Failure to Eject and Now Failure to Fire

I've owned an SD9VE since April of 2014. I bought it new. I've put 1600 or so rounds through it, and it is all stock. In my last trip to the range, it began to malfunction rather badly. It was failing to eject 4-5 times per magazine. The spent casing would be extracted but would remain in the extractor after attempting to cycle another round. A different magazine worked for one magazine full of rounds. It then did the same thing. I decided to try it one more before calling it quits. At that point, not only did it fail to eject, it failed to fire on several rounds per magazine. When that happened, the trigger felt "spongy" and the striker gave a weak "click." A shallow dimple was on the primer (after following safety guidelines before removing the cartridge). Such rounds did rife on subsequent attempts. Again, this happened about every 4 rounds. I racked the slide and dry fired it a few times and got that strange trigger pull and weak striker click a few times--but not every time.

Any ideas? It's in Smith & Wesson's hands now as I filed a warranty request. I'm just wondering what in the world could have happened.

I've got a compact (Taurus PT709 Slim) for carrying in the meantime, but I don't like carrying it as my primary as I like the size of the SD9VE.

I fire only brass cased ammo and shy away from the Tula (and it's ilk) and store branded Tula-made ammo. I was firing Winchester White Box FMJ 115 gr rounds when it started acting up.

Sounds like the striker / firing pin channel got dirty. That is a cleaning step that many do, but the factory considers outside user maintenance.

I am not familiar with that model, so won't offer cleaning suggestions.

I don't hesitate to send something back to the factory if they suggest it. At the worst you have a "state of health" checkpoint for the firearm should bad things happen - you have a documented example of following factory rules.

Did you keep the slide grooves and slide-running tabs clean and lubed?

Sounds a little like a sluggish recoil.

ou1954 said:

Did you keep the slide grooves and slide-running tabs clean and lubed?

Sounds a little like a sluggish recoil.

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I clean and lube it after every use. I oil the rail-tabs as per the manual each time with one drop (along with the two spots on the barrel).

How much non-brass ammo did you fire? Did you ever use the aluminum-cased Federal or CCI?

How about Monarch?

Cheap ammo is very dirty and under powered. It could gunk up the striker/firing pin.

If it wasn't the ammo, and the sruker and firing pin are clean, then it sounds like your trigger return spring and/or striker spring are worn out. If you don't have the Apex trigger spring kit installed, spending $20 and installing it will solve the problem and give you a better trigger in the process.

hoc9sw said:

Sounds like the striker / firing pin channel got dirty. That is a cleaning step that many do, but the factory considers outside user maintenance.

I am not familiar with that model, so won't offer cleaning suggestions.

I don't hesitate to send something back to the factory if they suggest it. At the worst you have a "state of health" checkpoint for the firearm should bad things happen - you have a documented example of following factory rules.

Click to expand...

What he said. I had the exact same thing happen to me. Broke the gun down and the striker was all gunked up. Now I pull it and clean the striker as well as the channel it rests in about every 6th trip or so to the range.

PeterPocket said:

How much non-brass ammo did you fire? Did you ever use the aluminum-cased Federal or CCI?

How about Monarch?

Cheap ammo is very dirty and under powered. It could gunk up the striker/firing pin.

If it wasn't the ammo, and the sruker and firing pin are clean, then it sounds like your trigger return spring and/or striker spring are worn out. If you don't have the Apex trigger spring kit installed, spending $20 and installing it will solve the problem and give you a better trigger in the process.

Click to expand...

Non-brass: no more than 100 rounds in total use. I stopped using it because it was way too dirty. Monarch? I fired a few rounds early on as someone gave me what was left of their box. I never used it again as it was filthy. I avoid the Tula/PPU/IMT stuff and their store brand equivelant. I have some Aluminum cased Federal in storage but have yet to fire it.

It's been shipped back to Smith for them to look at. I'm familiar with the Apex kit but don't have it.

I don't understand how a striker issue could cause a failure to eject. I do understand how a weak recoil could cause a failure to fully reset the striker.

It will be interesting to see what S&W comes up with. I hope the OP will tell us what S&W says, although my interaction with them has always resulted in a minimal detail in their response.

ou1954 said:

I don't understand how a striker issue could cause a failure to eject. I do understand how a weak recoil could cause a failure to fully reset the striker.

It will be interesting to see what S&W comes up with. I hope the OP will tell us what S&W says, although my interaction with them has always resulted in a minimal detail in their response.

Click to expand...

I don't think the FTF caused the FTE at all. The FTE started happening on the second box for the day. The FTF started happening a bit later. I'd get a shot off and the casing would be left in the extractor. I'd clear it. Gun would fire, case would extract & eject, next round would go into battery and then FTF. It happened repeatedly. I'm interested in seeing what Smith does, as well.

I will most definitely give a final report when I get it back. I'll probably have to call (based on what I've read) to find out what work they did.

If anyone knows how to get an S&W response above their "Level 1" folks please let us know.

An FTC can cause FTF's and FTE's.

FTC = "Failure to Clean" as was mentioned here about the gunked-up striker bar and channel.

TIP #1: Don't use oil. Use Tetra Gun Grease on the rail tabs instead. Tetra is a synthetic lubricant that will make your slide feel like it
is riding on Teflon rails. After putting the Tetra on the rail tabs, fully run the slide back and forth about five or six times to distribute the grease along the slide channels, then take a soft nylon or silk-like microfiber cloth and gently rub it along the length of the channels - once in each direction - to work the grease into the metal.

In this case, less is more.

You can also put Tetra along the striker bar and in the channel after thoroughly cleaning it with Tetra Action Blaster or Break-Free CLP and drying it.

Oil tends to collect dust and dirt particles and should never be used on slides, striker bars, or anywhere else that has to be kept slick and clean, esp. where metal is constantly rubbing against polymer.

Tetra, being a thick, synthetic lube, does not attract dust and dirt particles - especially when it's meant to be rubbed into surfaces instead of just dropped onto them.

Out of 120 reviews on Amazon, Tetra got 105 5-star ratings and 10 4-star ratings. As I noted elsewhere, the 1 oz. tube will last you two months even if you cleaned & lubed your gun every week. The Action Blaster is not as long-lasting, since it as an aerosol under high pressure and the spray button requires a gentle modulated finger push.

But, as the name implies, it does blast the gunk out of the channels and crevaces.

There are a few brands if ammo that have a "clean burning" series. Has anyone used them and found them to be cleaner than the stock stuff like Federal and Winchester?

koine2002 said:

I clean and lube it after every use. I oil the rail-tabs as per the manual each time with one drop (along with the two spots on the barrel).

Click to expand...

"Crud" buildup can often be missed in a routine cleaning. Your symptoms seem to be inter-related. Do you clean around the follower of the magazines, do the mag springs maintain proper tension? Weak mag springs can also mess with proper ejection. I'd betcha you don't have any serious malfunctions. A thorough cleaning, perhaps some spring replacements. It'll be back to perfect with minimal trouble. These are VERY durable guns.

koine2002 said:

I don't think the FTF caused the FTE at all. The FTE started happening on the second box for the day. The FTF started happening a bit later. I'd get a shot off and the casing would be left in the extractor. I'd clear it. Gun would fire, case would extract & eject, next round would go into battery and then FTF. It happened repeatedly. I'm interested in seeing what Smith does, as well.

I will most definitely give a final report when I get it back. I'll probably have to call (based on what I've read) to find out what work they did.

Click to expand...

,
I don't have a clue what it could be & more the reason I will be real interested in what S&W has to say & or what they do to it.
,
Just when I was bragging that my SD9ve would shoot anything I had a problem , but I was using the steel case tula the gun locked up with a live round chambered , I was letting someone else shoot it & they said it clicked but did not fire I tried to rack the slide & it would not move. Had to get a guy working at the range to help get the round out, so no more steel case stuff for me.

ou1954 said:

I don't understand how a striker issue could cause a failure to eject. I do understand how a weak recoil could cause a failure to fully reset the striker.

It will be interesting to see what S&W comes up with. I hope the OP will tell us what S&W says, although my interaction with them has always resulted in a minimal detail in their response.

Click to expand...

I called Smith today to get a status report. They have finished up and will be sending it back either today or on Monday. Here's a list of what they did.

Removed Strikers
Cleaned & polished Striker channel
Installed new striker
Polished Chamber
Removed Extractor
Cleaned Extractor (and all related pins/springs/mounting points)

I asked if I should have removed and cleaned the extractor myself. He said that doing so might void the warranty as it's beyond what the manual says is user serviceable.