I start with a perfectly flat and square nose for the first test firing. I also start with the longest possible nose that will allow for live round ejection. I test fire with factory 230gr FMJ. The results of the test firing dictate if and how much I need to tweak the ejector and/or the extractor

 

Thanks for the reply Steve, I started with full length and square (first time installing extended oversized ejector) and had good results. Didn't know if most put a positive or negative angle on or if it was perfectly fine from a reliability standpoint leaving it square on the nose.

 

I've found flat and square generally works fine for Commander and Officer sized pistols. For me Government sized pistols usually require a slight rearward rake on the nose to get the cases to get a bit more nose-up attitude so they don't impact the lower edge of the ejection port.

Impact between the case and the lower edge of the ejector port is my indicator that I need to move the contact point between the case and the ejector nose lower on the case.

I don't try to get the cases to land a specific distance away nor do I try to get them to fly out at a specific angle. These just end up being byproducts of the fitting of all the various parts of the pistol most noteably the extractor and the ejector.

If you do need to file an angle on the ejector nose because of impact with the ejection port, use a very small angle. All you want to do is lower the initial impact point just a bit to see if that eliminates the impact. If it doesn't, ever so slightly increase the angle and test fire again. You shouldn't need to do more than a 10 degree angle. Remember, less is more and once you remove metal it's a tough job putting it back.

 

Steve
Thanks for sharing this knowledge, it makes perfectly good common sense, I'm sure I end up in the same basket as most beginners thinking theres a degree of voodoo black magic to things or simply tend to overthink things. Thanks for setting this in simple terms!