Testing ammo before a match.....

[bullseyekp]

I've had my G34 for about a month now and put 400 rounds through it at the range (124g Montana Gold HP).  Put 100 rounds through it at an USPSA match the first weekend in January (115g Montana Gold RN).

So, I go shoot the AR IDPA Winter Classic this past weekend with 200 rounds of the 124g Montana Gold that performed flawlessly at the range.  Out of 11 stages, I had at least 1 malfunction on all but two of them.

Second round out of the gun (side of the cartridge case) was getting slammed flush into the feed ramp and the tip of the 124g MG was hitting the top of the chamber.  Tried pushing the slide forward and tried racking the slide to no avail.  I had to drop my mag and clear the chamber each time (8 times in the light and 3 times in the pitch black dark).

After talking with a few people and thinking back to my range time with the same load, I figured this out.  Not once during my range time had I loaded to capacity with the 124g MG loads.  I think I have narrowed it down to strong magazine springs and the HP bullet.  Friction between the top round in the fully loaded magazine slowed the slide velocity down just enough.  Subsequently, the HP bullets were not given enough push to make it through the feed ramp and the tips not being round didn't help matters any.

So, not only will I probably start using RN bullets, I will be sure to test them with 1 in the chamber and 10 in the magazine!

On a side note, I did not have think about winning the match after the second mishap because I was completely out of the running by then.  Luckily, I was able to still have fun and laugh about the incident(s).  Also, I placed 1st and 5th on the two stages I didn't have any malfunctions on.  Go figure.

Lesson learned:  prior to going to a big match, or any match for that matter, duplicate everything you expect to happen in the match, right down the last detail.  

[Steve Anderson]

I have had problems with short loaded 124 hps of numerous brands. Not sure why. Maybe the 115 hp is a hollowed, long slender 115 and the 124 is a chopped off 147 with a hole in it?

Just guessing,

sA

[Flexmoney]

I have had the problem with new 10 round mags in the Glock.  Well...a simlar problem.  The mag springs on the new mags are so tight that there is no room for the stack of bullets to be pushed down at all by the slide when the mag is inserted into the gun.  This "lack of clearence" can push against the slide...slowing it down..bleeding off it's energy.  Combine that with a bullet profile that might need some extra push...and you end up with a day full of malfunction practice.

That is a really bummer in IDPA too, because I don't think they will let you down-load the mag by one round so that your gun will run.  

Good post.  Thanks for sharing that.

[Steve Anderson]

New Beretta 10 rounders are similarly tight, but the round sticks in the mag and the slide just stops. (with a light recoil spring)

I always leave new mags/springs loaded for 48 hrs.

SA

[bullseyekp]

Flex, its encouraging to know someone else is having the  same problem and my slide velocity theory wasn't complete jibberish.

I left the mags loaded for a few days after I bought them.  I guess that wasn't enough.  Maybe I'll leave them loaded for a couple of weeks see if it helps any.  If not, I may have to clip some coils or buy different mag springs.

[Bill]

I know some top IDPA shooters who use hi-cap mags and down load them to 10 rounds. They say the 10 round mags slow down slide speed. We only use hi-caps when we have them. 10 rounders are only for practice.

Bill Nesbitt