Have had my SD40VE since they first came out. Got the two 14rnd SDVE mags that came with it and three other 14rnd Sigma mags and all mags were kept loaded with 10rnds. It started having FTL due to not stripping the next round. Slide just rests against the back of the round, with round pushed slightly forward but not stovepiped, requiring me to rerack the slide to get it to load. Anybody have this issue before?

Here is what I've done to try to fix it:

Dry powder lubed magazine.
Replaced the very worn/galled up plastic guide rod with a 17lb Galloway spring/guide rod.
greased slide contact areas.

Pistol has around 1000+ rounds through it. Has happened to both my SDVE and Sigma mags. High powered rounds it only happens maybe once a mag. Weaker reloads do it two to three times a mag. Not a grip strength issue, has happened to multiple shooters.

Sounds like the 17lb spring isn't quite enough to do the job. How smooth is the feed ramp?

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GreyOwl

Feed ramp is smooth: I was going to polish it but I doubt I could polish it any more. Also, the rounds don't even get to the feed ramp: they are still in the clip with the slide resting against the round and the round pushed forward against the end of the magazine. round should be coming up out of the magazine so it can reach the loading ramp but it doesn't. Weird.

Far as the spring, the stock spring had same issues as the upgraded spring so I don't think that is the issue.

Sorry I should have read the whole post. Sounds to me as though the 17lb spring is a bit too heavy and is slowing the slide before it fully clears the mag hence the reason it works better with full power loads but not reloads. If that is the problem I'd probably leave the slide locked back for a couple weeks as maybe the spring just needs to break in a bit. Then, I'd say get a factory spring. You might check the guide rod to see if a burr slipped past QC and is binding the spring a little. It sounds as though the slide is being slowed too much by the spring and isn't moving back forward fast enough. A heavier spring would slow it worse. Sounds counter intuitive but it is usually the case.

It took me four edits to finally get the grammar and lack of reading the last paragraph of your post. I hope nobody read all those as it means somebody noticed me being a dumb arse in public.

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Most patriotically,
Eric

Suggest disassembling, cleaning, wiping DRY and reassembling magazines, if you haven't lately. Check mag lips while you have them apart. Also be sure face of slide is clean and no nicks.

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Science plus Art

Just as a matter of s.o.p. for me is I usually replace the stock magazine springs with Wolff 5% Extra Power springs. Wolff also has 10% Extra Power but I have never felt the need for it.

BSA1, where would I find those springs at? I was hoping someone would mention replacing the springs but even a google search didn't turn up anything useful.

Even though it started doing it with the stock spring in it and continued (though less often) with the upgraded slide spring you might be right as the factory guide rod was galled up pretty good which would have caused it to emulate a too stiff spring. If I can't swap out the springs and go back to stock (while retaining the SS guide rod) then I'll try your locked open idea. Thanks!

See the post by catach22 in this link.

SD40 VE Prospective Owner

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GreyOwl

Sounds like maybe a magazine problem to me. Wolff gunsprings website is: gunsprings.com

They list a +5% for the 14 or 15 round 40 caliber mags. They are $17.29 for 3 springs.

I have a Galloway Precision stainless guide rod and 20 lb spring in my SD40VE, never had a malfunction before or after the rod/spring mod. 20 lb was recommended by the gunsmith at Galloway for optimum performance in the 40 cal. My pistol has had only about 400 rounds through the two 14 round mags in about a year. I leave 13 in the mag and nothing in the chamber when I carry the gun. I change the mags about once a month. I really need to buy a couple more mags myself.