Model 25-5 ejection question

[amazingflapjack]

Hi All-my 25-5 8 3/8 45LC seems to get the casing (S) caught under the extractor star when removing spent cases. Is this generic to this gun, I haven't shot it that much? And is there a recommended procedure for shucking the spent hulls out of the big hawg leg? Thanks, Flapjack

[USBP SW]

Any revolver with a swing open cylinder should have the empties ejected with the muzzle pointed straight up. Not only do the empties drop straight out but you don't get unburned powder under the extractor using this method. Basically, when you have fired your rounds, depress the cylinder release normally and push the cylinder out, using the middle and ring fingers of your left hand, the frame rests on the middle finger and you turn your wrist a quarter turn to position the muzzle straight up. Then you simply eject the spent casings using your left thumb. It actually works easier and more naturally than it sounds. Perhaps someone with better photo skills than I have could show you visually. Good luck,
Steve

[Dale53]

Steve has given you excellent information.

The .45 Colt has a small rim that aggravates the problem. However, dumping the cases when the revolver is vertical will minimize this problem.

Dale53

[amazingflapjack]

Thank You Gentlemen, that confirms my thoughts, and provides new knowledge. I appreciate it! Flapjack.

[Dpris]

Having used revolvers in uniform & taught others on 'em, I'd add that the most positive way to eject is muzzle up & PUNCH the rod back with the palm of the left hand (for righties).
Much stronger ejection than using the thumb.
And I also say that having carried a 25-5 on duty.

The thumb method was dropped in most LE circles decades ago.
Denis

[USBP SW]

Actually, I guess you could say revolvers were dropped from law enforcement circles decades ago. The law enforcement organization I trained in firearms, kept the thumb ejection to the bitter end. The thumb eject method allows the shooter to begin reloading with his free hand. The problem with the thumb eject method and the reason some law enforcement entities went to the palm method was because too many officers tended to catch the empties in their free hand. This was a habit formed during training and what you do in training carries on to what you do in an emergency. As I recall, there were law enforcement fatalities resulting from dropping empties in their hand during a gunfight. The casual shooter is fine using the thumb eject method and you won't bend the ejector rod.

Good luck,
Steve

[olskool]

i had all three barrel lengths for years, 4in 6in 8 3/8 and shot them all a lot with no problem.

[fishcreekrim]

Also, the fact that 45LC cases are tapered makes extraction less positive.

[Dpris]

I was "corrected" in the thumb method at our academy back in '81, and subsequently reinforced by Farnham, Ayoob & others. We taught it at our department after that till the end of revolvers in '88 with the issuance of the Glocks.
The thumb method is too vulnerable to leaving one or two empties still hanging on, and if that happens it's irrelevant how fast the rest of your reloading technique is, since you'll be adding time in getting your cylinder cleared.
The reasoning I was given was that you do not want to risk catching a rim under the extractor star at worst, or even having to shake, rattle & roll to get a partially extracted case to drop clear.

It's hard to jam a revolver (with good ammunition) in general, but one jam that can get you killed is a case under the star. Can't clear that one in a hurry with a Tap-Rack- Bang.

Over the years, I've had cases do both when just fooling around on my own time & using the thumb method in laziness.
Punching that rod, assuming you have adequate clearance with your grips, makes for a very positive full ejection.

Casual shooting offers no immediate risk beyond the nuisance of digging a case out from under the star, but as pointed out- under stress you'll revert to what you're used to doing, and I still carry a DA revolver now & then for serious purposes. I try to stay consistent in how I dump empties.

If range stuff is all you'll ever do with the DA revolver, doesn't matter as much.
Denis

[Ron H.]

Originally Posted by fishcreekrim

Also, the fact that 45LC cases are tapered makes extraction less positive.

Sir, .45 Colt cases are not tapered. They're straight-wall, 0.480" from the head to the mouth.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

[fishcreekrim]

You are correct, somewhere I got the idea they had a slight taper.

[Ron H.]

Originally Posted by fishcreekrim

You are correct, somewhere I got the idea they had a slight taper.

Sir, no worries. A number of the .45 Colt's contemporaries did have tapers, such as the .44-40, .38-40 and .32-20, and those did sometimes give extraction troubles. Elmer Keith mentions it several times in "Sixguns."

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.