Feeding Issue: Slide out of battery

[McGlock]

Hello All,

I am experiencing an issue with my glock 22C and am posting to see if there is any way to resolve the issue.

The issue I am experiencing is I will shoot a round and sometimes the slide will fail to return to battery. I am able to apply some force to get the slide completely closed and fired the round. But this was an embarassing problem when I shot a practice match last tuesday. I was thinkging that maybe there was some issue with my reloads and luckily had another batch of reloads that worked flawlessly the rest of the match. So I have narrowed it down to maybe a problem with the taper crimp...

Here is the twist.. I have made up a new batch of reloads and rechecked the specs and have crimped a little tighter (.415 instead of the previous .423) and am still having occasional problems with the same issue.

Other specs on the gun:

14 lb Wolff Recoil spring (fairly new 1000rds fired on it)

SS Guide Rod

3.5 lb trigger pull

Standard Striker Spring

6lb Trigger housing spring

.25 cent trigger job

Titanium Safety plunger

Feed ramp polish/throating (light job to smooth out)

Ammunition:

Minor PF HS-6 powder 155gr. Rainier Plated Flat Nose.

Cases are fully sized using the Redding GRX die

OAL of 1.135"

Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated!

thanks!

Ryan

[barney88pdc]

Are you chamber checking your rounds? I had the exact same issue Wednesday when I went to the range with a 34. I had 2 rounds that jammed the slide just out of battery. Both were not properly sized at the base and did not chamber check after we got back from the range.

[McGlock]

Are you chamber checking your rounds? I had the exact same issue Wednesday when I went to the range with a 34. I had 2 rounds that jammed the slide just out of battery. Both were not properly sized at the base and did not chamber check after we got back from the range.

Yes.. I pulled the barrel from the slide and placed the rounds into the chamber to see if they fit and there was no problems.. It kinda baffles me... lol

[kevin c]

Not the only cause, but you might want to try a lightened striker spring.

Another thought. Occasionally really tight 10 rounders will have the top round push up hard against the slide's stripper rail. With minor PF ammo and a fairly light recoil spring, you might experience problems mainly on the first shot after a reload, as the top round drags on the slide as it cycles.

Really old//weakened mag springs can cause feeding issues.

If it's a problem in the gun, not the ammo, good advice I've gotten is to go back to stock, then change back to your current configuration one item at a time until the problem recurs.

[GrumpyOne]

I had the same kind of problem with my STI 38 super one time. It wasn't the brass not being sized right, but the extractor groove on some non name brand brass. Mic the extractor groove, see if it's up to specs.

[jimzim]

Factory barrel?

[Duane Thomas]

How did you get a 3.5 pound trigger pull with a standard firing pin spring?

I have run a 14-pound Wolff recoil spring, and also a 13-pound ISMI, with a stock firing pin spring without a problem, so I'm not saying the light recoil spring/stock firing pin spring is necessarily contributing to your failures to go into battery - but it's certainly not helping. I'll second the recommendation to go to a lighter firing pin spring.

Stop using your barrel as a case gage. While some people will say, "I trust my chamber more than a case gage because the chamber is what it actually has to fit into," the truth is that a close-to-oversized round might fit into the chamber, but only a bit of built-up crud (powder fouling, unburned flakes of powder, brass shavings, etc.) in the chamber can be all it takes to stop such a round from fully chambering. If it'll fit in a case gage which is cut considerably tighter than your chamber, OTOH, you KNOW it'll fit into the chamber, period. Start using a case gage.

All increasing the crimp is going to do is make it even more likely your ammo won't chamber. Excess crimping causes the area right under the crimp to bell outward severely, and you wind up with a "fat" part to the round that, again, stops it from chambering. You want, when you crimp, just to straighten out the bell from the powder station, ideally deforming the bullet as little as possible. This is especially important with plated bullets that are softer and more easily deformed than jacketed. I use plated Rainiers myself, and those bullets can be quite accurate, and give wonderful SDs over the chronograph - as long as you don't deform the bullet during crimping.

[G-ManBart]

All increasing the crimp is going to do is make it even more likely your ammo won't chamber. Excess crimping causes the area right under the crimp to bell outward severely, and you wind up with a "fat" part to the round that, again, stops it from chambering. You want, when you crimp, just to straighten out the bell from the powder station, ideally deforming the bullet as little as possible. This is especially important with plated bullets that are softer and more easily deformed than jacketed. I use plated Rainiers myself, and those bullets can be quite accurate, and give wonderful SDs over the chronograph - as long as you don't deform the bullet during crimping.

+1 (well, other than the part about those silly plated bullets...lol)

No real need to go much below .420" crimp with most brass. R,

[McGlock]

Factory barrel?

JimZim, yes it is a factory glock barrel...

[McGlock]

Duane,

Thanks for the insight on the case gauge. I will purchase one of those. Even though I chamber check the rounds with my barrel, it appears that I do have quite a bit of clearance. I also use a push through resizer die (Redding GRX) and then use a RCBS resize die to deprime. As far as the crimping, I am using the RCBS taper crimp die/seater in one step.

[McGlock]

With regards to the firing pin spring issue. I have tried the lighter spring and have had some out of battery light strikes and some in battery light strikes. I changed that spring and have not had one FTF due to a striker/spring problem...

[latech15]

I had the same problem and the thing that I finally figured out was that I needed to be seating and crimping in two separate operations (I was using a lee pro 1000). I sent the lee back and bought a Dillon 550B and now seat and crimp separately and have no problems. My problem was easy to see when I checked them in the chamber though. I would drop a bullet in the barrel and it would get stuck when it was almost all the way seated. Had to get a screwdriver to get them out.

Now when I drop them in the barrel I get that nice "click" when the round headspaces correctly.

Switching to the Dillon probably cured other problems as well. I am not going to completely dis the Lee. I do have one that I load all my 45 ACP on and have no issues at all. It just didn't get along with my 40's.

[Nik Habicht]

You're running a modified gun and reloads. The shooter, the gun and the ammo are all one system --- and any one of the three can cause the system not to work reliably. So, it's time to eliminate the variables:

Return the gun to stock and shoot the ammo -- if it works at that point, change the gun back to competition status one item at a time, until it stops running. Then fix that item. If the stock gun won't run with the ammo, then address it....

While you're test-firing pay careful attention to shooting with perfect technique, and if that works, then get sloppy -- i.e. try firing some rounds weakhanded while limpwristing. If the gun runs in that configuration (from +1 capacity to empty) repeatedly, then all parts of the system should work --- at least until springs wear out, or you change components/lots of powder or primers....

[AKJD]

I had the same problem with my Glock 35 using Berry 180 grn Flat Points. Tried everything mentioned then changed to Berry 180 grn round nose bullets. Problem went away. The flat point profile seemed to be the problem.