Gold Team locked up

[acekc]

I recently purchased a used Gold Team in 38 Super. I've been working on loads in the 165-170 PF range using Silhouette and 3N38. This morning I loaded a mag with eight rounds (38 Super Comp, new Starline brass) and shot it in fairly quick succession. Then I loaded another eight rounds and shot them in quick succession as well. Everything was fine at this point. I loaded another eight rounds of one of the loads I'd already shot and started shooting again.

After shooting three or four rounds without incident I started running into FTE's or FTF's for around three rounds or so. I thought this was probably due to shooting 38 Super Comp without the extractor being tuned for it, so I cycled the slide and continued. One more round fired and the gun was essentially locked up.

It's definitely out of battery - there's a gap of around 1/8" between the compensator and the slide, and in the gap behind the barrel in the ejection port I can see a piece of brass. I removed the magazine and looked into the magwell, it doesn't appear that it's a double feed or anything and with the gun only 1/8" out of battery I don't see how a second round could be involved. I was shooting before coming into work, so I don't have the necessary flashlight/mirror to look down the barrel and see if it's a loaded round or an empty piece of brass. Since it's an open gun it has a slide racker, but even with the extra leverage it provides I can't get it to budge.

Any idea what might have happened here? I'm planning on taking it to a gunsmith in a few hours but I'm pretty frustrated and worried about this. I'd previously chronographed the loads I was shooting in the 165-170 PF range, and they're nothing exotic based on other posts I've read about 38 Super loads. One was an 8.5gr Silhouette load with 124gr MG RN bullets and a 1.25" OAL. The other was a 9.7gr 3N38 load with the same bullets and OAL.

[Liide]

I believe your barrel leg broke.

Several years ago same thing happened to my Tanfoglio Limited Custom HC 40.

Edited February 6, 2012 by Liide

[acekc]

I believe your barrel leg broke.

Several years ago same thing happened to my Tanfoglio Limited Custom HC 40.

Interesting. Based on the circumstances immediately preceeding the lockup that sounds like a very likely explanation.

Any idea how to get the thing apart? If the barrel leg broke I'm guessing I need to try to get the slide release out, but it seems to be stuck in there pretty good. At the range I tried putting the pin against the surface of a table and bearing down on the gun to get it started, but it wouldn't move.

[dskinsler83]

Think I'd just let the smith look at it shew I hate to hear your luck.

[Liide]

First you have to find out if there is a live ammo in chamber. Cleaning rod is good for that. If the pistol is "hot", put some rubber between the hammer and the firing pin. Carefully lower the hammer.

Now you can start hammering your comp/barrel backward to get it out of battery. Stop when it has moved enought to get the slide pin out.

When the slide pin is out, you can start to force the slide/barrel forward. Use plastic hammer or screwdriver.

As you can see, it's not difficult. I did that with one screwdriver.

Yes, and don't forget that live ammo in the chamber!

Edited February 7, 2012 by Liide

[acekc]

I took it to a gunsmith over lunch, he managed to get it unlocked by pressing down on the barrel with a fair amount of effort. Fortunately there was only an empty piece of brass in the gun.

I had to get back to work so I haven't field stripped it yet, but before he got it apart the gunsmith showed me where there was galling on the barrel near the edge of the ejection port. At this point I don't know if the barrel foot is broken or if it's just some sort of interference issue.

I didn't buy the gun new so the warranty doesn't apply according to the EAA website, and I've heard almost universally horrible things about EAA's customer service. Since I'm almost certainly going to have to pay someone to get it repaired, should I send it to EAA or is there another gunsmith who knows these guns and would provide better service?

This is frustrating because it definitely seems to me that this is a fault of the gun rather than the product of misuse or abuse. I haven't even gotten a good look yet, but based on what I've seen so far it would be a real stretch to call this normal wear and tear. Does anyone have any reassuring stories about EAA coming through for someone in case like this in spite of being a secondary owner, or are they just going to use that as an excuse to charge me to fix a defect?

[Glk21C]

Of course you can try EAA, worst they'll tell you is "no". For a smith, try Jim Anglin, he owns Sailors Customs. Jjanglin is his username here

[dskinsler83]

Look at canyon creek or see if Freedom Gunworks will take it on. Bobby does great things with steel

[gunfrog]

If nothing appears to be mechanically broken, check to see if there is a bulge in the barrel.

Another possibility is small metal fragments from pierced primers. I built a 9X23 STI and had this issue, turns out it was the ammo, and I did not pick up on pierced primers right away. The little pieces of frag got every where inside the gun and caused all kinds of issues,

good luck