M&P9-1st shoot-- slide jammed w live shell

[Ritz444]

Aug 10 2013 purchased new M&P 9C and M&P 9FS. Bad hair day Sept 15th first shoot with my new toys using PMC 115gr FMJ. With the M&P9 FS on the third round had a FTF. The slide jammed tight and would only slide back a 1/8" with a live shell still in the chamber. With the range master we tried everything to eject the shell, but no luck. The slide was stuck. The range master, who owned three M&Ps said he had never seen a jammed semi-auto he could not eject the shell from. So the 9 FS was dead in the water.

I fired 146 rounds in the 9C. I was pleased with the grouping of the shots, but had ejects coming back in my face and over my right shoulder. I am a southpaw shooter. I will shoot another 100 or so with the 9C to see if it breaks in and ejects properly before sending it back.

This past week I took the 9FS to my gunsmith and he got the shell out and test fired the weapon after checking it out for any problems. The test fire was perfect. He said the shell was reaaly stuck in the chamber. Shell problem? Maybe.So we will see when I go back to the range what it does. Am I disappointed? Yes, who would not be? Do I like the M&P toys? You bet I do! Do I think they are a quality weapon? I sure do. All will be fixed I am certain. Just some tweaking needed.

 

[bobkatwells]

I have seen a failure to feed that ultimately was related to the grip. Try holding the grip as high as possible below the slide and see if this fixes the problem. Hope this helps.

 

[blujax01]

I am left handed and own both a 9C and a 45C. The 45 in particular took a bit of learning on my part to figure out how to shoot.

There is a common phenomenon known as "limp-wristing" (that has absolutely nothing to do with one's sexuality) and the M&P Series is particularly sensitive to it's effects. Case ejection into your face is a common indicator of grip issues.

Bobkatwells is on the right track. Hold the firearm firmly and lean into it, as you would a powerful tool, rather than like a "toy" as you twice referred to it.

I hope I do not come across as being harsh, but the problems you relate are classic symptoms of operator error.

 

[jss4uva]

I am new to handguns and just joined this forum a week ago after I purchased my M&P, so take my info as just my personal experience. I believe it is the ammo that is causing your problem. While my FTE's (2 out of the first box of PMC ammo) were not as severe as yours, It did surprise me. I have since then used only Federal and have had zero problems after 600 rounds since last Friday.

 

[Badkarma 1]

Hello Ritz444 and welcome to the forum!
My experience with PMC ammo has been good, but I notice it is a bit on the dirty side, and I've never suffered a FTF with it.
What it does sound like though is that the round was out of spec somehow, possibly the bullet was loaded long and it locked into the lead of the rifling.
You did clean the piece prof to your range trip right?
In any event try some different ammo and see what happens, if it repeats itself you might want to give S&W a call.
Dale

 

[skinl19]

I had a similar experience this past August with my 9C. The slide failed to close all the way and was stuck with a live round in the chamber. I couldn't get it extracted at the range but found a LGS who managed to finally get it out. We could see that the casing was slightly out of spec and had become wedged in the barrel. I have put several hundred rounds through the gun since without an issue.

 

[Ritz444]

Thank you for your advice gentleman. I am working on my grip on the 9C and it rejecting into my face. This ejection problem happened when my son fired it that day also. He is stronger than me, but he is working on his grip also. Both the 9 FS and 9C are new to us so we are still learning about these two weapons.

Update on the M&P 9 FS.

Several days later the 9 FS which has a safety was loaded with Gold Dot 124 grain HP in the mag and one in the chamber as a open carry in NC. When later clearing the gun the slide stuck shut again, but was closed all the way. Carefully and safely with proper protection I fired the weapon. The shell ejected and the slide retracted and locked. Time to call S&W.

They advised me to send in it to them. I did and it was in there hands on Wednesday 10/9/2013. I included a complete history of the weapon. S&W Customer Service was great. I could not ask for more profession people.

Thanks again guys for your good advice and help. It is great to be able to learn from others and this forum is a wonderful place to do just that. I will post again when I hare something from S&W.

 

[Ritz444]

I called S&W today. S&W replaced the barrel on my 9 FS. No other comments were made. Something had to be wrong for them to replace the barrel. They said it was in the mail room to be shipped. I should have it about Oct 21 or 22. If so then less than two weeks turn around. So we will see.

 

[Old cop]

Just for your info it is pretty common to replace the barrel and sometimes the slide, and I hope that fixes your problem. In any event if problems persist keep after them. I once had so many problems w/a Ruger LCP the company replaced the gun (after a new barrel & slide). Good luck.

 

[tbc]

The outer diameter of the casing was a bit wide and the inner diameter of your barrel is maybe a bit narrow. These combination caused the FTF condition you were describing in the OP. It happened to my 9C with snap cap.


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[Ritz444]

Thanks Old Cop for the info. TBC you maybe correct, but I doubt we wil ever know. I received the 9 FS back on the 22nd this past Tuesday. No information from S&W about repairs done, just a "thank you for using us" on the included form. The gun racks back properly and ejects shells correctly. I have not fired it yet. Warming up the pipe will tell how it does. Two week door to door was great service. I had included both mags per their instructions and both were returned. Who says S&P don't have good service. Not me!

 

[S. Kelly]

Sounds like it was a tight chamber, a bit out of spec. With S&W pumping out product like the 70s, it's not suprising these QC issues slip by.

 

[Ritz444]

S. Kelly, I had the gunsmith measure the chamber before I sent it off to S&W. It was measured with two other weapons, another M&P 9 and a Glock 9. Mine was .388, the other M&P was .390, and .391 for the Glock. So I beleive my barrel was maybe out of spec. At least it was the smallest of the three. I have not had the new one measured yet, but will just to know what it is. Thanks for the help and incouragement.

 

[Rastoff]

S. Kelly, I had the gunsmith measure the chamber before I sent it off to S&W. It was measured with two other weapons, another M&P 9 and a Glock 9. Mine was .388, the other M&P was .390, and .391 for the Glock. So I beleive my barrel was maybe out of spec. At least it was the smallest of the three. I have not had the new one measured yet, but will just to know what it is. Thanks for the help and incouragement.

The SAAMI spec for a 9mm chamber is .3913" at .2" from the breech. That tapers down to .381" at the end of the chamber. If I'm reading it correctly, the tolerance is +.004"(-.000" is implied) which means your other M&P is too tight as well, but I wouldn't worry about it as long as it works. This also assumes the measurement tool you used was properly calibrated and used.

The outer dimension, at the mouth of the case, for a 9mm, or .38 or .357 cartridge is .380" with a tolerance of -.007" (again, the +.000 is implied).