I have also erroneously referred to them as “full-length” ejector rods. Saved From OurselvesĪgain, I am guilty of showing a bias toward guns with longer ejector rods. While I’ve never had brass get under the extractor star, I’ve had loaded cartridges get in there a couple times. Gravity can work on the bullet’s weight to pull the entire cartridge below the star much more easily than it can a light, dirty piece of brass. They have not expanded under the tremendous pressure of being fired. Unfired rounds are heavier and smoother than fired brass. More often than not, if a case finds its way under the star in one of these guns, it will still possess a full compliment of primer, powder, and bullet. Brass under the star is possible even with a middling-length ejector rod. ![]() Unfortunately, an ejector rod doesn’t even have to extend the full length of the brass to get a case under the star. A live round caught under the extractor star. Two hands are necessary – one to depress the ejector rod and one to remove the brass – and the process takes an unacceptably long time. While a hung piece of brass can easily be stripped away, clearing brass under the star requires a much more involved remedial action. This condition is made much more likely when the extractor star travels further from the face of the cylinder than the overall length of the brass. This is doubly true if the user fails to fully invert the gun, allowing gravity to act on the cases at the “top” of the cylinder. This can occur even with short(er) ejector rods when the user “pumps” the ejector rod several times. Perhaps the biggest danger of a too-long ejector rod is an increased risk of brass or live cartridges falling under the extractor star. These issues are small potatoes compared the real issue with overly-endowed ejector rods. An excessively long ejector rod may also be more difficult to operate for users of reload techniques that rely on a thumb to actuate the rod, like the FBI reload. All other things being equal, an ejector rod that is longer is less rigid and more prone to being bent. It is possible for an ejector rod to be too long and reach a point of diminishing returns. Some of these problems are inherent to the operation of the revolver. Though we aren’t completely wrong in how we think about ejector rods, there are a couple of problems with the “longer is always better” idea. This can consume precious seconds, and is obviously undesirable. Correcting this problem requires digitally removing each piece of offending brass before the reload can proceed. ![]() This results in brass hanging only mostly out of the cylinder, with the rim raised to the point that the extractor star can no longer address it. If ejection is insufficient, the portion of brass left inside the chamber may hang up. The longer the ejector rod is, the more positive the ejection (to a point more on that later) because a smaller portion of each case is left in contact with the chamber at the end of the ejector rod’s travel. The brass is extracted by the cartridge rims and ejected, and the chambers are cleared. This is typically accomplished by turning the gun muzzle up and depressing the ejector rod. When reloading a revolver, the first step is to get empty brass out of the cylinder to make way for new cartridges. RevolverGuys mostly care about ejector rods because of the real or perceived reliability benefits conveyed. A gun with a longer rod (there’s no avoiding the innuendo in this post bear with me!) is generally preferred over a gun with a shorter one. ![]() The “Longer” Ejector Rod BiasĪmong revolver mavens, there is a bias toward guns with longer ejector rods. I realize that some prefer the term “extractor rod” and that it may be more technically correct (at least in some contexts). ![]() Based on the research that went into this article, we will also modify how we review revolvers here.Ī Note on Terminology: For brevity’s sake I am going to use the term “ejector rod” throughout this article. Hopefully, this will help you draw more informed conclusions about revolvers in the future. You might be surprised by some of the things we found about them. Today we’re going to dive into the world of ejector rods. It seems that often this will take the form of, “so-and-so revolver doesn’t have a long ejector rod” or “I’ll by X instead of Y because it has a full-length ejector rod.” Frequently this conversation seems to be based around superficial factors, and I’m guilty of this myself. If you hang around RevolverGuys long enough, you will eventually run across a discussion of ejector rod length.
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