slide freezes

[stardust tommy]

last week I was talking to a fellow shooter, his friend had a custum open race gun based on a caspian slide & frame and is almost new.

after the gun is fired the slide come's back just for about 5mm and than freezes. frame and slide are not thigt like a Les Baer, the recoil spring is verry light (in my opinion), caliber is .38 super, load should be major. comp is a 7 or 9 port.

they removed a few ports from the comp but it's not helping. cycling by hand is not a problem.

is this a common problem when building a open compensated racegun?

they try a new barrel when it arrives but I don't think it's the solution...

gr T

[GrumpyOne]

How light is the recoil spring? I've been known to run as light as a 7lb spring in my 38 super. Check for galling of the rail metal, make sure it's lubed, and di the gun ever run? You said it was almost new, if so, get the smith who built it to fix it if the above doesn't help.

[bill d]

check to see if the link is broken

[JThompson]

Also make sure the recoil spring isn't binding......

JT

[Seth]

Maybe the head of the guide rod is twisting against the slide rails...

[WDB]

Hmmm, hand cycling is not a problem. In dryfire, pull the trigger and while holding the trigger back try to cycle the slide. If not I'm thinking something in the trigger control system. If everything is good in dryfire mode try loading it up and removing the magazine and see if it will function WITHOUT and mag installed. Let us know how this works out I am really curious in the outcome.

[stardust tommy]

the gun is now with the gunsmith, waiting for a new barrel (in belgium that can take weaks to months), gun never worked fine and the gunsmith can't find the problem by now.

gun is well lubed, springtension I don't know.

can the full lengt guide rod couse this problem?

If we know the problem I let you guys know, but it can take long. Getting the right components is a Hell in Belgium, the most US manufacturers don't deliver to Belgium and if they do it takes weaks or months...

gun is stainles, but not verry tight so I doubt the metal is "rubbing up"

gr T

[BritinUSA]

I wonder if the firing pin is getting stuck in the firing pin hole, or the chamber is too tight and when the brass expands its getting stuck in the chamber.

[Toolguy]

A lot of times a 9mm will only run with a 2 port comp and lightened slide because the gas from the comp pushes the barrel down hard on the bushing and slows the movement of the slide. See if it shoots with the comp off the gun. If it works, then it's the comp.

[zero-down]

I just picked up my first open gun and ran into a similar problem. The issue for me was that the reverse plug on the guide rod was not sitting correctly. Cycling the gun by hand was perfectly fine. After a couple shots on the range the gun started to bind. Took me a while to figure it out but that was my problem. The rim on mine is almost like a half moon. It wasn't centered and the working of the action under recoil moves it ever so little that the gun bound. It took a little adjusting to get it right and now works without issue.

[G-ManBart]

A lot of times a 9mm will only run with a 2 port comp and lightened slide because the gas from the comp pushes the barrel down hard on the bushing and slows the movement of the slide. See if it shoots with the comp off the gun. If it works, then it's the comp.

Sorry, I'm not buying that at all....plenty of 9s are running much larger comps. This isn't a common problem, and it would be just as much a problem with Super/SC as 9 since they're both pushing the same weight bullets to the same velocities....which is going to generate about as much gas through the comp for either one (depends on the powder type and charge, of course). All comps push down (and forward), but hardly any Open guns are built with a bushing now, and as soon as the slide has moved a quarter of an inch, it's got plenty of clearance from a bull barrel or cone comp. R,

[benny hill]

It's the timeing on the barrel. While it will cycle by hand, try pushing the comp against a table hard, let it unlock & then see if the slide will move freely, probley wont.

[rupture]

It's the timeing on the barrel. While it will cycle by hand, try pushing the comp against a table hard, let it unlock & then see if the slide will move freely, probley wont.

Well there you go

[Flexmoney]

Barrel timing, link, etc... If the gunsmith doesn't understand this...then go elsewhere.

Another one I ran into (also with a Caspian slide and double-stack frame) was that the barrel tunnel in the slide was too tight for the barrel that was in the gun. There wasn't enough clearance. This would be the outside diameter of the barrel vs. the inside diameter of the slide.

Weird one. It would actually unlock properly (seemed timed well).

This sound similar.

[gunracer38]

Had the same problem with my Csapian open gun. But the barrel link was number 5. This is the largest number. The lower frame was milled wrong. I know one great gunsmith said he would mill the slide lower. In ref to my problem it would have saved me $2000.00. You can call Dan Bedell his intelligence on these guns is great.

[want2race]

What Benny said. And if you gave it back to the same gunsmith to fit a new barrel you may not have solved the problem.

[2alpha]

There is a steep learning curve to building reliable open guns every time. Anyone can get lucky and throw some parts together and it works, seek out the gunsmith who's built lots of open guns that work.