M&P 40C Failure

Out at the range, had some steel case ammo left over that I had, don't even remember how I got them. So I wanted to get rid of them. And this is what happened. That isn't the chamber all messed up, its the steel case. The head separated. Can't get it back into battery to field strip and I have no idea what the part is in the mag well. Thoughts? Suggestions?

You should be able to rotate the take-down lever then let the slide travel off the frame. If you can get the barrel out of the slide, I would suggest soaking it in a penetrating oil for a day or so. Then from the chamber end, insert a .40-.45 cal brush part way into the chamber, then reverse direction. With any luck the stuck remnants of the case will came out with the brush. DO NOT stick any type of sharp object in to try and pry the case out.
It looks to me like the end of the ejector is broken off, (the silver piece above the yellow sear release lever).

Steel cased ammo... yep.

In addition to what mckinney99 has suggested, I would suggest discontinuing usage of Steel Cased Ammo in the future. I know that the low prices can be appealing, but they're generally not worth the hassle because although they allow you to purchase more ammo which you'd think translates to more fun at the range, it typically results in less time shooting and more time clearing malfunctions.

Now I know that someone will be along shortly to present me with anecdotal evidence of how their gun "runs tulammo like a champ" or something to that effect, and that's fantastic for you, but it seems like steel cased ammo is more likely to be problematic than it is to cycle smoothly, and seeing as the TC's M&P40c clearly isn't functioning as smoothly as your firearm is with Steel Cased Ammo, my point still stands.
If Steel Cased Ammo works trouble-free then you can disregard my suggestion and continue enjoying inexpensive range ammo, but I think the TC is better off shooting ordinary Brass Cased Ammo once he has gotten this issue all sorted out.

Forte Smitten Wesson said:

Now I know that someone will be along shortly to present me with anecdotal evidence of how their gun "runs tulammo like a champ" or something to that effect, ...

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Yep, the steel lovers always try to make a point of supporting their preference, but I've never bought their arguments. I completely agree with what you've said, and I'd give your post a dozen "Likes" if I could. I've never understood why people spend good money to buy quality pistols, then cheap out by feeding them crummy steel ammo, even though it may function OK (for a while) in their gun. Decent brass ammo doesn't cost that much more, and virtually eliminates the possibility of the malfunction presented by the OP. I have 16,000 rounds through my 40c (all brass), and have never had an ammo malfunction. Why take the risk to save a few cents per round?

There exists a persistent school of thought that unlike firearms, ammunition does not need to be manufactured using high quality equipment and materials in order to be reliable, not to mention that quality firearms ought to be capable of feeding anything reliably.

Personally, I disagree with the aforementioned notions because they strike me as overly optimistic as well as utterly unrealistic. In a perfect world, those sentiments would be true, but unfortunately such is not the world that we live in.
Furthermore, I find such sentiments to be completely backwards. If anything, I feel that it's more likely to be the exact polar opposite, in which lower cost firearms are more likely to be reliable than lower cost ammunition because firearms are essentially fueled by ammo, thus making the ammunition the most critical component in the reliability of a firearm.
Furthermore, if a firearm is unreliable, then the owner could always attempt to diagnose the issue and have it fixed, whereas if ammo is problematic then there's really no way to remedy it.

Granted, I'm no expert on ammunition, but it seems to me that it honestly requires more quality control and higher quality materials in order to produce ammunition which will function reliably than firearms.
Consider the Hi-Point C9 for example, a bargain basement pistol composed largely of injection-molded ZAMAK, (a type of zinc-aluminum alloy) yet it is known for being extremely reliable. It's a big, bulky slab of metal for a slide balanced atop a terribly unergonomic polymer grip frame which typically sells for under $200, but it serves its purpose quite well.
Meanwhile, how often do you hear complaints about issues with value-priced ammunition like Aguila, ARMSCOR, Tulammo, Winchester USA Forged, etc?

Steel cases don't contract as much as brass that millisecond after firing, so are much harder to extract.
Rifles have much stronger extractor force so generally have less issues with running steel, but even then you run the risk of breaking an extractor, or ripping the head off of a case.

I run the better brands of steel case in my 7.62 x 39 carbines, along with brass. Those being ammo made by Vympel or Barnaul.
I don't consider anything made by Tula as a better brand of steel case.

I have never even considered using steel case ammo in my pistols.
Not only is decent brass case ammo not very much more expensive, you can save the empty brass cases for reloading.

Forte Smitten Wesson's statement about ammo being the most critical component in the reliability of a firearm rings true, and there are similar analogies in other areas as well.
The best recurve or longbow ever made would not do very well with a crappy quality arrow, but a crude, hastily made bow can do well with a first rate arrow.
And that new Corvette will do poorly with bad gasoline, but a beater car running good gas will run much longer than the Corvette.

I have done that, but it still won't let me remove the slide. That's what has me stymied at the moment.

mckenney99 said:

You should be able to rotate the take-down lever then let the slide travel off the frame. If you can get the barrel out of the slide, I would suggest soaking it in a penetrating oil for a day or so. Then from the chamber end, insert a .40-.45 cal brush part way into the chamber, then reverse direction. With any luck the stuck remnants of the case will came out with the brush. DO NOT stick any type of sharp object in to try and pry the case out.
It looks to me like the end of the ejector is broken off, (the silver piece above the yellow sear release lever).

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I am completely done with steel case ammo from here on out.

Forte Smitten Wesson said:

In addition to what mckinney99 has suggested, I would suggest discontinuing usage of Steel Cased Ammo in the future. I know that the low prices can be appealing, but they're generally not worth the hassle because although they allow you to purchase more ammo which you'd think translates to more fun at the range, it typically results in less time shooting and more time clearing malfunctions.

Now I know that someone will be along shortly to present me with anecdotal evidence of how their gun "runs tulammo like a champ" or something to that effect, and that's fantastic for you, but it seems like steel cased ammo is more likely to be problematic than it is to cycle smoothly, and seeing as the TC's M&P40c clearly isn't functioning as smoothly as your firearm is with Steel Cased Ammo, my point still stands.
If Steel Cased Ammo works trouble-free then you can disregard my suggestion and continue enjoying inexpensive range ammo, but I think the TC is better off shooting ordinary Brass Cased Ammo once he has gotten this issue all sorted out.

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I know lots of people who can run steel case ammo through their pistols with few problems. I have never shot steel case ammo through any of my handguns, and never will. I buy brass cased ammo when on sale and reload for all my handguns too. I only use good quality components and I get more than acceptable results. Results as those by the OP are why I don't use steel case ammo, regardless who it's made by.

semccane said:

Out at the range, had some steel case ammo left over that I had, don't even remember how I got them. So I wanted to get rid of them. And this is what happened. That isn't the chamber all messed up, its the steel case. The head separated. Can't get it back into battery to field strip and I have no idea what the part is in the mag well. Thoughts? Suggestions?

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Yes. Clean your chamber once in a while. The case head separation is due to the front sticking and the rear not. Imho of course.

There's no magic with steel case ammo despite what the forum "experts" say. A lot of the world shoots steel case.

Steel cased ammo has its place. I have shot nothing but steel cased ammo in my Norinco SKS without a single extraction issue. But my SKS was designed for steel cased ammo. It has a generously sized chamber and the bore and chamber are chrome lined. Many non-Soviet/Eastern Block/Communist manufactured firearms have chambers that are machined to tighter tolerances and few are hard chromed and that can make extraction of steel cased ammo more difficult. I'll reserve the steel cased stuff to firearms that I know were designed with it in mind, brass cased ammo for my other firearms.

so this thread should be titled steel case ammo fail

Well, if it were my gun, I would try this.

Find a short but fat lag screw, one that would thread into the broken case like a screw extractor. Put a few layers of masking tape on the breech, ejection port and other "exposed" areas. Then see if you can pull it out.

OR, I'd get a hardwood dowel that fits barely down the barrel and try to push it out from the muzzle end.

OR, I would try my brass cleaning rod with brass brush. Again in from the muzzle end, push past the broken case a bit. If it hasn't popped out, pull it back into the case (bristles now reverse direction and try to push out again.

Failing those, it would be gunsmith time.

Biggest problem is, The SDL is down, and I will no move. I can't do the normal take down procedures to field strip. I rotate the take down lever, but the slide still won't come off.

Slide won't come off because it's hung up on the locking block. The barrel needs to get fully into battery for the lugs to clear the top of the block. Obviously, yours can't because of the broken case.

swsig said:

Yep, the steel lovers always try to make a point of supporting their preference, but I've never bought their arguments. I completely agree with what you've said, and I'd give your post a dozen "Likes" if I could. I've never understood why people spend good money to buy quality pistols, then cheap out by feeding them crummy steel ammo, even though it may function OK (for a while) in their gun. Decent brass ammo doesn't cost that much more, and virtually eliminates the possibility of the malfunction presented by the OP. I have 16,000 rounds through my 40c (all brass), and have never had an ammo malfunction. Why take the risk to save a few cents per round?

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Few cents per round? At the quantity of brass you've shot, if not reading, you'd likely have a $600-$800 dollars surplus if you switched to steel. You could literally completely replace your gun, almost twice over with that much money.

I'll second tapping it out with a wooden dowel rod.

Is it the perspective fooling me, or has the case "flowed" back out around the breech end of the barrel and down the feed ramp. Is it possible the OP suffered an overcharged round?

Perhaps, with the muzzle end facing down, you could put some penetrating oil/fluid on the feed ramp just below the casing and get it to wick into the chamber mouth and around what remains of the shell casing. After soaking, a gentle tap or two on the barrel hood extension or "tab" with a piece of doweling might push the barrel slightly forward....and the casing out of the chamber.

seldon14 said:

Few cents per round? At the quantity of brass you've shot, if not reading, you'd likely have a $600-$800 dollars surplus if you switched to steel. You could literally completely replace your gun, almost twice over with that much money.

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That's true, but since it's my carry gun, I'm not too concerned about the economics. I want my target ammo to act like my self-defense ammo -- to load, fire, and eject every time without worrying about any possible damage. And since I've converted my 40c to .357 SIG, the option of using steel has been eliminated, as I've never seen any steel ammo in that caliber (not that I'd use it anyway).

Truth in posting: I fully admit to being an ammo snob -- "If it's not brass, it won't pass!"