How easy is it to de-temper an extractor?

I have this bone-stock Colt 1911 extractor that I was in the process of tuning...adjust the tension, bevel the edges of the hook, etc. Thing is, before I figured out the whole ejector/extractor relationship, I bent it to pretty much the two extremes of "never surrender the case!" and "drop the case as fast as you can!".

Well, I finally got the tension right, the bevels are all done right, etc...but now, after say 4 or 5 mags, the familiar "let go of the case on extraction" issue will crop up, and the last round will either get jammed into the magazine feed lips causing the whole works to stop (can't drop the mag, need to pry the round out)..or at the very least, being left in the open ejection port with the dual-crunched case mouth, rattling around.

But! If I let it sit and cool while I shoot something else, and then come back to it, it'll function fine!..until it heats up again, and the cycle repeats.

How sensitive are extractors to tension adjustments? Are they really that bad, where bending only a couple times can cause it to lose it's temper?

I have a couple more extractors on order (Wilson Bulletproofs), so I'm going to swap out the extractor anyway...it's just idle curiosity at this point.

It would need to get very hot (300-400F) to have any effect on temper, and at those low temps it would take many hours at temperature.
Have you checked for ‘clocking’ (rotation) of the extractor?
Unless the firing pin stop is hand fitted there is almost always some clearance that allows the extractor to rotate slightly.

The other problem may be if you bent the extractor too far (and then back again) it has started to weaken by fracturing and no longer has enough spring.

Also, Colt DID use a MIM extractor in the past for a period of time. They had troubles [surprise surprise] and went back to a proper steel one. Make sure you don't have one of these lemons and if you do, just toss it and save yourself the time and troubles. Wilson Bulletproof will solve your problems as long as it's properly installed and tuned.

Oh no, this is an early 70's (pre-prefix change) Series 70; it's a good extractor.

I just think I bent it too much, and when it gets hot, it bends back to straight...that was my main issue.

I just  wanted to know if it COULD happen...my own edification