bittersweet first time shooting new SD9

[garciag4]

Purchased an SD9 last night and had enough time after work to run out to the range and put 125 rounds thru her.
I started out with some 115 grain PMC FMJ. Fired the first round and it stopped. One live round hung up on the feed ramp going into the empty chamber. Had to drop the magazine and clear it. I inserted the magazine again and fired. This time the round went into the chamber, but the slide did not close all the way. I could see the next round in the magazine. I was discouraged. I cleaned the SD9 the night before and oiled it as directed. I then loaded the magazine again and it went flawless for the next 123 rounds, but........ The darn thing was throwing just about every shell casing into either my forehead or on top of my head. I would say roughly 110 rounds made contact with my head or shoulders in one way or another.
Ammunition used:
50 rounds PMC 115 FMJ
50 Rounds Federal 115 FMJ
20 rounds Hornady Tap 147 JHP (Ouch ) I had planned on having that for the ride home but had my Duty weapon with me.
5 rounds of Federal 147 grain Hydra-shok. (Had those 5 as spares in the truck glove box)

I normally carry a Glock 19, but wanted to try the SD9. I owned a Sigma about 4 years ago and it was flawless all the way thru. It took me a month to finally decide on the SD9 over the Sigma and for a brief moment regretted my decision.
I had gone for the Prom queen who left me standing on the dance floor when I should have taken the female school geek who would have been 100% faithful to me.
While convinced my feeding and reliability problems will or have worked themselves out, I am torn what to do about the empty brass hitting me on the forehead breaking my concentration. Oh , by the way, the SD 9 is plenty accurate for what its worth. I probably could have put them all in the center at the 15 yard line, but dang flying brass was distracting me. Anyone ever work out an ejector problem to keep it from doing that?

 

[scooter123]

In general, brass ejected straight back is caused by poor recoil management. Meaning you are letting the muzzle flip too much. Lock the wrist and hold the gun down and you'll probably find it solves your problem.

 

[garciag4]

I had a pretty good grip. I have never had this problem with any other SEmi-auto. I guess i got spoiled of 20 years of good luck in that pistl always workfor me right out of the box. I am pretty certain it is the ejector an not my shooting style. thanks for reponding o my thread. Gabe.

 

[mtngunr]

I had a pretty good grip. I have never had this problem with any other SEmi-auto. I guess i got spoiled of 20 years of good luck in that pistl always workfor me right out of the box. I am pretty certain it is the ejector an not my shooting style. thanks for reponding o my thread. Gabe.

My Sigma dislikes one lot for sure of the WinWhite 115grJHP, feeds everything else tried just fine.....friend has a Glock which feeds HPs and flatpoints all day but jams every time on FMJ....i avoid the WinWhite 115grJHP, he avoids FMJs..... sounds like you might end up doing same for the PMC.

Yes, changing grip can effect where a gun ejects, but you shouldn't be having every ammo you fired coming right back at you so consistantly....could also be a slightly wonk extractor or ejector, extractor spring, etc....i'd be tempted to let S&W figure out which on their dime for one doing it so consistantly, if you have another gun to tote while they give your prom queen a makeover than includes making her think you are the man of her dreams....or you could just play with grip, but that really should be saved for what gives best accuracy, not what gives least annoying ejection

 

[Skeptic 9c]

Did you clean the pistol before you went to the range, including the magazines?
Geoff
Who notes some preservatives are not good lubes.

 

[garciag4]

I did clean and lube both the pistol and magazines. It ran like a spotted ape afterwards. Today I am goin to run some more ammo. Got 50 rounds PMC 115 fmj (yes, that will be the litmus test round) 40 rounds of Win 124 NATO, 40 Fed 147 Hydra-SHok. I polished the tip of the ejector with some super fine sandpaper followed by some MAAS polish. I also polished the feedramp by hand. It is very smooth now. I could see some metal imperfections on the ejector tip, but two swipes made it look right. wish me luck.

 

[mtngunr]

the actual length of the ejector will influence where brass goes when ejected, the ejector being loose or firmly mounted will influence where ejected (as that will also lengthen/shorten ejector as well as soak up recoil forces), the spring tension on the extractor and extractor hook shape will also effect where it ejects....and all of this assumes a consistant hold on the gun..and consistant slide velocity.

Good luck on shooting, and perhaps just a bit of spring set might be required for slide to settle in velocity that will keep brass out of face...

On a new gun with guarantee, and prepaid shipping, even, i'd personally opt for them to do the tinkering as spares aren't common, tinkering can ruin warranty, and tinkering should generally be avoided unless you understand the system and the timing.

 

[scooter123]

Garciaag4, my first post may have sounded a bit critical. Fact is I was pushed for time and kept it brief, perhaps too brief.

I've been thru this personally and the problem was my technique, not the gun. The semi I shoot the most is my 40 caliber Sig P239, which does have a bit of a bark. Due to the economy and a layoff I had to suspend my shooting for a 3 month period. When I could afford to resume shooting nearly every round fired with the P239 was smacking me dead center in the forehead. It took a couple of range sessions to figure out what I was doing wrong but once I figured it out I haven't been hit in the head since. The problem was that I was allowing my wrist to "'break" slightly during recoil. That allowed enough muzzle flip so that the empties were coming right back at me.

Now, you are coming from experience with the Glock, which does feature a bore axis that is quite low in relation to the grip. It's one aspect of the Glock that is rather admirable and it does reduce the tendancy for muzzle flip.

Another factor is that the SD9 is rather light with a very light frame. In addition, the bore axis on the SD9 is higher than on a Glock. When you add both of these factors together the result is that it's likely that you need to lock your wrist much more firmly than you did with a Glock. Quite simply, I think that it's likely that if you refine your technique a bit you'll find that there is no need to do any tuning on the gun. If you don't believe this, try having someone with experience shooting the SD9 or M&P 9 shoot your gun a bit and see what happens. If it still does this in that hands of someone experienced with this platform, then the next step is to contact S&W and see about having it serviced under warranty.

 

[mtngunr]

Counter-point view , i have fired my 9mm with every variation of grip i can think of, mainly to check function under less than perfect conditions including grip, and the gun has functioned perfectly while POI, of course, changed....and never did the brass go anywhere but behind and well right.

 

[garciag4]

well, 100% reliability with all 200 rounds, with about a 3rd hitting some part of my anatomy. Had another shooter who carries an HK .40 for a living fire ten rounds. He handed it back. The empty casings hit him too. He also noticed the ejector was shaped diferently than his HK. The gn is 100 % reliable and would be afraid to jinx it by sending it in.

 

[S&W Rover]

My SD9 does this. My SD40 does not. I may put a slight bend in the SD9 ejector if it does it through the next box or two of 50.

 

[mtngunr]

My SD9 does this. My SD40 does not. I may put a slight bend in the SD9 ejector if it does it through the next box or two of 50.

I should have qualified "my SIGMA 9mm" had no problem...the above post has me wondering if it's just a slight design tweak that needs doing....

as for jinxing the gun by sending it back, the guns such as the Sigma/SD/M&P genre should need very little fitting at all during assembly, and folks are getting this kind of reliability from guns basically assembled from parts bins...it's not like the reliability is a matter of luck with these guns where swapping one part might mess it up, even if that HAS been the case with quite a few gun designs over the years.

They might actually be getting other complaints about 9mms doing the same and might have a tweaked extractor or ejector already figured out and ready for install if the gun is only sent back...

 

[chessail 77]

A phone call to S&W customer service costs nothing to discuss this problem and after the call you can decide to send it back or not .....

 

[garciag4]

Talked to S&W.

The extractor is to their dimensions, which means it will be another one the same. I admit, I am really enjoying this pistol over my Glock 19. In fact, that is the reason why I bought it to replace my G19 for EDC in order to eventually pass the Glock on to my oldest daughter in time. The reliability is there, so I have no problem carrying it. I think the first two hangups were flukes that maybe some factory grease had somehow solidified and it then broke in or something. I am really impressed with the SD9.

 

[zfrme66]

SD9 casings hitting you in the head?

I too have the same problem with the casings coming back at me. I'm sure it's me "limp wristing". Gonna shoot again this weekend and work on the grip...

 

[TangoFoxtrot]

Not a single hiccup with over 1500 rounds.

 

[Chuck1217]

Mine had a dead tritium sight, but when I sent it back for replacement I also told them about rounds ejecting on to the top of my head- almost every single one. When I got it back the rounds now shoot straight out to the right. Only problem is I shoot at an indoor range, so now they hit the divider and bounce back on to my cheek or neck. But that ain't S&Ws fault.

 

[jdbray64]

I too have an SD9 I purchased earlier this year with the same issue. Emailed S&W and was told after firing 200-300 rounds thru it the pistol would eventually start ejecting the shells as it should. I was skeptical at first but he was correct. It fires and ejects flawlessly! I usually use Remington UMC in 250 round FMJ bulk packs...