1911 Experts! Dented brass. What's this from? How can I fix it?

[MuthaFunk]

I recently bought a Norinco NP27 and 500 rounds of PMC ammo. In addition to the combo I recently bought a sweet Dillon 550B reloading press with .45 dies so I thought I'd try reloading the cheap PMC brass.

The pistol felt great and shot surprisingly accurate for my untrained hands. After my first outing with it I picked up the casings and found they were all dented.

I initially thought the feed ramp must be screwed. My initial cleaning and reassembly included buffing the feed ramp to a nice shine. Here's what it looks like.

Now after I saw the dented casings I looked closer to find that if I tilted the gun nose down the barrel moves forward. I imagine the bullet being chambered would also push the barrel forward.

It's at least 1/16" forward. In this position there is indeed a lip for the casings to catch on. is this the cause of my dented brass?

Is this normal? I'm afraid to match the ramps up in the forward position with a Dremel because then when the barrel is all the way back it could just hook the bullet and I'll have a paper weight.

Is this just an issue of cheap brass? Will reloading brass with dents like this be a problem?

Any ideas?

 

[Camaroguy]

The gap between the feed ramp and the barrel is normal and allows normal feeding. Also if they were dented before firing, the pressure of firing would pop the dent out again. I think it is being dented on ejection, likely hitting the back edge of the ejection port as it is ejected. More experienced shooters please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Grin]

I would not worry about these dents, run the brass trough the dies and see how it looks.

 

[madcow]

Look at the back of the ejection port, see ifvyhere are any brass colored marks It looks like your extractor is holding the brass tightly, and the ejector isn't knocking it loose quick enough. Extractor adjustment, or longer ejector will solve yiur problem.

brass will be fine to reload as long as it's resized, just look out for larger cracks or ruptures amd discard those casings.

 

[misanthropist]

Slide velocity could be high, also. Lots of lousy chinese springs out there. Could slow it down with main or recoil spring, depending on how it feels.

Or change firing pin stop geometry, but I'd start with springs.

 

[juancarlos]

Looks like it is being crunched during ejection/cycling. Is it every round? Does the last round from the mag have a dent when the slide locks back?

 

[Pietro Beretta]

My Colt 01991 Govt .45 does this to brass also. While ejecting spent brass, it kicks the brass rearward and that dent in the casing is from bouncing off the edge of the ejection port. You can actually line up the empty casing with the slide locked back and see we're the extractor made contact with the casing, the firing pin mark is on the lower side of primer and the left side of the casing is burnt with GSR while exiting the ejection port. Some interesting firearm forensics lol.

My Colt XSE Govt. .45 also did this.....and my Kimber 1911 also.


No biggie.....unless you're reloading maybe

 

[09outlander]

Those little dents are nothing to worry about, you can reload them without any worry.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Thanks guys! I think the marks are from the ejection port. The marks line up with the edge of the port anyway. The cases were flying in a somewhat erratic pattern. I adjusted the ejector tension a little as per the instructions on the interwebz. I'll take it to the range soon to see if that did anything. Failing that, I think I'll order some new springs.

Thanks for the help fellas.

 

[madcow]

try a heaver recoil spring, Norincos are notorious for light springs

 

[john92awd]

Let us know if you get it fixed or any better. My national match dents about 30% of the brass like this. I reload it just fine but wouldn't mind fixing if possible. Mine hit's the ejection port as explained. I hear you can "tune" the ejector and extractor but haven't had the time yet

 

[SUPER TENERE]

Try filing a bevel at the rear of the ejection port on the slide to a 45 degree angle with a Dremel tool. Many 1911s come from the factory this way now. Just check other 1911s to see what I'm talking about. My Kimber .45 has it and doesn't dent brass. Not sure that's your problem though. Usually this cured dented brass at the case mouth not in the middle but this may help.

 

[RobertMcC]

try a heaver recoil spring, Norincos are notorious for light springs

Those are SAM. Norcs are normally heavy springs.

 

[just having some fun]

Im not a gun smith
From the pictures I see a slide with the lowered port and relieved (very old 1911 have a higher side on the slide)
dents are getting in the brass after it is fired ( fire a pc of brass with a dent and it will be gone)

dents in brass are not a problem unless the dent is sharp --- those should come out when you size brass

How far away is brass landing when you shoot it ?

check extractor (do a internet search 1911 extractor tuning)
check ejector (do a internet search 1911 ejector tuning)