BBBB Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 The gun is an XDM 9mm, 4.5. Today I had three nearly identical malfunctions at a match and I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. The gun has between 6000 and 7000 rounds and up until today has been very reliable. At around 5000 rounds I replaced the recoil spring and striker spring. I own 5 factory magazines which were disassembled and cleaned within the last 1000 rounds. Today on the first stage of the match I started with 10 in the magazine and 1 in the chamber. After the first round the slide locked back. I set this magazine aside at the end of the stage. Two other times during the match I went to slide lock, reloaded, fired one round and had the slide lock back again. All three times the slide locked back without feeding the first round in the magazine. I am positive that at least two different magazine were involved. During a practice session between 1000 and 1500 rounds ago I saw this behavior once and set the magazine aside and did not use it today. So I have seen the behavior with at least 3 magazines. The practice session issue was the only malfunction I had ever had after the first 100 rounds through the gun and I thought perhaps it was a fluke or a magazine issue. Apparently not. I would appreciate any input on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 The spring for the slide release might be broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatepickles Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Is there any chance your thumb is pushing upward on the slide release? That's a real common problem on many semi-autos. The XDM slide release sticks out a bit and it's easy to engage/disengage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBBB Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 The spring is easy enough to check. I'm not saying it's impossible that it could be my thumb but it would surprise me that it would suddenly show up after 5000+ rounds. Also I would think my thumb would tend to push down not up and not up but maybe I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ryder Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Same thing happened to me at a steel plate match in April 2011. An astute fellow shooter noticed that my support hand thumb was resting on the slide lock...causing the problem. At a match when all the "juices" are flowing,,,it is easy to do something and not know it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reshoot Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Is there any chance your thumb is pushing upward on the slide release? That's a real common problem on many semi-autos. The XDM slide release sticks out a bit and it's easy to engage/disengage. When I first started shooting the XDm this happened to me a lot. The recoil was just enough to bump my thumb against the slide lock. I thought sure it was the gun but nope, it was I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBBB Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Although I don't have a way to measure the strength of the spring it definitely pushes the slide stop back down when I push it up and let it go. I spoke with customer service at the factory and they were stumped even after consulting with one of the gunsmiths. They very generously offered to have me send the gun in free of charge to evaluate it. When I declined they offered to send me a replacement spring, just in case. I've been looking at my grip and my strong side thumb is basically against the frame right at the slide stop. I'm thinking that I am perhaps assuming a grip when I draw or reload where I am pressing on the stop sometimes and that for whatever reason I don't ever do this after the first shot. I guess I'll spend some time at the range trying to replicate it and if I can work on keeping my thumb further away from the frame. On the one hand it will be a good thing if there is nothing wrong with the gun and I can be confident in that. On the other hand it doesn't feel great to come to the realization that I am probably operating it in a way that causes malfunctions. Something else to work on I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salilus Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 A good way to check if its your hands or the gun, shoot it weak hand only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBBB Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Good suggestion. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBBB Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 It was me. I caught myself resting my thumb on the slide stop during dry fire and I was able to replicate the problem in live fire by allowing the same thumb position. The good news is that there is nothing wrong with the gun. The better news is that the experience has triggered me to reevaluate my grip which has led to the sights returning more naturally in recoil and better accuracy. I'm actually glad it happened. Thanks again to those who posted their suggestions and experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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