Need Help -- My reloads won't feed on my Glock 19s

[Paul_H]

Wow!  Thank you everyone for all the advice and support. 

 

To answer a couple of questions:

1. Both my Glock 19s are giving me trouble.  One has fired thousands of 147gr American Eagle ammo, which has a truncated cone and a flat tip, with no issues.  Same gun has also feed hundreds of Speer 147gr Gold Dots (I like to run 200 - 250 rounds of my self defense ammo through my guns).  The other Glock is brand new and has not been shot yet.

 

2.  Even though some of the rounds do feed with some magazines, it is inconsistent.  Meaning there is no pattern to what magazine will fail to load, even using a round that just loaded with that magazine SAT.

 

Based on what I've understood so far, my plan of action is:

1. use the plunk test to find the longest COAL that will work in my barrel, then revisit the failure to feed problem.

 

2. try some round nose bullets.  I have already ordered some, along with others in RN and TC/FP from Speer, Ranier, and Berry's.

 

3. I'm also going to double check that I am loading the bullets straight into the case.  Seems to me that if I am off a bit, then when in the magazine the low side of the tip of the round would have a better chance of hitting the feed ram.  Conversely, if loaded so the tip was up slightly in the magazine it may load no problem.  Could help explain why there seems to be no pattern to what rounds load with what magazines, or why a round fails to load in a specific magazine one time, then loads fine in the same mag.

 

For people using Dillon seating dies with the reversible stem, how do I determine which side of the stem to used when loading FP or TC bullets?  With the flat points I have now, the fit is not that great with either side of the stem.

 

Thanks again.

--

Paul

[BombSquad]

18 minutes ago, Paul_H said:

Wow!  Thank you everyone for all the advice and support. 

 

To answer a couple of questions:

1. Both my Glock 19s are giving me trouble.  One has fired thousands of 147gr American Eagle ammo, which has a truncated cone and a flat tip, with no issues.  Same gun has also feed hundreds of Speer 147gr Gold Dots (I like to run 200 - 250 rounds of my self defense ammo through my guns).  The other Glock is brand new and has not been shot yet.

 

2.  Even though some of the rounds do feed with some magazines, it is inconsistent.  Meaning there is no pattern to what magazine will fail to load, even using a round that just loaded with that magazine SAT.

 

Based on what I've understood so far, my plan of action is:

1. use the plunk test to find the longest COAL that will work in my barrel, then revisit the failure to feed problem.

 

2. try some round nose bullets.  I have already ordered some, along with others in RN and TC/FP from Speer, Ranier, and Berry's.

 

3. I'm also going to double check that I am loading the bullets straight into the case.  Seems to me that if I am off a bit, then when in the magazine the low side of the tip of the round would have a better chance of hitting the feed ram.  Conversely, if loaded so the tip was up slightly in the magazine it may load no problem.  Could help explain why there seems to be no pattern to what rounds load with what magazines, or why a round fails to load in a specific magazine one time, then loads fine in the same mag.

 

For people using Dillon seating dies with the reversible stem, how do I determine which side of the stem to used when loading FP or TC bullets?  With the flat points I have now, the fit is not that great with either side of the stem.

 

Thanks again.

--

Paul

I noticed the round in the picture you posted you are using the flat point side of the seating stem. I flipped mine to the other side (again with the same Bayou 147) and got MUCH more consistent results. It grabs the round section of the bullet and I believe it allows it to self center somewhat. Also, make sure you lock down your dies with the handle all the way down with a round in the die. I also use Dillon dies but on a 650.

[mpssrh]

Quote: "One has fired thousands of 147gr American Eagle ammo, which has a truncated cone and a flat tip, with no issues."

 

Have you measured the COL of the commercial ammo and compared it the COL of your handloads?

 

[mlm]

I usually do not use the PLUNK Test, I use a case gauge and find it is a go no go works great. You may have not enough crimp on it also maybe too short.

IMVHO

Mike

[Paul_H]

Here's what I have figured out, the way I'm testing to see if the rounds will feed may be flawed.  Using my American Eagle target ammo and my Speer Gold Dot carry ammo, I also fail to feed into the guns when I load a single round into the magazine and either slingshot the slide or drop it using the slide stop.  So, having figured that out, I went through my "bad" rounds and found 20 that would fit the case gauge and loaded those into 2 magazines (I'm in a 10 round restricted state...).  I was able hand feed all but the last round from both magazines.  Since my known good ammo also fails to hand feed on the last round in the magazine, I'm not as concerned before.  I think my next step is to load some real rounds go see how the feed at the range when actually being shot.

 

I think the source of my problem is twofold.  My Glock 17 feeds everything just fine, but has a slightly different feed ramp angle than the 19.  I also tried using my G17 mags in the G19, and all rounds, including the last one, fed with no issues.  The spring on my G17 mags is noticeable stiffer than the brand new G19 mags.  

 

Once I load up some real rounds and shoot them I'll post an update.

 

--

Paul 

[njl]

So, your round is doing such a feed-ramp nose dive that the bottom of the feed ramp is actually cutting into the flat face of the bullet?  I've put thousands of 147gr FP Bayou through mostly Glocks, though mostly larger and smaller models.  I have recently added a G19 back to my collection though, so I just had a look at it, 2 mags (one a 15-round FML post-ban, one an old 10-round during the ban mag with a 2183-1 follower).  In either case, the angle at which the round leaves the magazine is dictated by the feed lips.  In either case, the round starts out so much higher than the bottom of the feed ramp, what yours is doing seems inconceivable.  Are your mags factory, the notch that engages the mag release not badly worn, and the mag releases factory?  To do what yours is doing, it seems like the magazine would have to be quite a bit lower in the grip than what I was just looking at...or something is causing your barrels to not tilt properly.  Are the barrels, slides, and locking blocks factory?

Edited May 6, 2017 by njl

[pbcaster45]

I still think the gun might be cycling too fast with the factory spring (if that's what you're using) - especially if your load is on the light side.  A lighter recoil spring would give the rounds a little more time for the magazine to get them into position to feed.  A 15 or 13 lb. recoil spring might make a big difference!  Please keep us updated...

Edited May 5, 2017 by pbcaster45

[tac_driver]

have you tired a factory round with the same profile

this  is the first step of troubleshooting i do

if it works there is something wrong with the reloads

if it don't most likely the pistol or mag

[Paul_H]

First off, thank you all for your thoughtful comments and advice. 

 

I am embarrassed to say that I think I the root cause of my problem was my own doing.  I was trying to hand load my gun to test that the rounds I was going to make would fit.  I was putting a single dummy round in the magazine, and inserted it into one of my Glock 19s that already had the slide back.  I then released the slide (both by slingshot and using the slide release) and the round would nosedive and get caught on the bottom of the feed ramp.  Using this same protocol, I also had failure to feeds with commercial ammo and my self defense ammo. 

 

Turns out that if I load the gun any other way, i.e. multiple rounds in the magazine or starting with the slide forward and then power stroking it, my dummy rounds would feed just fine.  Once I figured that out I loaded up 20 rounds to take to the range.  BTW, these were the first rounds I have ever reloaded in my life, so I was a bit nervous.  Loaded 4 magazines with 5 rounds each.  My reloads performed flawlessly at the range and were very accurate, so I'm happy about that.

 

 

[Paul_H]

57K, thanks for the great information.  I'll put it to good use.

 

--

Paul

[EddieCrispo]

Lee factory crimp die

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[EddieCrispo]

Helped me alot

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[Red Ryder]

New reloaders should stick with FMJ round nose bullets. It reduces frustrations. Glocks are notoriously over sprung. Reduce the recoil spring wt down to 15lbs with reloads. Glocks are very forgiving guns and function reliably with OALs from 1.100 to 1.150. I prefer 1.135 with 147 gr bullets. I hope you have a crono. Learning to reload without one is crazy [emoji12].

 

 

 

[9x45]

Paul, the newer G19s Gen 3s have that quirk about not loading a single round from slide lock, even with RN bullets. And it's also known that the G17 10 round mag works better than a 10 round G19, and the G19 mag works better with a G17 10 round spring. My G19s are from the early 90's and don't have these issues, but they have original capacity mags. So that protocol is not good for determining if reloads work or not. Now you don't have to go a full 10 in a 10 round mag either, just put in 8 or 9. Go with what 57K said and you should be on the right track. Be sure to check any carry ammo for function also. You don't need a Lee Factory crimp die, I've loaded over 300K of 9mm on my old 550 using Dillon dies with no issues, anywhere from 1.06" to 1.175" with 124 TCs.