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Auto jams vs ammo type?
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What makes a automatic jam?Can the ammo have a big effect?
Iam shooting some 230gr.fmj 45acp ammo and get a jam every so few rounds in a high cap.30rnd.mag. shooting a /mac10/tec-9/ style semi- auto..should i try 185gr. or 200gr. or different bullet shape.... is it possible to "fix the problem" with the ammo change?
Any ideas/hints?
Will the magazine spring be the next item to check out?Help...
 
Posts: 3608 | Location: USA | Registered: 08 September 2004Reply With Quote
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Picture of Charles_Helm
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What type of ammo, and what type of jam?

Some ammo is not loaded hot enough to cycle all actions, and some may be especially dirty. But 230 gn fmj is the weight and shape that should run in most 45ACPs.

Did you try more than one brand?
 
Posts: 8773 | Location: Republic of Texas | Registered: 24 April 2004Reply With Quote
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If a .45 is going to feed anything reliably, it sure ought to feed 230 gr ball.
I'd suspect the magazine itself first. Perhaps the spring, but could be the feed lips also, dirty or binding in the mag body. Try a different magazine first, if possible. You might be able to get a mag spring from Wolff, not sure though.


"and he that hath no sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one"
 
Posts: 199 | Location: Harnett County NC | Registered: 23 October 2002Reply With Quote
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Only ammo i have tried was the dirt cheap federal brand walmart stuff.I did notice a sound like a round was rattling halfway down the magazine while loading the 30rounds...but the jam looks like the bullet tip is hitting the top of the chamber and not going in..is this called stove pipeing,the jammed round is almost straight up when i slide the bolt back and peek..Thanks
 
Posts: 3608 | Location: USA | Registered: 08 September 2004Reply With Quote
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Picture of kcstott
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Think it has more to do with the gun you are shooting.

Exactly what model and brand pistol is it?

My buddies Ruger P series 45 ACP will only handle about 150 to 200 rounds before it needs a full cleaning. Damn thing jams every three to five round when dirty.
My HK USP can go through a case of 500 rounds with no jams or miss-feeds. It has yet to miss-feed or jam on any factory load.
When was the last time the gun was cleaned?


www.KLStottlemyer.com

Deport the Homeless and Give the Illegals citizenship. AT LEAST THE ILLEGALS WILL WORK
 
Posts: 2534 | Location: National City CA | Registered: 15 December 2008Reply With Quote
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Picture of Charles_Helm
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If a loaded round is failing to feed, then maybe it is a magazine issue. Mag, spring, follower all up to snuff? Cleaning is not a bad idea either.

The federal ammo should not be the issue.

Cleaning could not hurt.

Is this firearm new to you or has it run properly before?

FYI -- I always understood a stovepipe to be a failure to eject, not a failure to feed, but I am no expert.
 
Posts: 8773 | Location: Republic of Texas | Registered: 24 April 2004Reply With Quote
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feed lips on your mag are generally the problem with the described falure. It would seem that your mag feed lips are spreading a little.


Chuck Warner
Pistolsmith
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Posts: 332 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: 15 June 2009Reply With Quote
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Picture of Westpac
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The majority of semi auto feeding problems can be traced to (a) lack of lube, it's a machine, oil it, (b) magazine, particularly feed lips, with rounds feeding too high or too low, and, (c) the way in which you hold the gun.

(a) is self explanatory (b) requires carefully adjusting (bending) the forward portion of the feed lips in or out to allow the bullet to hit it's mark on the ramp as it is stripped from the magazine, and, (c) requires getting a firm hold on the gun so the slide has something solid to react against so it will fully cycle.

Ammo can cause problems too so you should always shoot quality stuff and avoid the cheap crap.


_______________________________________________________________________________
This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend, it is my life.
 
Posts: 3171 | Location: SLC, Utah | Registered: 23 February 2007Reply With Quote
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Sounds like a magazine issue to me.Like others said check the feed lips.
 
Posts: 1371 | Location: Plains,TEXAS | Registered: 14 January 2008Reply With Quote
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Look at the back of the magazine and see if there are any cracks that allow the lips to spread under pressure. Look at both a loaded and an unloaded magazine. Somtimes a loaded magazine will make the cracks more evident
 
Posts: 222 | Location: Central Iowa | Registered: 16 May 2009Reply With Quote
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Picture of Mike_Dettorre
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I have always found that when things are lubed well and the lips are spread a little more than normal that the tip rarely gets jammed and goes into the chamber just fine.


Mike

Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10097 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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Picture of Westpac
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I'm assuming you are referring to "breech" feeding?


_______________________________________________________________________________
This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend, it is my life.
 
Posts: 3171 | Location: SLC, Utah | Registered: 23 February 2007Reply With Quote
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Picture of Mike_Dettorre
posted Hide Post
Yes, muzzle loaders rarely have jams


Mike

Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10097 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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First try a new magazine. You don't mention what ammo you are using, but I have had some real problems with Wolf brand. First was that they would not fit in full moon clips for my 1917 Smith and WEsson. Second was at a machine gun shoot. In seven 30 round magazines I ran through a 1928 Thompson, I had about 10 jams or FTF. Thompsons feed most any harball ammo out there, so I think it had to be something with the Wolf ammo.
 
Posts: 1658 | Location: Colorado, USA | Registered: 11 November 2002Reply With Quote
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Picture of jeffeosso
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stove piping .. is the empty being caught or the fresh shell... empties -can be caused by too light of a recoil spring/too heavy a load ... or by a weak grip ... my wife used to catch EVERY piece of brass on her taurus 92 .. while i could just rip through it .. we discussed it, and she changed to a 2 hand grip ... which worked fine for her, till she took my 10mm ...


#dumptrump

opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club

Information on Ammoguide about
the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR
What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR.
476AR,
http://www.weaponsmith.com
 
Posts: 38634 | Location: Conroe, TX | Registered: 01 June 2002Reply With Quote
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