Fastbolt
Member
Don't start fiddling with "fixing" the pistol. Don't start trying to "fix" the extractor.
Instead, cleaning & lube the pistol. Clean the magazines (they should remain clean and wiped dry).
Try some different ammunition.
When you buy budget priced 115gr 9mm ammo, you may not get the same full & brisk slide travel & cycling that you can get with some other ammo. Reduced slide velocity and slide travel can easily create the potential for feeding issues where the slide & barrel may not return to full battery before the spring runs out of force.
As your gun and recoil spring are used for a while, the lighter recoiling ammo (and lower velocity/light bullet weight loads) will likely feed & function better in your gun.
New pistols have stiff, new recoil springs, which means they may less tolerant of lighter recoiling loads at first. Any slight shooter grip instability (relaxed grip and/or unlocked wrist) can certainly exacerbate failure-to-feed/chamber issues caused by lighter recoiling ammo.
The M&P isn't a 1911, so the extractor isn't checked the same way. Armorers aren't taught to use a Dummy round to see if it will be "held" by the extractor in order to determine proper tension.
Hand-cycling live ammo is plain NOT a good idea. That's why properly sized Dummy rounds are available. When Dummy rounds ARE used, it's to let the slide run fully forward (at full speed, as when released from slide-lock or by sling-shotting) ... NOT by gently releasing or easing the slide forward.
Lots of owners & users unconsciously slow the slide's "release", which hinders the recoil spring in doing its intended job, and which can easily induce failure-to-feed & chamber conditions. The stripping, feeding & chambering process is intended to occur at a specific speed, briskly powered by the recoil spring (whether by manual release or live fire cycling).
FWIW, as an armorer for several makes/models of pistols, I've resolved many, many more "feeding failures" by identifying and solving a shooter-induced problem, or an occasional ammo problem, than actual "gun" problems.
Instead, cleaning & lube the pistol. Clean the magazines (they should remain clean and wiped dry).
Try some different ammunition.
When you buy budget priced 115gr 9mm ammo, you may not get the same full & brisk slide travel & cycling that you can get with some other ammo. Reduced slide velocity and slide travel can easily create the potential for feeding issues where the slide & barrel may not return to full battery before the spring runs out of force.
As your gun and recoil spring are used for a while, the lighter recoiling ammo (and lower velocity/light bullet weight loads) will likely feed & function better in your gun.
New pistols have stiff, new recoil springs, which means they may less tolerant of lighter recoiling loads at first. Any slight shooter grip instability (relaxed grip and/or unlocked wrist) can certainly exacerbate failure-to-feed/chamber issues caused by lighter recoiling ammo.
The M&P isn't a 1911, so the extractor isn't checked the same way. Armorers aren't taught to use a Dummy round to see if it will be "held" by the extractor in order to determine proper tension.
Hand-cycling live ammo is plain NOT a good idea. That's why properly sized Dummy rounds are available. When Dummy rounds ARE used, it's to let the slide run fully forward (at full speed, as when released from slide-lock or by sling-shotting) ... NOT by gently releasing or easing the slide forward.
Lots of owners & users unconsciously slow the slide's "release", which hinders the recoil spring in doing its intended job, and which can easily induce failure-to-feed & chamber conditions. The stripping, feeding & chambering process is intended to occur at a specific speed, briskly powered by the recoil spring (whether by manual release or live fire cycling).
FWIW, as an armorer for several makes/models of pistols, I've resolved many, many more "feeding failures" by identifying and solving a shooter-induced problem, or an occasional ammo problem, than actual "gun" problems.
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