I just bought a Warthog and I am liking it a lot. I am not too familiar with 1911s just yet. I used the manual to figure out how to field strip it after shooting it. It is not real clear on how to remove the extractor and firing pin from the slide. How do I do this? Also, I want to send the slide to Para to get night sights installed. Do I need to remove these parts from the slide first?

Gearhead:

Dunno what Para's policy about removing the parts in the slide before shipping it back for night sights.... Guess you could put a note in the box....

The lawyer-inspired Colt firing pin drop safety is a problem for new users when trying to remove the pin and extractor.... (The good news is that it's fairly reliable.)

Anyway....

Press the firing pin into the slide as far as possible while pressing the little round plunger that's just forward of the firing pin stop - on the bottom of the slide.

Once you get the pin deep enough into the slide to allow you to move the firing pin stop, if you did it right, you can release the plunger and the pin will stay put - way into the slide.

Remove the firing pin stop. I sometimes need to put a tool into the pin's hole and beat on things a little. (Beat on the tool!)

Carefully (with plans to catch flying parts) depress the little plunger again and the firing pin ought to pop out. Keep the plunger depressed until you've removed the pin and it's spring.

(Other than the little plunger holding onto the firing pin, we're still in "ordinary" 1911 territory. Here we go into the unknown....)

There's a cutout in the extractor body that holds that plunger (and a tiny spring under it) into the slide. Back the extractor out slightly and just sort of play with the plunger until you find the cutout and it pops clear. (Flying parts warning, but it's not much of a spring.) Pull the extractor completely out and you're done....

(Resist the temptation to do anything but clean the outside of the extractor, unless you don't mind looking for even more flying parts - if you push the two halves together gently a little it should come apart. There are couple of pins and a spring in there. I can't get the inner pin to come out at all, but note the spring goes in the middle, and the orientation of the outer pin.)

Seems like this takes a few tries before it becomes automatic, but there's not a lot to it. I find that removing the extractor every once in a while to clean it is a good idea. Clean the extractor tube and firing pin tube too....

Holler if you need more assistance.

Regards,

 

I used the manual to figure out how to field strip it after shooting it. It is not real clear on how to remove the extractor and firing pin from the slide.

It's not in the manual because that's going beyond field stripping. You may try to do it, but if you damage any parts, you may be voiding the warranty on the gun.

If you're not familiar on how to do it, I'm sure you can find someone locally that can demonstrate it for you. Once you know how, it's easy.

Good luck.

 

SpecStingPl:

Dunno about warranties but the dumb thing can get dirty enough (claw and tube) to require an occasional cleaning. Firing pin springs should be replaced every once in a while too, although that may be a non-issue in a gun with a drop safety.

I swear that there was a picture of the innards of the PXT in a manual I had here someplace, but I wasn't able to find it earlier.

I don't think you can do any damage if you don't lose the parts inside the PXT, and make sure the firing pin is pushed well into the slide so it (or the firing pin stop) aren't damaged during removal of the firing pin stop.

While I'm hesitant to tell people to strip the frames, I think the slide should be fair game for regular cleaning. (Except for the LDA - I've still not talked myself into taking mine apart - I think anybody can do either. Somehow instructions like "fiddle with it until it goes together" bother me....)

I'm no gunsmith - except in an amateur sense. I've learned a lot about the innards of a 1911 because I had some crazy problems with two of them. The first one involved a firing pin that would stick in it's tube due to a local gunsmith leaving metal filings in it after an extractor tune up. The second one involved more craziness with a slide stop than we've got time for tonight....

In process I've learned how to detail strip a conventional 1911 (including Colt and Swartz safety systems) down to little bits. (Never swapped an ejector or plunger tube, but I'm up to it.) The rest involves all kinds of stuff I learned here or "OJT". I don't know the tricks involved in accurizing, or fitting barrels, and my trigger jobs are best describe as "why?!" but I'm having fun.

Regards,

 

SMMA,

I agree with what you're saying. The slide is very easy to disassemble and the PXT does get dirty. The reason I mentioned damaging parts is because at the beginning of me taking the PXT out, I had some problems with getting the PXT body aligned properly with the firing pin plunger. I had some problems trying to get the f.p. plunger out initially. When I became more familiar with the tolerances of my two guns, I then was able to take the PXT out and apart without a hitch. Since these are part of the Series 80 safety components, I was very gentle with each part's removal. IMHO, the Series 80 safeties are a good thing and I would hate to damage them and then not have them work properly.

 

(Except for the LDA - I've still not talked myself into taking mine apart - I think anybody can do either. Somehow instructions like "fiddle with it until it goes together" bother me....)

The LDA slide comes apart the same way as the S/A.

 

SMMA,

It's "Stu"

I agree with what you're saying. The slide is very easy to disassemble and the PXT does get dirty. The reason I mentioned damaging parts is because at the beginning of me taking the PXT out, I had some problems with getting the PXT body aligned properly with the firing pin plunger. I had some problems trying to get the f.p. plunger out initially. When I became more familiar with the tolerances of my two guns, I then was able to take the PXT out and apart without a hitch. Since these are part of the Series 80 safety components, I was very gentle with each part's removal.

Agreed.... You need to be careful. It's possible to break the little shelf on the extractor body that holds the plunger in place, too.... More "magic" (or skill) than anything else.

IMHO, the Series 80 safeties are a good thing and I would hate to damage them and then not have them work properly.

I think there's been ONE documented instance of a Colt firing when dropped.... Lawyer-inspired.... But Colt picked a fairly simple and reliable way to implement it. A stiffer firing pin spring will do about as much good.... ([/rant] )

Guess the trick is to note that all of these components interact in a jigsaw puzzle way, and if you think about it that way, it's not too bad. The second or third time....

Saving a slot:

The LDA slide comes apart the same way as the S/A.

Yeah, but I was talking about the goodies in the frame.... Someday.... :bawling:

Regards,

 

Yeah, but I was talking about the goodies in the frame.... Someday.... :bawling:

Ohh. The goodies in the LDA frame. I have seen it and was able to reassemble the frame with a friend who's done this a lot. By my self, I don't feel comfortable enough to do it:bawling: :hrm: :scratch: :grumble:.

 

SpecStingPL:

I think I can do it, but it's one of those "in the right mood" things. Not to mention my furry little buddy being someplace else.

I was working on my P3-AT yesterday afternoon and dropped the ejector. Meantime, he got his ball stuck under the workbench. Found the ejector a few hours later....

(KelTec's ejector just sits in the frame. A little grease holds it in place during handling. Woe unto he who flips the gun over....)

Someday....

Regards,

 

ive done the frame now a few times on the LDA but it was a little intimidating when you had all those small parts and had to fiddle with this and that till go got it in. I was working on the hammer assembly and it fell apart it took three tries to get back together right

 

prophet:

Someday....

"Fiddle with it" is the operative caution .

I've got Linkless John's instructions and pictures, and a nice workbench with all the tools. I almost did it tonight - I had the slide apart to check how the PXT was assembled. But it was late and I chickened out.

Can't do much in the daytime. The four-legged associate wants to help.

Regards,