I'm always hesitant to post new 1911 problems on here, as the search feature generates one giant Gutenberg Bible of advice... but the 1911 FAQs don't seem to cover it, unless I'm being ignorant!
That said: I have a Mark IV 1911a1 (colt) that I'm betting has seen about a bajillion rounds through it. It was granddad's favorite gun, and he shot a LOT. As far as I can tell, all the parts are original. The problem is that ejection is all over the place - basically at all angles from 90 degrees right to right off your forehead (it's funny to watch but the brass gets hot!). Also the velocity of ejection is inconsistent, from a spirited eject to rolling off over your hand to outright stovepiping.
Two things I've found that (slightly) alleviate the problem are switching to another magazine, as the gun came with one "default" mag and we found grandfather had accumulated a stunning number of 7-rd GI mags, and feeding the gun military hardball.
The 'claw' bit of the ejector is all that shows any significant wear on it. Thusly I'm thinking that may be the issue. Thoughts?
The claw you're speaking of is the extractor, but I'm guessing here that the ejector itself is either slightly loose, the extractor needs to be tuned or you're shooting ammo that's not all to the same spec.
That's all I can think of, but I'd PM 1911Tuner and see what he suggests.
Worn extractor, worn ejector, 'clocking' of the extractor.
The firing pin stop holds teh extractor from rotating. If it is loose the extractor can rotate and the brass goes all over the place.
It's more than likely the extractor causing this. It's quite common since most Colt Extractors from that time period weren't tensioned.
The big question is how's the reliability?
If the reliability is 100% then I would keep the current extractor as is and not touch it.
I would then get a new extractor and properly tension it for more consistent ejection.
That way if anything haooened you could always go back to square one with the original extractor. I make it a rule to not fix parts that ain't broke.
Anyway, I'm sure that Tuner will be along soon with the proper advice.
Tangential question, but when was the last time that the recoil spring was replaced? If you've never done so, I'd recommend replacing it. They are a consumable item, and I've seen bizarre ejection behavior that cleared up as soon as the recoil spring was 'freshened'.
I was thinking that myself, what with the 'all original parts'... plus a spring is like four dollars at my favorite Brick&Mortar.
I cleaned the breech face(?) thoroughly today. Unfortunately I work every other weekend so I won't have a response til monday. I'll come back with an eval on the spring bit.