Failure to Feed/Extract/Return to Battery Fix
I'm going to post this for a FYI.
A couple of 1911 gunsmiths have told me in the past that the wrong extractor tension can cause failure to feed or extract. If it's too much, it can cause failure to feed. If it's not enough, it can cause a failer to extract. In the below video at about 2:30 it talks about it. The video also shows how they measure the tension. The second link shows a extractor tension guage set they use in the video. The extractor in the Kahr pistol is adjusted by shortening the rear pin behind the extractor spring, like previously mentioned in a post earlier. I forgot to add, for the Kahr pistols, it should be about 2lbs tension for a 9mm and about 2 1/2 lbs for the 40. One also said every Kahr pistol he ran accross with failure to feed, had way too much extractor tention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nnqKKWk2ig&app=desktop
http://www.jackweigand.com/etg.htmlThe cause is too much extractor tension.
https://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn...aspx?lid=10261
FAILURE TO FEED
In most instances, an extractor that is adjusted too tightly (too much extractor tension) will cause a failure to feed. In this condition, the case head is not allowed to travel up, into the breech face because the rim of the cartridge never becomes fully-seated under the extractor hook.
Excessive extractor tension can also cause the extractor to dig into the cartridge rim, which is made of brass. This will cause inconsistent feeding or an intermittent feeding problem.
Refer to View “A”. This illustration shows the end of the extractor as if you were looking at the breech face from the muzzle end but it shows the extractor hook only. You will see on the left what the majority of extractor hooks are machined like. We want to radius the lower portion of the hook as shown in the illustration on the right. This area, when left with a sharp transition, can dig into brass and impede feeding.
The second problem area, View “B” is a view of the extractor from the same vantage point with the hook removed. You will see a small bevel where the case slides up the extractor face that usually has a sharp intersection. I take a small needle file and radius this intersection to smooth up the transition point.
When examining your brass you will find small dings on the rim of your brass, this is the area of the extractor that causes it. Similarly with the hook not being radiused you will find small dings in the web of your brass.
FAILURE TO EXTRACT
Failures to extract are usually related to an extractor with too little tension. With too little tension, the brass is not held securely long enough in the cycle to be properly ejected. The brass is allowed to loosely float around as the pistol cycles. The brass hits the ejector in a non-uniform manner and ejection is very random. One case may be tossed several feet, another case may just barely clear the edge of the ejection port.
This may or may not be your problem, but it is easy enough to check by just removing your slide from your pistol. Info below on how to check your extractor tension.
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