Lessons Learned: Breaking an Ejector

[Nolyrics2]

[Mickey D]

With your evaluation, wouldn't a flush type mag with a bumper pad cause the same effect?
It just might be a bad ejector to begin with.

[Nolyrics2]

I do not own any mags with a bumper pad so I am unable to do any type of accurate testing. From my experience with compact and standard 7rd single stack magazines I can make a hypothesis.

When using a compact 7rd mag in a Kimber Ultra CDP II the magazine is flush within the grip. When excess pressure (think quick mag changes or tap and rack drills) is put on the bottom of the magazine it is held in place by the bottom of the grip. This prevents the magazine from traveling farther into the slide and causing excess tension on the ejector.

A standard 7rd magazine does not make contact with any part of the bottom of the grip. This allows the magazine to travel further into the slide (by only a fraction of an inch) and put an undesirable amount of force on the ejector. A std 7rd mag with a bumper pad has the benefit of making contact with the bottom of the grip and not allow the longer magazine to travel into damaging depths within the slide.

In the following photos you can see the position of the magazines inside the slide. Without any force on the bottom of the mags the compact and standard 7rd sit in the proper location, just below the ejector. When you apply pressure on the bottom of the magazines the compact 7rd does not move while the standard 7rd rises ever so slightly into the ejector. When out at the range I was undoubtedly applying much more force during mag changes than in this photo which would cause it to rise even higher, breaking the ejector.

[bohoki]

wow

ive broken extractors in my glock 21 and my baby eagle 45

i didnt even think that was possible to break that part on a 1911

i guess metal fatigue

[Sheldon]

The longer magazine may have just rode over the mag catch to allow the magazine to travel too far into the magwell opening and let the magazine contact the ejector and break it. Especially if you're slamming the mag home with the slide locked back. With the slide locked back it is possible for the magazine to go in further since the slide is not there to limit its travel. Also the shorter magazine body would bottom out on the baseplate and front bottom portion of the fronstrap, preventing overtravel. With the longer magazine that portion of the baseplate does not ever get limited in movement by the magwell opening. That is why you see a dimple/ledge pressed into that area on 10 rounder mag bodies to help prevent this over insertion into the magwell of full sized 1911 pistols.