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Old 08-31-2012, 12:17 PM
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Default New SD40VE Owner - Fail To Feed

Hello everyone! I recently bought a new SD40VE from our local gun shop. Thought I would drop in and introduce myself and, of course, ask a question right off the bat!

I have owned a few revolvers in the past but my new VE is the first semi-auto. I like the feel and the trigger really isn't that hard for me to adjust to. Probably because of my time with revolvers.

The issue I seem to be having is a pretty high percentage of failure-to-feeds.

The gun always seems to run through the first clip fine and *maybe* the second. But somewhere between the second the third clip I will start to experience a FTF rate of about 10% . I can normally give the back of the slide a pretty firm tap with the heel of my hand and the round will seat.

I have cleaned the weapon thoroughly, thought I didn't do a good enough job and cleaned it again with no joy. I read about polishing the feed ramp but it looks pretty shiny to these naked eyes so I left it alone. I have read some posts of other users of the 40VE having similar issues but I'm not convinced that it's not something that I can correct with my operation of the weapon or ammo selection.

Which brings me to ammo. I have just over 100 rounds ran through the gun. All PMC Bronze 165 gr (Cheap 40 S&W Ammo For Sale - 165 gr FJMJ Ammunition by PMC In Stock - 50 Rounds). Before I invest in any more ammo I wanted to stop and ask for some advice.

Is it something that I can do to get my FTF rate lower? Has anyone heard any good/bad issues with PMC branded rounds not feeding? I really don't want to target practice with American Eagle if I can do it at a White Box price.

Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings if you can educate me at the same time!

Ugghh..lot's of complaints in this message. I do like the gun and like how it shoots..just this one nagging little issue I need to fix.

Thanks for hearing me out and glad to be here!!

Jack
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Last edited by jackh; 09-09-2012 at 12:36 PM.
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Old 08-31-2012, 01:07 PM
OKFC05 OKFC05 is offline
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Did clean the gun and the magazines? The magazines should be clean and DRY inside and out.
Did you lubricate the gun exactly as per the owners manual?

Lack of lubrication (on the frame points) or too much lube, or lube in the wrong places (striker channel) can cause misfires.

You might try another ammo, such as Federal, to be sure it's not an ammo problem.
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Last edited by OKFC05; 08-31-2012 at 01:10 PM.
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Old 08-31-2012, 02:00 PM
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Thanks for the reply. The gun is absolutely spotless and has the 6 points indicated in the manual lubed.

I haven't messed with the magazines other than to give them a quick dust off with a rag. I figured they were brand new and wouldn't need cleaning after only a couple of cycles? Worth a shot though.

Thanks!

Jack
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Old 08-31-2012, 04:47 PM
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I always disassemble and clean new magazines.
Some, like the M&P .22, had grease in them.
I have found some springs upside down.
I spray with CRC silicone, wipe dry, and reassemble.

By the way, with semi-autos, letting your fingers touch the slide when firing can cause malfunctions, also. When you load the first cartridge, let the slide slam shut; don't ride it down.
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Last edited by OKFC05; 08-31-2012 at 04:54 PM.
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Old 08-31-2012, 08:23 PM
cbr6864 cbr6864 is offline
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dont know your experience so no offense but many first time semi-auto owners limp wrist the gun or as mentioned above touch the slide......try different ammo.....different mags.....have another shooter verify your findings.....clean and oil gun
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Old 08-31-2012, 08:37 PM
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No offense taken cbr. I know that I am not touching the slide and the gun failed to feed on a buddy of mine whose primary weapon is a .357 Magnum.

I have some different ammo on order and will try that..after I clean the mags.

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

Jack
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Old 09-01-2012, 10:21 AM
marlin.357 marlin.357 is offline
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One more suggestion, as a former revolver shooter you may not be gripping the gun as high as you can, or as tightly as you should. This allows the pistol to recoil excessily in your hands ("roll"?) and does not allow the slide to achive sufficient velocity to achieve full travel to properly pick up the next round from the magazine, and results in a failure to feed. This is sometimes refered to as "limp wristing". A seconday effect is that it takes longer for the pistol to recover from the recoil and get the sights back on target.

This is not unique to the SD, all autoloaders operate in a similar manner.
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Old 09-09-2012, 12:36 PM
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Just wanted to update and maybe help someone in the future who may be having a similar issue.

I sat in my back yard with a box of PMC Bronze (the brand I am questioning) and a box of WBB.

I started out with the PMC and payed very close attention to my grip and how I handled the recoil. After 100 rounds I was experiencing a failure to feed on an average of about 1 of 25 rounds. A little better than my original problem but not much, so my grip was definitely causing some of my original issue but I still thought the failure rate was a little high.

I then shot 100 rounds off WBB paying the same attention to grip and recoil. 100 rounds and not a single failure to feed.

I loaded up two magazines of the PMC and went back to a more casual grip and got a failure to feed rate of 10%. Two clips of WBB and a casual grip and got 1 feed jam.

For whatever reason, my weapon just doesn't like to have PMC rounds fed through it.

No biggie I guess. WBB is cheaper anyway. Dirtier...but cheaper.

Just wanted to post my resolution. Thanks for all the advice, it helped a great deal!

Jack
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Last edited by jackh; 09-09-2012 at 02:01 PM.
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Old 09-09-2012, 04:24 PM
marlin.357 marlin.357 is offline
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Thanks for the feedback, glad to know you got it running.
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Old 09-20-2012, 05:46 PM
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I bought A sigma .40 in 2008. DID NOT clean it and took it to the range.
Never missed a lick. I then cleaned it, removed the slide etc. light oiled (very little) then proceeded to see how many rounds I can get after that by NOT cleaning again till it chocked, gklithched, etcetc,. FTF etc.
After 1000 rounds no cleaning and no problems. And I have my shooting buddy as a witness. I said ok i can really trust this gun. it is mine forever and I WILL NEVER sell it or let it go..
Something majorly is wrong with yours that a simple cleaning won't fix,./. to trust your life to.. I would run back to where you bought it and tell them you want another gun,, or see how much off they will give you for another .40 no glitch gun like mine. THEY ARE out there. ANd IF you have to send it to SW for repair,,, need to have them tell you how many test rounds they went thru... to say its FIXED then Shoot the bejezus out of it when you get it back... IT SHOULD NOT DO THIS>>>>> AT ALL>
I had a 9mm sigma I traded off because it would hang up FTF,. getting the least bit dirty..after 2 boxes (100 rounds) For me that ain't good enough to carry. Besides what's the fun in shooting a gun that doesn't work??? or you can't trust???
SEND yours BACK>> **** I now have 3000 so far NO GLITCH rounds thru my Sigma. ***** This includes using PMC ammo..

ONLY my 2 cents for your safety
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Old 07-29-2016, 01:02 PM
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Post Firing pin port

[QUOTE]Just a little something I found was that the firing pin port in the upper reciever was swelled enough that when you rub your finger in the groove you could feel the raise edge of the hole where the firing pin extends, after taking a finger nail file and polishing the hole for a bit the swell was no longer able to be felt. Also after cleaning the tactical ammo indicator bracket had some wear, at the point the ammo first contacts when chambering a new shell, I also used the finger nail file to polish this point as well to smooth any rough edges, after doing those two things the problem with feeding shell after shell after shell was solved, each new shell chambered like a brand new pistol without issue.

Last edited by shanelassiter30; 07-29-2016 at 01:03 PM.
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Old 07-29-2016, 02:22 PM
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Default fail to feed

I've had that happen a few times and what i found was the case was not full sized and was larger at the base, causing it not to full seat in the chamber..
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Old 07-30-2016, 12:22 AM
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Default Breech Block surface

[quote=shanelassiter30;139185948]
Quote:
Just a little something I found was that the firing pin port in the upper reciever was swelled enough that when you rub your finger in the groove you could feel the raise edge of the hole where the firing pin extends, after taking a finger nail file and polishing the hole for a bit the swell was no longer able to be felt. Also after cleaning the tactical ammo indicator bracket had some wear, at the point the ammo first contacts when chambering a new shell, I also used the finger nail file to polish this point as well to smooth any rough edges, after doing those two things the problem with feeding shell after shell after shell was solved, each new shell chambered like a brand new pistol without issue.
I remember commenting on a previous post about failure to feed. The OP included some pictures and I suggested that they seemed to indicate that the cartridge was dragging on the breech block. I can't find the thread now and don't know the final resolution.

Maybe shanelassiter30 is on to something.
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