? Reasons for Failure To Feed Beretta 92fs hard cast lead RN 125gr

[bball97]

I have been reloading for revolver for several years now and am getting into autos. My Dad bought a CZ 9mm a year ago and I worked up a load that worked well for him: 3.5 Gr. Solo 1000 with Hard cast lead 125 gr. bullets from Reloads & More. The OAL was 1.139. Lansinoh Lanolin (for breast feeding mothers) was used for case lube on the outside of the cases.

I just purchased a Beretta 92fs and shot several magazines worth of ammo to try it out. The factory Blazer Brass FMJ 125gr & 115 gr cycled fine without any problems. The reloads had (2) failure to feeds per magazine. The bullet would lodge with the lead facing up and above the entrance to the barrel. They cleared easily and when I put the bullets back in randomly placed with a mag of factory ammo, they cycled fine.

Here is what I have done so far: I loaded another 15 rounds with the identical set up but I used Dillon Case Lube and was careful to wipe off the case lube with a rag.

I have also loaded 30 rounds with the same powder charge and increased the OAL to 1.158 which is .002 shorter than the factory rounds. I used Dillon Case Lube and was careful to wipe off the case lube with a rag.

Am I on the right track, or should I try something else?

It will be several days till I can get to the range to test what I have done so far, so I have time to load up some other things to test.

Thank you so much.

[rshew]

bball97,

I had the same problem with my OAL being 1.142 so I increased it to 1.150 to 1.155 and had no more problems.

Win 231 / 4.3gr

Lead 125gr RNBB

Works for my 92F

[bball97]

Thanks rshew, can't wait to try them out. I tried the loaded round in the dismantled barrel and compared it to the factory round and it appears to be plenty far from the rifling.

[rshew]

bball97,

If you don't have one I would highly recommend a 9mm Maximum Cartridge Gage,it will check all critical dimensions of your loaded ammunition to ensure proper functioning.

[bball97]

Yes, I do have the Dillon 9mm case gauge. I am probably a little anal, but I check every round and remove any wax from the bullet with my fingernail before I put it in the box to take to the range.

[Doc Hunter]

Sometimes longer OAL works out better. Will cure some nosedives.

[rshew]

bball97,

Could you let me know how you make out at the range, just curious.

When I use Win 231 powder with 4.0 gr I would get the odd stove pipe but when I increased my powder to 4.3 gr I have never had another. Could be another thing to look at if your still getting stove pipes, your loads might be to light to blow back the slide?

[bball97]

Ok, just returned from range. Not a scientific experiment by any means, because I only fired 15 of the old shorter rounds and 30 of the longer OAL loads. I kept the powder the same for both loads.

No failure to feeds for all three magazines.

So, here is my conclusion:

1. The longer OAL sure doesn't hurt anything, so I will keep it that way.

2. I am not happy with my groupings but only started shooting this automatic and am used to revolvers. I might continue to test different loads to see if any of them are more accurate than others. (As I get more comfortable with the firearm) Right now, I am at the top end of the powder range from my research for Dad's CZ auto.

3. The one thing that I did different than the first time to the range is that I wiped down each round to remove the sticky lanolin case lube. My theory is that the lube was slowing down the feed a little in the magazine.

SO, hopefully problem solved. Thank you all for your help. I am happy with this gun!