waterboy Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Hey everyone, I have a Springfield loaded in .40 s&w. I am having a problem clearing it when there is a round in the chamber. The slide is really hard to pull back, but will eventually eject the loaded round. I am using my reloads which are 180gr Sns Casting fp seated at 1.190". The rounds chamber just fine and the slide goes into full battery no problem. I have also taken an uncharged round and seated it deeper a little at a time all the way down to 1.125" and it is still hard to pull the slide back. It seems to stick in the same spot everytime and takes alot of force. I am worried that at the end of a stage i will not be able to clear it. Does anyone have any ideas of what could be happening? This happens on a clean gun. Thank you for any advice Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 What is your OD on a reload? Larger than .426 and it will start getting tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterboy Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 Measure a handfull of rounds. The od is .421-.423 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Neill Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Depending on the profile of the bullet, also check if the bullet is into the rifling. It should be apparent on the bullet from an extracted round, if so. Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 this happens to me with longer bullet profiles in my 6" 2011; certain moly bullets engaging the rifling making it difficult to clear a round from the chamber. With these bullets instead of loading to my normal 1.180 I drop it down to 1.170 and all is well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38superfan Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 The other folks have this handled. Can you share details and pics of your springer? Didn't know they were ever made in 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Does this happen with bullets of a different profile? Might be worth a try. A year or so ago I had a new Limited gun built using a .40SW Kart barrel. The gun was fine with one maker's bullets (more of a RN) but with another brand (TC) it was just as you described. Upon ejecting the round we could see a mark on the TC bullet where it was hitting the rifling, and this is what was making it hard to retract the slide. So my gunsmith reamed the throat (not chamber) just a tad and now it feeds those TC bullets just fine. I think he told me it didn't take much, 1/2 a turn of the reamer maybe? Try doing the plunk test with your barrel out of the gun and your ammo. If it is what I think it is, the back of the case will be a little proud of the barrel hood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Measure a handfull of rounds. The od is .421-.423 And this was measured at the base of the case just above the extractor groove? This is the place that causes most binding beccause you can size the top of the case easy, but the base is not always sized below .424 the max SAAMI spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterboy Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 Thanks for all the advice guys. I just tried a couple different bullets. A Bayou Bullet 180gr TC and an Sns Casting 200gr lrn. Both still stick in the chamber even loaded down to 1.135". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterboy Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 Poppa Bear- Yes this was at the base of the case. I also run my .40 brass through the Redding Grx die to take out any buldges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 What is the OD on the bullets themselves? If you load a plated or FMJ bullet does it fully seat and extract without difficulty? It sounds like a bullet problem but have you tried an empty sized case to see if it slides in easy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterboy Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 OD of bullet is .401. Empty sized case slides into chamber easy. The wierd thing is I put a buddys reload which is a 180 gr fmj loaded to 1.135" in the chamber and everything works perfect. Im guessing its the lead bullets then. Is there anything that can be done to the chamber that would fix this? I have alot of lead bullets to use. Thank you everyone for your advice, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 SAAMI specs call for the chamber to be a minimum of .401 immediately in front of the case. It sounds like your throat is tight. I would see a gunsmith about lightly reaming it out a fraction. I load Precision bullets which are .400 dia. and have no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MainlineSteve Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Any marks on the brass mouth after extraction? If the bullets chamber without a tight spot, but experience a tight spot on the way out, could tight headspacing be the culprit? You are using no crimp, correct? Is there still some slight bell showing on the mouth of a finished round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdude Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Test it to see where it's rubbing. Mark the cartridge with a sharpie, drop it in the chamber and try to move it around a little, remove and inspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 SAAMI specs call for the chamber to be a minimum of .401 immediately in front of the case. It sounds like your throat is tight. I would see a gunsmith about lightly reaming it out a fraction. I load Precision bullets which are .400 dia. and have no problems. Papa Bear - I am having a similar problem and maybe it will help the OP. I just got my SV back from the factory and they put a new SVI AET barrel in it that appears to have a very tight free bore, that area right in front of the case. I am trying to load some bayou 180's with an od of .401 and the barrel is limiting me to a 1.150 OAL. I would like to load to 1.180 at least. I found out from Donnie that he can make these bullets in .400, I was just worried about leading or other issues associated with an undersized lead bullet. Do you have any issues with your .400 bullets, what kind of barrel is it in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterboy Posted August 8, 2013 Author Share Posted August 8, 2013 Talked with Dave Manson today about getting a throating reamer. He is one heck of a nice guy and very helpful! I did the sharpie test and the end of the bullet is just touching. He said the throat could be gently reamed out until the round can drop in and out freely. Have a reamer on its way. Thank you everyone for all of your advice! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterboy Posted August 8, 2013 Author Share Posted August 8, 2013 The other folks have this handled. Can you share details and pics of your springer? Didn't know they were ever made in 40. When I get it all set up I will post some pics and details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) SAAMI specs call for the chamber to be a minimum of .401 immediately in front of the case. It sounds like your throat is tight. I would see a gunsmith about lightly reaming it out a fraction. I load Precision bullets which are .400 dia. and have no problems. Papa Bear - I am having a similar problem and maybe it will help the OP. I just got my SV back from the factory and they put a new SVI AET barrel in it that appears to have a very tight free bore, that area right in front of the case. I am trying to load some bayou 180's with an od of .401 and the barrel is limiting me to a 1.150 OAL. I would like to load to 1.180 at least. I found out from Donnie that he can make these bullets in .400, I was just worried about leading or other issues associated with an undersized lead bullet. Do you have any issues with your .400 bullets, what kind of barrel is it in? Briley No problems with leading or otherwise. I should be at .390 for the bore and .4005 for the grooves. Your chamber should gradually change from the .401 at .987" down to .390" at around 1.200". That is why some guns need to be reamed a bit if the cartridge is loaded long. The bullet is hitting the throat before it is fully chambered. My bullets start hitting the throat at 1.195" so I load to 1.185". http://www.saami.org/specifications_and_information/index.cfm Edited August 9, 2013 by Poppa Bear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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