Model 41 Not Feeding Second Round from Magazine . . . ??

[ralphtt]

My old, reliable Model 41 has developed a glitch. After firing the first round from a full ten-round magazine, it often will not feed the second round. After I cycle the slide to get the second round chambered, it fires the remaining nine shots with no problem. Don't believe this is a magazine issue since it does this with all six magazines I use.

Doubt this could be related, but I did just recently install a new drilled & tapped barrel and an Ultradot sight. Love the Ultradot but I would like to be able to fire all ten shots without malfunction.

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

[Loco Weed]

The first thing I would try is to put a drop of oil on the bullet of the first round in the magazine. You can also just wipe down the first round with a slightly oiled patch. This is a widely accepted practice and works for many people having feeding problems with their 41. Model 41s generally prefer CCI standard velocity ammunition.

[oldRoger]

I agree with Loco Weed, The new barrel probably has a very tight chamber (good) the chamber may be a tiny bit rough as well. You can polish the chamber a bit with something like bore shine but I would just use an oily patch on the first round for a while. My theory is that the first round does not extract quite right and results in a failure to chamber the second. In a bit of experimenting, I determined that even if you loaded only 5 rds the 2nd rd was the problem.
It may take a few rounds, perhaps quite a few, but IME it will break-in and shoot fine.

[ralphtt]

Appreciate the tip, Gentlemen! I'll give the 'oily first round' a try on my next trip to the range, probably tomorrow morning. Will report results back here.

Thanks . . . !

P.S. Gotta' wonder why it only affects the second round?? Any theories as to why the 4th or 5th or 8th rounds are not affected?

[3cushion]

Originally Posted by oldRoger

I agree with Loco Weed, The new barrel probably has a very tight chamber (good) the chamber may be a tiny bit rough as well. You can polish the chamber a bit with something like bore shine but I would just use an oily patch on the first round for a while. My theory is that the first round does not extract quite right and results in a failure to chamber the second. In a bit of experimenting, I determined that even if you loaded only 5 rds the 2nd rd was the problem.
It may take a few rounds, perhaps quite a few, but IME it will break-in and shoot fine.

Hey old roger.have a question way off topic.I just joined up and trying to get with big dog for custom grips for my cs45.can you help me

Thanks 3cushion

[oldRoger]

3cushion Can’t help except to suggest you post a topic asking for bigdog contact info.

Ralph--------My guess is that it has to do with the difference in loading of the first round. The 1st is of course loaded manually with the slide release or by pulling back the slide and releasing. This is not the same as the normal auto load cycle. In fact some auto-loaders do not shoot the first round to the same POA as the remaining rds in the mag.
My guess is that this difference changes that first rounds ejection which effects the chambering of the second. In fact I have had a problem where it was every other round for a while.
I am not particularly fond of this guess, and would be glad to have someone SWAG us another.
You might try loading only three rounds to see if you still have the problem, right now my barrels are all working fine without oil.

It does go away with break-in though or at least has in my experience.

[ralphtt]

Both Loco Weed and oldRoger hit the nail right on the head. Tried the oily patch routine this morning on an even dozen magazines of CCI SV and the Model 41 went back to operating with zero malfunctions.

I would never have thought to oil the first round. And I found that it doesn't take much. Just a trace will do the job.

Thanks for the tip. Now I just gotta' learn to shoot up to the potential of the Model 41 with the Ultradot. That may take some doing . . .

[jwax]

Another benefit to oiling the first round is no heavy crud buildup. The oil coats everything, and usually just a wipedown will clean up just fine, without carbon deposits.
I'm a thousand rounds into a new Clark barrel on my 41, and still needing the oil to properly cycle.