Auto forwarding FTF solutions?

[Frady]

I have an M&P pro 9 that is used exclusively for USPSA gaming. Sometimes during reloads the slide will auto-forward, which I wouldn't mind except that it is hit or miss (~50/50) on whether the pistol chambers a round. I'm not trying to auto-forward or intentionally slamming the magazine in, it just happens sometimes. I wouldn't mind just racking the slide anyways, except this sometimes ejects a live round messing up my stage strategery.

I have found a lot of discussion about the merits of auto-forwrding and feature vs. defect, but has anyone found a way to either stop the auto-forwarding or make it chamber a round reliably? I just want it to do the same thing every time either way.

Any info would be appreciated.

[RH45]

Even though mine always has chambered a round, I've heard of some not picking up a round.

I do remember reading a thread, where a guy made some slight modifications so it wouldn't auto-forward. I think it was on one of these two sites: http://mp-pistol.com/boards/index.php?showforum=59

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/

[mcracco]

I can't see where an auto forward by itself will cause a feed issue and I have never experienced one myself. That would be the same as blaming the slide stop if you were to release the slide with your thumb and a round did not chamber. Sounds like something else is going on.

[LikesToShoot]

I can't see where an auto forward by itself will cause a feed issue and I have never experienced one myself. That would be the same as blaming the slide stop if you were to release the slide with your thumb and a round did not chamber. Sounds like something else is going on.

The OP is correct. Sometimes the slide releases during a slide lock reload and doesn't chamber a round on some guns. I wish I could get mine to chamber a round every time but it won't. IIRC Dan has commented on this before and mentioned that the shooter should NOT count on a round being chambered. Use the slide release for consistent chambering.

My 40 SW almost always chambers a round and my 9 mm usually doesn't.

[Sarge]

Same here. When I ran a 9Pro it would release sometimes and sometimes not. Only recall a few times that it failed to feed a round but one time is once too many in a competition.

I switched to a 34 and it released reliably and it scooped a round every time.

Of course, you realize the solution is to not run to slide lock.

As you shoot more matches and develop better strategies this becomes a much less critical feature of any gun.

[atbarr]

90% of the time, my 9 MM Pro released and chambered a rd. My .40 Pro, never released. My 34 always, well almost always releases and chambers. my 35 almost never releases, but when it does, it chambers a round.

[eisenhow]

Of course, you realize the solution is to not run to slide lock.

As you shoot more matches and develop better strategies this becomes a much less critical feature of any gun.

Depends on the game: most of them I'd agree with you, IDPA doesn't give you the option.

FWIW my M&P9 full size and M&P9 Pro slam release 90-95% of the time. I can't recall a time when a round wasn't chambered. I'm ashamed to say I have myself of on video slamming the base pad again rather than racking the slide when it didn't go forward from seating the mag.

[LikesToShoot]

Of course, you realize the solution is to not run to slide lock.

As you shoot more matches and develop better strategies this becomes a much less critical feature of any gun.

Depends on the game: most of them I'd agree with you, IDPA doesn't give you the option.

FWIW my M&P9 full size and M&P9 Pro slam release 90-95% of the time. I can't recall a time when a round wasn't chambered. I'm ashamed to say I have myself of on video slamming the base pad again rather than racking the slide when it didn't go forward from seating the mag.

I think we all do the same thing. Slap, rack (if needed) and bang.

I sometime still smack the side of the TV when the picture gets fuzzy. Old habits die hard.

[Frady]

Of course, you realize the solution is to not run to slide lock.

As you shoot more matches and develop better strategies this becomes a much less critical feature of any gun.

Of course, that's the plan. However, there are times when it is necessary to shoot to slide lock despite good intentions. I just don't like the idea of being -1 round because I'm forced to eject a live round or roll the dice that it chambered a round.

Thanks for the replies, I haven't found a viable solution yet. :-(

[Bulbvivid]

I can't see where an auto forward by itself will cause a feed issue and I have never experienced one myself. That would be the same as blaming the slide stop if you were to release the slide with your thumb and a round did not chamber. Sounds like something else is going on.

If I understand the mechanics of auto-forwarding correctly (which I very well may not), it is possible to send the slide forward before the mag is fully seated. Basically what occurs (and not saying you don't already know this) is that if the grip is hit at the right angle and with the right force, the frame moves forward while the heavier mass of the slide stays put, which then releases the tension from the slide stop and sends the slide forward. If you hit the grip with your hand before the mag gets fully seated, the slide will pass over the top of the round in the magazine.

So, OP, you may want to check and see if you're getting to the grip with your palm before the mag gets fully seated in the gun.

[DWFAN]

It happened to me with my Pro before I went CZ.

I actually think the rounds bounce down in the mag when it seats, letting the slide miss the top round. Maybe some +P springs ? Can the slide stop or slide have an indention put in it to make it more secure ?

[atbarr]

I sometime still smack the side of the TV when the picture gets fuzzy. Old habits die hard.

Showing your age now.

[madmike283]

I had/have the same problem with my full-size 9mm. I can't hardly do a slide-lock reload without it auto-forwarding, which I don't mind either as long as it picks up that round. It was very reliable until about 2k rounds, using three mags during that time.

I now have a low mileage 9mm Pro that only has 300 rounds by me. I've been using the same three mags thus far. It drops the slide almost every time I do a reload. It's been 100% so far picking up the first round.

I was thinking that maybe mag springs were suspect, but they still have relatively low use. Are there stiffer mag springs for these? Are they SSP/Production legal? I'm new to IDPA and don't have a grasp on all of the rules yet.

EDIT: I should have looked before asking the question about the extra power springs. I see them right there at SSS. I assume the springs must be legal too given all the other internal parts you can modify.

Edited April 10, 2012 by madmike283

[mcracco]

I can't see where an auto forward by itself will cause a feed issue and I have never experienced one myself. That would be the same as blaming the slide stop if you were to release the slide with your thumb and a round did not chamber. Sounds like something else is going on.

The OP is correct. Sometimes the slide releases during a slide lock reload and doesn't chamber a round on some guns. I wish I could get mine to chamber a round every time but it won't. IIRC Dan has commented on this before and mentioned that the shooter should NOT count on a round being chambered. Use the slide release for consistent chambering.

My 40 SW almost always chambers a round and my 9 mm usually doesn't.

Not disputing the OP is having the symptoms he is. I am suggesting he has a feed issue that is exasperated during auto forward. I have used auto forward probably a couple hundred times between my 3 competition M&P's and never had a FTF.

[Sin-ster]

Extra powered mag springs sound good in theory-- at least in surface theory. But if your current springs are good enough to get the round chambering as the slide cycles, they're good enough for a "hard forward" as well.

My 9 Pro does it 100% of the time with a firm seating of the mag, and strips a round 100% of the time as well. If you're getting erratic performance out of the "auto-forward" feature/failure, it's just a matter of when you're bumping the gun-- as/after the mag is fully seated, or before. Mechanically, if the same magazine works 100% during the firing cycle, there's no reason it shouldn't work 100% in this regard either.

So unfortunately, but as is quite common with the game we play-- the answer is to make your reload more consistent. Sit down with some dummies and figure out what happens when the slide moves forward and doesn't strip around, vs. what happens when it works. Then go from there correcting your technique.

I'd say the bigger question is... If you're competing in USPSA, why are you reloading from slide lock very often in the first place? (For IDPA, obviously, it's another story.)

[imboostedru]

One of the guys I shoot with that has been shooting the M&P for a while helped me with this problem. The problem is actually the rounds drop just enough when you seat the mag that it allows the slide to pass right over it. His suggestion was to use 10 round mags. After the switch I have never had a problem.

[GlockCanMan]

Try this out. When you do a mag change and slam it home...is the gun perfectly up and down or tilted at an angle. I have seen a couple of other users have the same problem and if they do a reload and the gun is tilted it will sometimes slam down onto an empty chamber, but if the gun is perfectly up and down it will always feed. I can't explain why though.

[LikesToShoot]

One of the guys I shoot with that has been shooting the M&P for a while helped me with this problem. The problem is actually the rounds drop just enough when you seat the mag that it allows the slide to pass right over it. His suggestion was to use 10 round mags. After the switch I have never had a problem.

Interesting concept.

Rather than spending money on lower cap mags I might try longer and stronger mag springs to keep the pressure on the follower. They're cheaper than mags.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=32423/avs%7CMake~~Model_1=Smith%20zzxzz%20Wesson__MzzxzzP/Product/S-W-M-P-HIGH-CAPACITY-EXTRA-POWER-MAGAZINE-SPRING