Lim Pro not going into battery and having difficulty ejecting

[Underwhere]

So I took my brand new Tanfo out to the range today. First time shooting it.

I have done quite a bit of polishing but nothing that I believe should cause this type of malfunction.

I have a LRN coated bullet that is similar in OAL and power as Winchester White Box. 

• When chambering a round the slide doesn't go into battery. It's about 1/4" out.
• I can't get it into battery without tapping the back of the slide with plastic hammer. Pushing with my thumbs was not enough force.
• I can't eject the round without hitting the front of the slide with a plastic hammer.  Pulling with a gloved hand could not extract the round.

I tried my 147gr FMJ (has a flat tip) and it goes into battery fine and extracts fine as well. No issues with that ammo.

I come from the Glock world where I don't really have to think about the type of ammo I use. I've never had a problem with anything. 

Is this issue an OAL issue? A barrel reaming issue? Extractor issue? 
It seems odd to me that one ammo literally has an issue every single round and the other one ran flawless for roughly ~100 rounds.

 

These are both made on the same press with the same dies. I use a standard 9mm carbide decap and resize die from Dillon. Then my last station is a Lee Factory Crimp die (which does a full case resize as well). So my cases are sized twice on the press. 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[haiedras]

What's the OAL for your LRN and 147 FP rounds? If they're different, I'd load the LRN to the same length as the 147s and call it a day.

When you eject the round stuck in the barrel, do you see any scratch-like marks on the coating? 

Your symptoms sound like the LRN rounds are hitting the rifling before the slide goes into battery. It's probably a chamber issue you would most easily solve by getting the barrel reamed.

[johnbu]

Plunk test the ammo for length plus diameter.

Plus  polish the extractor and breech face. Remove the extractor to do it. Inspect the hook for burrs too.

 

I STRONGLY suspect you won't pass plunk with either, but one is worse.

Let us know what you find.

[chuck s]

Tanfos are very sensitive to different ogives. You can load XTreme FMJs pretty long and get away with it(1.15 or so) but when using FPs you have to shorten up a lot since the bullet profile engages the rifling early.

[MemphisMechanic]

Plunk test as advised:

Field strip, drop a round in the barrel, and see if it'll spin freely then fall out without assistance. If it doesn't, that ammo is too long for that barrel. Not spinning freely = your bullet is stuck in the rifling.

Load a few dummies up to the length you want, and send the barrel to Grams Engineering. For $29 plus a total of five days without the gun, mine will now let me load to long sloppy Glock tolerances.

(If it's short enough to cram in the magazine, my Tanfo will eat it!)

Edited December 18, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[Underwhere]

Thanks. The LRN doesn't spin freely and I think it sits a bit high in the chamber.
The 147gr sits deeper and does seem to spin. Some fall out freely. Others don't. 

So I think I'm going to have to have the barrel reamed. 

Here are the 2 different rounds.

Green on the left is the 115gr. (LRN coated)

gold on the right is a montana gold 147 gr FMJ

I don't have my reloading sheet in front of me but I believe the OAL is 1.130

Edited December 18, 2016 by Underwhere

[johnbu]

Pre-ream I had to load down to 1.06 to pass plunk.

 

 

[bigbob21]

It's probably combo of too long and/or not enough power in your recoil spring...
It could also be that there are some burrs on your rails... I would manually cycle your slide for a bit to smoothen things out... I remember my first range trip I had to bang the back of my tanfo on the carpeted range table to get it to feed a couple rounds...

I know my stock 2 won't shoot some stock/factory ammo...
I now load to to 1.1oal and works fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MemphisMechanic]

3 hours ago, Underwhere said:

Thanks. The LRN doesn't spin freely and I think it sits a bit high in the chamber.
The 147gr sits deeper and does seem to spin. Some fall out freely. Others don't. 

So I think I'm going to have to have the barrel reamed. 

Green on the left is the 115gr. (LRN coated)

gold on the right is a montana gold 147 gr FMJ

My advice would be to take both bullets and load them nice and long as dummies (no primer, no powder) at a length like 1.140" or 1.150" and send them to Grams along with your barrel. That should enable you to load virtually anything to 1.130" afterward.

Inexperienced reloaders don't realize that overall length (OAL) isn't what matters. It matters where the shoulder (or ogive) of the bullet hits the rifling just ahead of the chamber. The tip is sticking down the open center of the barrel and isn't a factor.

Also yes, you were right. Glocks come with really long & loose chambers from the factory - that's part of their reputation for eating anything.

My Tanfo barrel is now similar to my G34's in that respect, thanks to Grams. Highly recommended.

Edited December 18, 2016 by MemphisMechanic