You probably also didn't know that the original JB design had an outside extractor, and this was changed to the internal extractor.
Cutting the case off was merely a way of demonstrating that no matter what the case length, the Model 1911 will hold the case and fire it Sorry for not explaining that to you.Comment
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I get a kick out of seeing if some of the assertions found in forums like this will stand up to a practical test. In this instance, it was "You can cut the .45ACP case back to .750, drop it in the chamber, and there is no way the firing pin will be long enough to touch it." So I cut a primed case to .730" and put it in the chamber ahead of the extractor - just to see what would actually happen when I dropped the hammer.
As you can see, the primer fired nicely and also backed itself out almost completely. The point is that the 1911 does not depend on the extractor to hold a short case. That long firing pin carries enough momentum to ignite a primer even when it's absurdly far from the breech face. Don't believe me; try it yourself and let us know what happens. Only takes a junk case, a primer, and a couple minutes of your time.Comment
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In my younger years, I would trim cases for that guilt edge accuracy. When I got older and wiser, I would use better bullets and obtain the same accuracy out of my 1911A1. At this point, I no longer trim and as the above has stated...there is no difference.Comment
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Since you get your jollies doing strange things, cut it back another .250 and see if the extractor still doesn't work as a controlled feed. The entire discussion was about the 1911 Colt being a controlled feed, and you have gone to great lengths to prove that it doesn't even need an extractor, which in itself is really a "kick" as you would say. The basic 1911 design is just what it is, and your opinions won't change a thing.
Get a few books and do some catch up on the design phase of the pistol that was to become the 1911, then come back and tell us what it needs and doesn't need.Comment
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I never suggested the 1911 extractor can't hold onto a short case fed from the magazine, or that it isn't a useful item - only that this feature isn't necessary for the pistol to set off the primer on a reasonably short case chambered ahead of the extractor - or even with the extractor missing.
Johnny P wrote, "You can cut the .45ACP case back to .750, drop it in the chamber, and there is no way the firing pin will be long enough to touch it." In actual practice, that firing pin does exactly what he claims it can't. This tells me he doesn't fully understand the configuration and functioning of the 1911 firing pin. That's fine with me, as long as innocent readers aren't left believing something that's clearly untrue.Comment
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