Safest way to lightly bevel edge of .45 Colt case?

[Mus408]

I recently bought a Uberti 1873 lever rifle in .45 Colt. During firing,maybe 4 out of 20 rounds,the extractor will hang trying to go over the case rim,preventing full bolt lock up. Seems to be the case rim bevel varies and this gun likes a good bevel edge to smoothly go over.
Is there a safe way to touch up the bevel rim edge on a new box of factory ammo?
I could chuck it in the lathe and lightly radius the edge with a small file, chuck in drill press and lightly radius with file,or make up a hand tool to place over case rim and spin by hand....center of tool could be open hole,so as not to touch primer area.
When I start to reload for .45 this operation will be much safer with empty casings.
Notice while chambering empty cases,any that would hang or take more force,a simple radius job cured the problem.

 

[cellar701]

Did you look at the extractor? Why is it hanging on the cartridge rim? I would suggest fixing the gun so it will handle the ammo rather than modifying the ammo... Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mus408]

It doesn't hang up all the time,just on some cases that might have less of a bevel on the edge.
I have a box of Underwood and a new brand HPR. They both use Starline brass. Some cases have the bevel off center,with more on one side than the other.
I could send the rifle back to Stoeger,for a check out and have talked to them,but this seemed like maybe an easy fix,rather than sending off the gun.
When things in the ammo supply industry settle down,I will be reloading for .45 Colt.

 

[Ruber]

I've played this game before, and agree with cellar701, in the end it is less headache to fix the gun rather than modify the ammo and hope it works.

Not sure how far you've gone into it, but if you haven't yet, a thorough cleaning is in order (yes, very thorough strip and cleaning). While the extractor and bolt are out, go over them looking for any rough or high spots that may create resistance.

If you have already done that, please disregard, but in my experience, these problems usually are symptoms of the gun having something in there that shouldn't be.

Best of luck, those can be really fun guns!

 

[Mus408]

Talked with Stoeger Arms and they will check it out and honor warranty,even though I'm not the original
purchaser and the gun is a 2007 model. Want it to be as smooth as it was originally supposed to be.
Upon closer inspection,it looked like somebody had added a thin buildup of weld on top of the extractor.
Whether a factory touchup or a gunsmith job they did an excellent job on the grinding of it,and blue touch up! But why was it needed? Off it goes to the guys who should know!

 

[mikld]

I would check the angle of the extractor's hook face and/or polish it up smooth...

 

[Mobuck]

I think I read somewhere that the reason Winchester didn't make the originals in 45 Colt was because of the inadequate rim on the case. Improvements in metallurgy have made the use of 45 Colt possible but maybe not optimum.

 

[Mus408]

I have read that too. Back when the original 45 Colt came about,the case didn't have much rim at all.
Today's cases seem to have a bit more.
Just found a local gunsmith who is supposed to be good on lever guns,and has worked on these.
I'm going to drop by there and let him have a look. Could be just a simple light stone job on the tip of the extractor. Everything else wroks fine on the rifle and it doesn't fail to eject the cases.

 

[TKLyden]

could be an ammo issue or an extractor problem shoot the gun a while .sometimes it just goes away.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Well,
This is a new one. I have been shooting CAS for 10 years and have never heard of this and I know a bunch of Pards that shoot 73s in 45 Colts. I don't think it is the ammo. Starline brass works. You can't compare 1873 45 Colt to todays 45 no where like the original so that doesn't enter into it. I also shoot a Uberti 66, 45 and a 73, 357 and a Henry 44-40.
Look and make sure the FIXED Extractor is still on the bottom of the bolt. Quite a few have been known to break off. If so it will not extract every time. There should not be any welding on the top extractor.

 

[Mus408]

The fixed extractor is still on the bottom of bolt. The rifle ejects the brass fine,just looks like the top ejector finger has a problem going over the case rim at times.
Rifle is going back to Stoeger for a check out. I don't believe weld belongs on the top of the extractor either,as it might be causing it to pinch the case rim,as it slides over the case.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I think I read somewhere that the reason Winchester didn't make the originals in 45 Colt was because of the inadequate rim on the case. Improvements in metallurgy have made the use of 45 Colt possible but maybe not optimum.

Howdy

Yes, early 45 Colts had tiny rims. The round in the center of this photo is an old 45 Colt round. All that tiny rim was supposed to do was keep the cartridge from being shoved forward into the chamber when the hammer struck the primer. All early 45 Colt revolvers used an ejector that poked the empties out from the inside, so a large rim was not needed. The round on the right is a modern 45 Colt round with a larger rim and a cutout at the base. No, it is not an extractor groove, it is an artifact of the way the case is made, but it does help with extraction. There is no reason in the world that a properly set up lever gun should not reliably extract modern 45 Colt cases.

One thing that has not been mentioned here is that the recess at the top of the chamber where the extractor rests when the bolt is closed is sometimes blocked. Sometimes a burr left over from machining will partially prevent the extractor from entering into the recess far enough to grab a rim. Sometimes it is blocked with dirt. The very first thing to do is to inspect that recess, and make sure nothing is preventing the extractor from entering properly, and nothing is keeping the extractor up, instead of allowing it to pop down over a rim. Be sure to inspect the recess.

P.S. The round on the left in the photo is an old 44-40. Designed as a rifle cartridge. Notice there is no 'extractor groove'. But the rim is of a large enough diameter that a rifle extractor could get a good grip on it.