I recently aquired a Remington Rand 1911 through a trade. About all I know about 1911's is basic take down procedure. After the first trip to the range and some close inspection, I realized that the extractor needs to be replaced. It is so worn that it barely grabs the case rim. Now I'm wondering if this is a repair I can do myself, or if I should let a gunsmith handle this one.

When I looked for an extractor at Brownells, there were series 70 and 80 listed. How do I know what kind to get?

I am grateful for any help you folks can offer.

Its easy. Get the series 70. While depressing the rear of the firing pin just enough through the firing pin stop with a drift punch to desingage it from the firing pin slide the stop down . Once the stop is our of the slide it is easy to slide the extractor to the rear out of the slide. To assemble reverse the proceedure.

1) It is not difficult at all to replace an extractor, you can do it yourself easily.

2) BEFORE you do any tinkering, get a good book on the 45. One of the best are the books by Jerry Kuhnhausen. He has 2, all you need right now is volume one. If money is tight and you can't afford it right now see if your college can get it through interlibrary loan. Another option is to find the Field Manual for the 45. You can probably even find it online in PDF format if you look for it.


I'm hesitant to tell you what to do as the 45 is a couple dozen systems that all interrelate and cooperate with each other. You're best off sitting down with a book for a while first. Just a quickie example- see the magazine catch that you press to eject the magazine? The side opposite the button has a screw in it right? Actually that is not a screw but a catch, to remove the Mag catch you push the button in slightly and turn the screw 1/4 turn. If you try to turn it otherwise it breaks. So get a book first! <G>

Now, on a more positive note- is the little hook on the extractor intact and not worn? If so you may be able to just remove the extractor and put a bend in it so it grabs and holds the cartridge. Kuhnhausens book will show you how. <G>

Have fun, the 1911 is the best pistol to get started in gun tinkering with!

Mark

I bought a wilson combat "bullet proof" extractor for my springfield mil-spec and installed it myself. The extractor comes with instructions for adjusting tension.

About 825+ rounds without a problem so far with this extractor. The tension is probably good enough.

Andy,

Pay attention to which extractor you buy. The extractor on a 1911 needs a little tension. Real steel that has some spring to it is the correct material. There are a lot of aftermarket pieces being sold that are MIM or worse and they are junk. They won't tension properly. Wilson is a good source on a extractor, you can also look on Cylinder and Slide they have a good selection of 1911 parts. Ed Brown makes a good extractor also, and there a tad cheaper than Wilson.



And yes you need a series 70 type part.

Thanks for the replies. I bought a Wilson Combat Bullet Proof extractor today. It was a much easier fix than I thought. It took less than 5 minutes to swap out the parts. Thanks again for the help.