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CSX improvements 3- slide won't close on chambered round

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  Scarpia 
#1 · (Edited)
Caution! These observations and changes should be done by a gunsmith. If you don’t have skills associated with the changes, please take it to a gunsmith. The intent is to provide information on how the CSX can be an outstanding gun.

My CSX failed too fully close with a round in the chamber. If this is unimportant to you you can probably disregard the rest of this post. I know there's all kinds of discussions about closing the slide on a chamber ground but I prefer to be able to when needed.

Smith has done a very nice job on the overall design of the extractor in my opinion. A low stress long lever with no additional springs. Because there's no Spring and pivot action there's no risk of recoil or rebound causing the extractor to spring away from the rim with inertia. Different design but similar concept as 1911.

I'm curious if they're all like this out of the box but my CSX extractor landed on the case with blunt force, on the flat end of the extractor. It should land on the angle like shown in yellow. Additionally, my unit had .040” of flex out when fully chambered. That seems excessive in would reduce the life of the extractor A range 020-.030”" seems to be plenty tension on the extractor. This is similar to recommendations on a 1911.

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An easier way to resolve this would've been too flex the the extractor so its natural position was further out like I've seen done on 1911, but I did not want to chance any stress damage to the part.

I chose to move the leading edge back .020" and move all needed angled surfaces back with it. I've numbered all of the services to help follow the pictures.

If you’re going to make this change be sure to take pictures from every angle and measure the length of each surface so you can return them to original.

1-leading edge or catch edge
2-feed angle from magazine. The rim of the case Glades up this angle as the slide pushes it forward and under the extractor hook
3-lead angle or Spring out angle.
4-rim clearance. This surface should not touch the rim of the case. It should not need modified
5-extractor angle, must be negative, or less than 90° It should not need modified.

I chose to move the leading edge1 first until the springout distance was roughly .025”. Once that was complete I moved the lead angle 3 the same amount and assured it caught the edge of the case rim and would spring out when the slide closed.

This very important. If you move the lead edge 1, and lead angle 3 far enough , it will reduce the entry surface 2 too much and you're bullet will not feed properly from the magazine up under the extractor hook. Remember, under normal operation the extractor hook does not jump over the case rim, the case rim slides under the extractor hook. All edges and surfaces should be smooth and finished with a 1000 to 1500 grit. Rough surfaces create brass debris.
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Finally, I would recommend, run the gun manually with a full magazine to assure rounds are loading and ejecting consistently. Then, remove the recoil spring and run an empty primerless round or snap cap Into chamber. Then extract to a point just short of the ejector. The bullet should stay in place under its own weight from any angle.
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Please do a safety check to eliminate risk of an accidental Before operating the gun. Load only one round in the gun at ready position pointed down range. Adding additional rounds until you are comfortable the gun is operating as you intended
 
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#2 ·
Nice job getting that issue resolved. I had a similar issue with another gun (Kahr CW45) where the extractor failed to engage the rim. In my case, I reduced the length of the extractor's push rod which reduced the force that the recoil spring had to overcome to make the extractor engage the rim.

BTW: I'm surfing S&W forums checking to see if any CSX experts are aware of S&W's marketing an CSX in 45ACP?
 
#3 ·
Nice job getting that issue resolved. I had a similar issue with another gun (Kahr CW45) where the extractor failed to engage the rim. In my case, I reduced the length of the extractor's push rod which reduced the force that the recoil spring had to overcome to make the extractor engage the rim.

BTW: I'm surfing S&W forums checking to see if any CSX experts are aware of S&W's marketing an CSX in 45ACP?
That might be sweet.
 
#4 ·
FYI: I called S&W's CS and asked the lady if a 45 CSX was in the works. Her response was 'you will know when I know'. The engineering/marketing folks at S&W won't share that info with even their own staff. She also said that they get plenty of requests for a CSX in 'different' calibers. My guess is a 45ACP CSX is likely in 2023 just like the Shield 45 quickly followed the Shield 9 after it hit the streets. If I'm correct, I'll be first in line for a '45.

(I have the Shield's in 9mm, 40S&W and 45ACP in my go-to EDC rotation.)
 
#5 ·
You're describing modifying a firearms critical components with tolerances well below what the eye can see and attempting these types of changes can be very dangerous and certainly deadly if done incorrectly. These changes should never be attempted at home without the proper training, skill set and tools.
 
#6 ·
This no doubt may come as a surprise but there are people out there who are highly educated and skilled with years of experience working such devices as gyroscopes and accelerometers that are used in the inertial guidance systems of nuclear tipped missiles. The OP's and my description of improving the performance of our guns, is frankly, well within the requirement of proper training, skill set and tooling.
 
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