Ok, so today I went to the range and brought my brand new SD9VE. Bought 400 rounds of federal aluminum at walmart for $60 got the FAL for funzies and had a nice time. However somewhere around the 250 round mark the casing got stuck in the chamber after firing. Now I know steel ammo will sometimes do this when a gun gets hot, but I hadn't heard about aluminum ammo doing the same thing. Is this a gun malfunction or the ammo? Other than that the gun ran flawlessly and accurately.

I have and SD9VE as well but it appears to be the ammo causing the issue. This type of ammo jams up on my SD9VE and my glock 17. I will never use this ammo again. Since then, no jams with other ammo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have had the same issue with steel casings and the Federal aluminum ammunition. The issue seemed to hit after shooting a number of rounds. I am working through another 300 rounds of the Federal aluminum usually 32 rounds at a time then brass casings for the balance of that outing.

So far I haven't had any issues with Federal Aluminum. I usually run 200-250 when I go shoot. I just picked up another 200 at Walmart today so I'll give it a try and see what happens. For $9.00 a box ya can't go wrong.

I own the SD9VE, SD40VE, SW9VE, & SW40VE. I have shot EVERY type of ammo, steel, brass, aluminum, without a problem at all. And, the SW's have almost 3K rounds through them (2K-SW9VE 1K-SW40VE). The SD's are approaching the 1K mark each.
I owe not having any failures due to cleaning them after each time I shoot them. I also clean them when I'm bored.

Mine was new, so I can't really blame it on a dirty gun. And it ran the aluminum flawlessly until it got really hot at around 250 rounds. So this Tuesday I'm going to shoot it until cases start getting stuck, then switch to brass ammo and see if any of the brass casings get stuck. If they do it's a gun issue, if they don't it's the ammo.

Most likely to be a chamber dirty from powder, causing the case to stick in place and fail to extract. It could also be a casing that expanded (as they do when fired) but did not fully contract, due to it being slightly too big originally, too thick in the wall, or possibly made of metal that is not properly heat treated, etc. If the case is overcharged with powder, they can sometimes split - making them hard to extract. More likely with cheap ammo.

The extractor pulls the case out when the slide goes back, but may jump over the rim (then the slide returns forward and pushes the fired case back into the chamber). This can be caused by the extractor spring being weak, or the lip of the extractor having powder residue under it... so I'd watch for that. The fix is to clean under the lip of the extractor (toothpick or pipe cleaner); and to make sure the pivot of the extractor is lubed; and, if it recurs more than a couple times, to replace the extractor spring. (For the record, I've never seen a posting about a SD pistol having problems with extractor springs).

But 200-250 rounds of cheap ammo into a day at the range, I'd look for the chamber to be a little dirty with powder residue.

Good luck - these pistols are built like tanks.

__________________
S&W Rover

Possibly, but the chamber didn't look all that dirty when I went to clean it. And I don't think the round was too big, because it did it with two rounds back to back, and neither of those two were deformed compared to other casings. Both times the rounds got stuck the slide locked back, so it didn't rechamber the casing. We'll know for sure this Tuesday if it's the ammo or the gun.

Are you saying you took the new gun directly to the range without cleaning it first? And then it shot 250 rounds before having a problem?

__________________
Science plus Art

Yes they are! I thought my 5906 was the baddest firearm on this planet at eating ANY kind of ammo (actually, it is ) but my Tupperware lineup can hold its own!

Not entirely. I bought it, but before taking it to the range I noticed copper fouling in the barrel which most likely came from the test shots from the factory, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't rust, so I ran a patch down the barrel. I also lubricated the rails to try and help with the gritty feeling when racking the slide (which it did). But no, I didn't give it what I'd consider a thorough clean before shooting it. And yes 250 rounds before a problem.

Since some of your cases stay in the chamber, but the slide locks to the rear, how did the round push the breech face (and the slide) to the rear? I think it is starting the short-recoil movement to the rear, with the barrel and the slide moving together; then the barrel reaches the locking block and stops, with the round stuck enough so that it stays in the chamber, the extractor jumps the rim, and the slide continues to be "thrown" backwards to the point where it locks on the magazine release.

Perhaps the aluminum case just doesn't cool quickly enough to contract sufficiently to be released by a chamber that is really hot. I presume you can pluck the cases out 5-10 seconds later, which would be enough time for them to have cooled a bit and no longer be trapped.

If my theorizing is correct, this is not a problem with the pistol; other pistols might have the same problem, more or less, with the same ammo. It would seem to be the result of aluminum cases and even steel cases (brass contracts quicker) and the heat from prolonged use. Maybe a stronger extractor would help, but it also might keep the slide mated to the case and prevent it from going all the way back, leaving you with an empty in the chamber and the slide forward instead of locked back.

Shoot on! Maybe stop using aluminum cases after ~150 rounds, or give the gun a cool-down break around that time.

__________________
S&W Rover

Having more issues. Except this time it happened within the first magazine and then at least one round every other magazine. Except now primers are either buldging or popping out. Gonna buy some brass ammo real quick and see if it continues doing it.

Yes, definitely the ammo. I'll be glad to take it off your hands... ;-)

Bulging primers, or primers that pop out, are usually a sign of overcharged rounds.

I'd stop using the ammo, and call the ammo company and tell them what you are experiencing. They will ask for the lot number off the box, and may ask you to send the ammo back to them (via UPS). They should provide you a label via email to ship at their cost.

The good news is they will probably offer to replace the ammo, giving you a credit of some type!

__________________
S&W Rover

I already did that earlier today about a round that was shorter than the rest. I think just that batch of ammo was ****, because I had another box that worked fine. Brass ammo also worked flawlessly.

Yea def the ammo. I had this same issue on my new glock. Used different ammo and haven't had issues since in my SD9VE or glock. Use Winchester if your looking for cheap good ammo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk