Failure to go into battery during match... potential causes?

[regor]

I shot my second match this weekend and did substantially better than my previous match but had one stage that really hurt me because I had two consecutive malfunctions that cost me 8-10 seconds on what would have otherwise been a ~20 second run and #2 in Production on the last stage of the match. I reloaded on a transition to a new shooting area, not slide lock so one round chambered, which went off fine, but then my second shot was a click. I racked the round out and again *click*. Shifted off the sights and noticed I was barely out of battery, less than 1/4". I tried to tap it into battery but it didn't budge so I unseated the mag, racked the second round out, re-seated and was good to go from there. 

 

I want to figure out what happened so I can work to avoid it in the future and be better at clearing the issue if it arises again, but I'm at a loss for how it happened. I've seen a few mentions in other places that it is possible the extractor did not pick up the rim, but both times I had no issue extracting the cartridge, which wouldn't have happened if the extractor wasn't engaged (although the margin out of battery seems to be about the depth of the extractor). I was shooting S&B 124gr and I picked up both rounds after the stage was over to inspect later. When I got home I cleaned them off and they had no firing pin marks and both plunked into the barrel just fine, so I don't think there is any evidence that the rounds were out of spec. The first out of battery round was chambered on the second shot, so at least that one wouldn't have been caused by accidentally riding the slide, and the same magazine functioned with no issue for the remainder of the string after re-seating. It was drizzling and muddy so I was cleaning any dropped magazines between each stage to make sure they were running reliably (wiping down with cloth and brushing the inside then reassembling). 

 

Any idea what might have been happening? The only thing I could think of was that I didn't have the magazine fully seated but I tried to recreate that at home with varying degrees of un-seatedness and it either failed to strip the next round or picked them up without issue. 

 

For context, I am running a CZ SP01 Tactical. I installed a CGW pro decocker kit and replaced the factory recoil spring/guide rod with a 13# CGW spring/SS guide rod. I have about 1500 rounds through the gun, these were my first two malfunctions ever on this pistol other than a few light strikes on Tulammo after replacing the hammer spring from the pro package with a CGW 11.5# spring; I switched back for reliability and these weren't light primer strikes anyways. 

 

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! 

[GrumpyOne]

Check the extractor groove in the two cases that failed. I had a similar issue years back with some 38Super cases. They plunked fined, OAL was good, everything looked good, but they would not feed...couldn't force them in. The extractor groove on the case was the culprit. It wasn't cut quite as deep on that brass as it was on all the other brass. 

 

Next thing to check is to see if there is gunk in the extractor tunnel. That may have kept the round from sliding up the breach face completely.

[regor]

I just cycled them through without issue, so I don’t think it’s a rim issue. If there was gunk in the extractor channel it’s gone now. I gave it a thorough cleaning after the match just incase it was an issue with being dirty. 

[tdp88]

With it being a muddy day, it’s possible that mud or a small rock got stuck on the rounds. It’s a good idea to run a cloth through the mag after brushing it on muddy days. Was it difficult to rack the round out?


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[regor]

I was running a mag brush through the dropped mags after every stage. It’s possible some of the rounds that were at the top of the dropped mag still had mud stuck in the grove though. I hadn’t thought of that. One of the two had a little dried mud around the rim and around the primer when I checked this evening but they were both picked up out of the mud so tough to pinpoint the source with any confidence. 

 

Rewatching the video the first round popped out with no issue but the second one I had to yank the slide quite a bit (although that was also the one I tried to smack into battery). 

[tdp88]

I would be willing to bet that’s what happened. If it’s muddy I always unload the rounds into a practice pile if that mag hit the ground.


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[SilverBolt]

Do you case gauge every round?

[perttime]

S&B factory rounds have never given me trouble but I shoot them through a Glock. Mud on the rounds would explain it. I'd inspect the chamber in good light to see if it got scratched in the process.

[Hi-Power Jack]

2 hours ago, SilverBolt said:

Do you case gauge every round?

 

I believe he's using factory ammo - I've NEVER gauged factory ammo      

[IHAVEGAS]

Trying to remember how a CZ behaves when you bump the safety up a very tiny bit during recoil or reloading . In any case DSPerman extra power safety springs are a popular reliability mod. 

[regor]

@SilverBolt, I plunk tested both rounds after home when I cleaned them off to check if anything was out of spec. No issues.

 

@IHAVEGAS, I run an SP01 tactical. No safety. 

 

Based on the feedback here I'm going to guess there must have been a bit of mud or other debris in the action that clogged things up. Definitely something to lookout for in the future up here in the rainy PNW!

 

[steelringer79]

I had a 1911 lock up on me once. I stopped and it cooled a bit then went back into battery and I managed to keep shooting. Thinking it was lack of lube on a newer gun. I lubed it real good shot another round then traded it off.