I have an UGLY Model 439 that I bought from a sheriff's sale for $75. Terribly pitted up slide, and ugly frame. I used it as a test of putting a durable finish and having a cheap truck gun to use.

Here she is in all her glory:



Well, I finally took it out to the range this week to see if it functioned. I took 3 mags loaded with 8 rounds of just plain ball ammo.

Racked the slide the first time and this:



I had 3 mags all loaded with 8 rounds, and every one does exactly this again. I actually racked the slide getting the old cartridge out and the next one would stick partway in the barrel just as before.

I went home and loaded 5 9mm Luger snap caps and they load and cycle perfectly. I wonder if something in the mags is pushing too hard, so I load 3 live rounds with 5 snap caps on top of them. I start cycling the rounds through. Snapcaps zip right through 1-2-3-4-5 then 6th live round jams like the others.

I then mix snap caps and live rounds in the mag like this from bottom to top: L-S-S-L-S-L-S-S L=live S= Snapcap
I start racking the slide and get:

S ok
S ok
L ok
S ok
L NOK
S ok
S ok
L NOK

Looking at the snapcaps and the live round - the live round definitely has a more pronounced lip where the bullet goes into the case.

Anyone have any thoughts? Ammo? Feed ramp need polishing? It's weird because the shell only goes partway in before it just jams in place.

Thanks

Follow up: just for fun I loaded 3 live rounds and the first two cycled properly and the third (last) round jammed like th eothers.

those live rounds are reloads and either weren't taper crimped or the taper crimp die is set improperly.

Did you put a new recoil spring in the gun? What ammo are you using?

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Still Running Against the Wind

Were the live rounds reloads? What does the chamber look like? Judging from the rest of the gun, it might be full of corrosion.

If those are reloads, they may be a bit oversized and cannot enter the chamber.
Based on the exterior of the pistol, there is a pretty good chance that there is rust/corrosion inside the chamber and bore and if it is bad enough, it will prevent rounds from chambering.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Reloads ?
If so , lets see a few up close photo's of the ammo ... first thought is
" ...the live round definitely has a more pronounced lip where it goes into the case . " There should be no lip ...I suspect a reloaded ammo problem .
Might want to test it with some good factory loaded ammo just to check function .
A good cleaning and lube wont hurt either ...a bit of TLC and good ammo will probably get the old girl up and running .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Wanna double your money? Functional or no, there are a lot of good parts to be harvested off of that gun! As you say though, once its little hiccups are cured that should make a super truck gun.

Froggie

As others have said, judging from what's visible on the outside, I would suspect it desperately needs a complete disaassembly and thorough cleaning....and perhaps a rehab of some/all of the springs.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

It was straight-out-of-the-box Blazer brass. See pix below. Believe it or not, it was completely disassembled down to the last part, and IS clean. I will try replacing the springs.

Oh - and I can drop the live round right in the barrel without resistance when I disassembled it. Thanks all.

Only the silver/stainless magazine looks like real S&W to me, so I would start there. It isn’t the original for a 439 but it should work. The others look like Triple-K or Pro-Mag, aka “junk” and “scrap metal.”

I would try a different ammo to start with anyway. Its an easy thing to sort out. Can you show a pic of the feed ramp with the barrel out?

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

From the looks of the floorplate of that first pictured aftermarket magazine, it's for a 3913/14 and shouldn't be locking in place.

^^^ Good catch - I was shooting a 3913 earlier and got it mixed in.

Also, yes, the stainless mag is the S&W mag, but same behavior.

Picture of feed ramp to follow.

Since the rounds pass the "plunk" test in the chamber, but will not feed from the magazine, I'm going with it being an extractor issue. If the extractor has too much tension or is not rotating and allowing the case rim to slip under the extractor hook, you will get this sort of stoppage.

Another cause could be a rough breech face. If there is enough roughness, friction between the case head and breech face surface can cause a failure to feed.

As for the magazines pictured, I suspect the middle one is a ProMag, based on the way the magazine body was made and that weird, overly long base plate. ProMags are notorious for malfunctions. The stainless magazine is a 9-round magazine for the 3904/3906, but they work just fine in the 39 and x39 pistols.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Try that, and see if it cures everything.