Problem with my new BG 2.0 extracting spent brass.

I put another 100 rds of my reloads thru it today and on the second 50 rds, I started to have problems with it extracting. It would pull the empty about halve way out and then the extractor
would jump off the case. this would cause the slide to jam with the round in the magazine trying to chamber the next round. This happened 5 or 6 times. The extractor would put a very small ding on the rim of the brass where it looked like it was trying to tear the rim off of the case. I would drop the mag and the slide would push the empty back into the chamber, but extractor would not go over the rim. I pulled the slide to lock it open. Took a pencil an pushed the empty out without any resistance.
Any one else run into this problem and how do you fix it?

I don't know much about reloading, but it sounds like either you are overpressuring the loads or the cases are over-sized.

Run a box of factory ammo through it if it runs 100% you need to trouble shoot your loading process and the brass used.

I ran 175 rounds of the same reloads thru it when I first got it wjth no problems.
So what caused this 100 rds to be different?

Inconsistency in process garbage brass. Range pickups can have brass run through a sub gun that the only way to resize it back to factory specs is with a roll sizer. Brass from USPSA open guns has the same problem. Some HK guns have a fluted chamber.

Never saw a .380 sub gun.

leadhead2 said:

I put another 100 rds of my reloads thru it today and on the second 50 rds, I started to have problems with it extracting. It would pull the empty about halve way out and then the extractor
would jump off the case. this would cause the slide to jam with the round in the magazine trying to chamber the next round. This happened 5 or 6 times. The extractor would put a very small ding on the rim of the brass where it looked like it was trying to tear the rim off of the case. I would drop the mag and the slide would push the empty back into the chamber, but extractor would not go over the rim. I pulled the slide to lock it open. Took a pencil an pushed the empty out without any resistance.
Any one else run into this problem and how do you fix it?

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I had a similar issue with a Remington 700. (BDL)The rifle would extract and eject the cartridge (factory or reload) just fine for the first few shots, then would have issues with the cartridge falling out of the bolt head and laying on top of the next cartridge and not ejecting. I did everything I could think of, then took it in to my local gunsmith. He said that the chamber was rough and after a few shots the carbon would build up enough by the shoulder to where the case would bind and the extractor would not grab onto the case properly. He polished the chamber and the issue went away.

Whenever something like that happens, there usually are a bunch of variables to unpack. While it could be an overpressure situation, it could be an underpressure situation. (Tearing the rim off a case sounds like overpressure. Not ejecting sounds like too little pressure.) There also could be an equipment failure.

The first thing I would do is look at the extractor and see if there is any damage to it. I also would look at the ejector and see if it is all there. If the extractor and ejector show no obvious damage, you may want to bring your gun to the store you purchased it from and compare the extractor and ejector to that of a new gun.

When you say that the extractor would jump off the case, it could mean that the gun was in the process of ejecting, causing the case to be free of the extractor, but there still is not enough momentum to cycle the slide enough to fully eject the case, which results in the slide trying to rechamber the empty case while simultaneously attempting to feed the round at the top of the magazine. That is a classic double feed situation.

Guns of this type are not designed to have the extractor ride over the rim during feeding, so I do not see that as being an issue insofar as the empty case is concerned.

I have found .380 to be finicky with reloading. I can take trash 9mm brass and reload it multiple times with no issues. It isn't until the rim of the case is so nicked from extraction/ejection, or the brass split, that I discard them. Brass overall length makes no difference. I have not found this to be the case with .380. I believe that I even posted something to Glock talk about 15 years ago expressing my frustration with .380 reloading. I had occasional light strikes with a Sig P238. I have occasional light strikes with a Glock 42. I have many more light strikes with the BG 2.0. (The Sig P365-380 has no issues, IIRC.) I have not experienced a light strike with factory ammo in 2 BG 2.0s. I need to play with my loading setup for the BG 2.0. I usually put more of a taper crimp on .380 JRN/JFP than factory ammo, and I may have to back off on that.

I also would look at chronograph data for your loads versus published data to see if there is a possible over or under pressure situation.

I can't tell you what the issue is with your gun, but start isolating variables and trying different things to figure it out.

Good luck!

Thank you WYO for your insight.
I took the gun apart this morning to clean and found no problems that I could see.
I removed the extractor to check it out and there were no nicks or damage to it.
The loads were 3.0 grains and 3.3 grs of Win 231 with a Lyman 95 gr cast bullet. The extractor didn't
pull the rim off, but just kind of slid over the rim leaving a small nick in the rim.
Some of my brass does leave a lot to be desired as you said regarding the rims. I'm going
to have to go thru it and scrap the bad ones.

I make it a practice to not shoot reloads. Just my two cents.

ImDrRich said:

I make it a practice to not shoot reloads. Just my two cents.

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I also prefer to shoot only factory ammo.

I know very little about reloading ammo, but I understand the reasons for reloading. I’ve noticed on the gun forums that there are lots of posts on the topic of reloading and the problems encountered when using them.

I only buy and shoot the best (“best” is subjective) quality ammo for my carry defense pistol.

My experience may be completely unrelated to the extractor issue the OP is having. Regarding the extractor issue…. I clean, inspect, and lubricate my firearms after every use. I’ve noticed that the extractor hook and area next to the firing pin port gets very carboned up with gun powder residue, even after 50 rounds. So far, I have had no extractor issues with my BG2 or my P365s.

I would never use reloads for self defense carry, but I'm sure as hell not going to shoot
high priced defensive ammo for plinking or range ammo.

I regularly reload 380 and do find I have to pay special attention to rounds I plan to use in the BG2. I had been loading rounds with a COL of .975 but found that they would cause the BG2 to fail to go into battery. Extracting that particular round was difficult as it locked the slide and I had to use brute force to open the slide and extract the round. Also when I extracted the round the casing and powder would come out, but the bullet was still in the chamber. Did some experimenting and found mine liked a COL of around .955 to .960. I have no problems with my .975 COL loads in my other 380s - Ruger Security Max, S&W Shield EZ, Sig P-238, Beretta 80x, Walter CCP or Makarov 380. I do tend to use manufactured rounds in the BG2 more frequently than reloads, but I am going to continue to experiment with different loads to find a load that will run with consistency in the BG2. for reference I've been loading my 380s with 2.8 grams of Tite Group, CCI-500 primer and have been using the Xtreme bullets 100 gram flat nose copper plated bullet.

Good info skipperjb. I don't think the BG2's are throated enough and the bullet gets stuck in the rifling.

leadhead2 said:

The loads were 3.0 grains and 3.3 grs of Win 231 with a Lyman 95 gr cast bullet. The extractor didn't pull the rim off, but just kind of slid over the rim leaving a small nick in the rim.

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I use 95 grain jacketed RMR bullets with Win 231, so I don't have anything to offer in terms of the load. Have you "plunk tested" your rounds in your barrel to be sure the bullet is not jamming into the lands?

With respect to the multiple comments about handloads, I would not carry them for self-defense purposes, although my 9mm ammo has been super reliable. Until recent price spikes for reloading components, it saved a lot of money when I was shooting 10,000 rounds of 9mm per year (pre-pandemic) at 12 cents a round. Now, decent factory 9mm ammo can be purchased for about 25 cents per round in 1000 round lots, compared to 21 cents for handloads, which makes it cost effective to just buy that. .380 ammo is still more expensive, although I now see stuff like Winchester White Box hitting $320 shipped plus tax for 1000 rounds, which brings the cost differential down to about 10 cents per round if using components at current prices. (It recently used to cost 50 cents plus per round for ball .380 when you could find it.) For people who shoot a lot, it can add up.

When loading for hunting rifles, commercial ammo with good bullets is super expensive, some as high as $5.50 a shot. The cost differential is substantially higher with those. I haven't used factory ammo for hunting in decades, and ammo is tailored to my rifles.

Cheyenne WYO said:

I use 95 grain jacketed RMR bullets with Win 231, so I don't have anything to offer in terms of the load. Have you "plunk tested" your rounds in your barrel to be sure the bullet is not jamming into the lands?

With respect to the multiple comments about handloads, I would not carry them for self-defense purposes, although my 9mm ammo has been super reliable. Until recent price spikes for reloading components, it saved a lot of money when I was shooting 10,000 rounds of 9mm per year (pre-pandemic) at 12 cents a round. Now, decent factory 9mm ammo can be purchased for about 25 cents per round in 1000 round lots, compared to 21 cents,which makes it cost effective to just buy that. .380 ammo is still more expensive, although I now see stuff like Winchester White Box hitting $320 shipped plus tax for 1000 rounds, which brings the cost differential down to about 10 cents per round if using components at current prices. (It recently used to cost 50 cents plus per round for ball .380 when you could find it.) For people who shoot a lot, it can add up.

When loading for hunting rifles, commercial ammo with good bullets is super expensive, some as high as $5.50 a shot. The cost differential is substantially higher with those. I haven't used factory ammo for hunting in decades, and ammo is tailored to my rifles.

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Yes, my reloads "plunk", they just don't want to run up the feed ramps into the chamber.

I would not use reloads for self-defense purposes - at least at this time. Which brings up another interesting comparison. I will periodically use Hornady Critical Defense and do comparison firings of my 380s. For me, I find the P-238 the easiest of the group to shoot with the least felt recoil. That is followed by the Walter CCP, and Ruger Security Max. The S&W Shield EZ comes next, then the BG2. What surprises me the most is the Beretta 80x has the most felt recoil other than the Makarov. Using my reloads the Beretta and Makarov still give the most felt recoil, but the others are more closely grouped.

When I was using a ultrasonic cleaner I noticed it took more pressure to size cases and strip the expander plug from the cases. I went back to tumbling with walnut and there was a difference in sizing and flairing effort needed. I would think that having the cases to clean would affect feeding also.

skipperjb777 said:

I would not use reloads for self-defense purposes - at least at this time. Which brings up another interesting comparison. I will periodically use Hornady Critical Defense and do comparison firings of my 380s. For me, I find the P-238 the easiest of the group to shoot with the least felt recoil. That is followed by the Walter CCP, and Ruger Security Max. The S&W Shield EZ comes next, then the BG2. What surprises me the most is the Beretta 80x has the most felt recoil other than the Makarov. Using my reloads the Beretta and Makarov still give the most felt recoil, but the others are more closely grouped.

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One of my range buddies has a P238 in his carry rotation. Next range day we will compare it to the BG2. The guys that have shot my BG2 comment that it is “a little snappy”. I have shifted the front sight to adjust for low/left, but I am still not happy with the accuracy so far to 4, 7, and 10 yards. It’s most likely a combination of the factory sights, weight, very short sight radius, and my grip/trigger control. My BG2 has a trigger pull of 3 lbs. 5.92 ozs.

I can shoot my P365 Micro 9mm very accurately. My P365 Micro has a trigger pull of 2 lbs. 9.92 ozs.

JoeB51 said:

When I was using a ultrasonic cleaner I noticed it took more pressure to size cases and strip the expander plug from the cases. I went back to tumbling with walnut and there was a difference in sizing and flairing effort needed. I would think that having the cases to clean would affect feeding also.

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I have an ultrasonic cleaner I have yet to take out of the box. The more I read reviews and comments, the more I came away thinking that my primary use for it will be to clean my pistols. I was thinking of trying both the tumbler and ultrasonic - basically to give the inside of the shell casing a better cleaning as well as the primer hole, but with your experience, I think I will pass on doing that.

Another thing I find with tumbling with walnut is I need to keep the polishing additive fresh in order to really clean the exterior of the case. When I do that, the cases feel a bit slippery and I have no issues with the resizing die. I do occasionally have a 9mm casing that is hell bent to give me a hard time reloading it. When that happens the casing goes into the trash can.