My Shadow is still jamming, match tomorrow, HELP!!!

[jonesturf]

OK, Bought this Shadow end of last year. Broke it in, usual jams etc for the first 500 hundred rounds. Worked up some loads and shot a match with it. All of a sudden it wouldn't feed the bullets and would get hung up at the top of the feed ramp. A little slam on the slide and it usually chambered. Well after fighting that about 40 times during the match, my first match ever, I decided to look into it.

Read all the common issues and did most except the extractor removal which I am going to perform now (was waiting on a punch). The bullets by the way were Rainier 124FP. They were about 1100fps and the length was 1.060. It did it a couple times prior to shooting the match but immediately it started on match day. Nothing changed in the loading of the rounds.

I detailed stripped it and cleaned it good. It looks like the extractor won't let the rim of the cartridge slide up into the breechface. I confirmed this many times as I feel this is the problem. The round is pointed at a 45 degree angle into the chamber and the nose is burried into the top of the chamber making it stick.. I was using a 13lb recoil spring at the time. I polished some areas including the feedramp and the bottom of the slide.

Made up some more loads and it got better, shot the rest (50-60 rounds) of those loads without a hiccup. Then I switched over to some Berry's 124HP. I've been pushing them now anywhere from 1020fps-1100fps over W231 and Power Pistol. Tried seating depths from 1.005 to 1.030 (as far as I can go). It still does it about once every 15 shots. Doesn't seem to matter what loads but I did notice the 12lb Wolff spring did it less than the 11lb CZ spring. Haven't really tried the 13 lately.

I am going to perform extractor removal, hopefully, and see how that goes. I have seen similar probelms in other posts but they usually blamed it on ammo. I don't have any factory ammo to compare it to. Was hoping it wasn't that. I have a match tomorrow night and would like to go thru one without many hiccups. I'm just getting started in the world of action pistol and I got thrown into the fire big time my first match, although I am pretty good at clearing jams now !!

If anybody has some advice other than the extractor removal, which I'm going to do right now, I'm all ears.

[jonesturf]

OK removed extractor, it was a little dirty but not bad, especially for around 800 rounds. Don't think its going to help. Anybody have any ideas? Could it be the bullet? Should I load even shorter, like 1.01 instead of 1.03?

[Stuart]

any chance you can find any factory ammo..something like Federal or Winchester..just work from a standard.

check your breechface especially around the FP hole and the extractor hook..look for any burrs that might catch the case feeding up.

you have checked the barrel for any burrs, nicks, etc.

[jonesturf]

I looked at breechface and chamber well once and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I refuse to pay for factory ammo!!! I'll just shoot through it. Its better than what it was at the first match. I will take a closer look at them and everything else again. I should know if I fix it because I can create this problem by cycling the slide with my hand so I shouldn't have to go out and shoot it. I'll keep you posted.

[jonesturf]

Ok, got her back together. Total detail strip and clean (again). I completed all of the things in the sticky about common problems during break-in. Checked the chamber, seemed ok, polished top a little anyway. Polished feed ramp again lightly. Cleaned extractor. Polished breechface.

It seems a  better by manually cycling it but I can still slow it down a little and produce the jam. I guess I won't know until I shoot it. I know its hard to pinpoint what may have helped after doing so many things at once. The only thing I think might have helped was polishing the breech face. The extractor wasn't very dirty, although it could have been causing the problem. But the breechface seemed a little rough, no noticeable nicks or burs though.

I'll let you know how I make out. Hopefully this is it. Anybody else have any thoughts?

[bang bang]

I looked at breechface and chamber well once and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I refuse to pay for factory ammo!!! I'll just shoot through it. Its better than what it was at the first match. I will take a closer look at them and everything else again. I should know if I fix it because I can create this problem by cycling the slide with my hand so I shouldn't have to go out and shoot it. I'll keep you posted.

its too bad you wont flip for some factory ammo. 

you may want to look at your ammo.  since you use reloads are  ALL of the rounds  good as far as LOA after shooting a couple?  sometimes the leftover rounds in the mag can get bumped around and may have some setback. 

also, do you do the "plunk" test for your reloads to verfiy they arent too long for the chamber?

[jonesturf]

I was kind of joking and at this point I would if I could find it. I did compare a Hornady XTP load by manually dropping the slide and it jams harder than the HP I have been using.

I did try the plunk test and for these bullets I have to keep in behind 1.035" or it doesn't drop freely. The XTP load easily passes as well.

Is this normal for a round to not feed when dropping the slide by hand?

[jonesturf]

Shot the match, about 80 rounds. Everything went great except the 2nd to last round stovepiped. Go figure. Well at least it was a different failure, if thats a good thing. I'll be shooting it more and report back if I have any problems.

[Artist]

That is a good thing. The stove pipe was likely a limp wrist, easy to do in a match (especially if you're worried about a FTF happening) and it's now not likely to happen again any time soon.

[double pedro]

FWIW, your reloads sound very short. The shorter the OAL, the greater the angle when the round gets pushed up the ramp and has to make the "turn" into the chamber.  You may want to try loading a bit longer and see if it makes any difference.

[wellingj]

I load Montana Gold 124gr CMJ at 1.140" and have had one Failure to Feed in 5000 rounds. YMMV.

[mountaincoulee]

I load my Montana gold 147s to 1.115" and it works like a charm.

[sigsauerfan]

either a  too  short  case/bullit  or  low loads. that's  pretty  much  it.

[yarpos]

either a  too  short  case/bullit  or  low loads. that's  pretty  much  it.

short case definitely,  I had a couple today in amongst a couple of hundred reloads.  Any noticeable reduced overall length = misfeed.  Good lesson for me to check ammo before  comps or shoot factory when competing.

[jonesturf]

I can't load them past 1.030 or they won't fall from my chamber. CZ's have a short chamber and the Berry's 124 HPs I'm using must be loaded that short. I recall Angus stating he loads his 125 JHP Zeros @ 1.01.

I have shot it since I fiddled with it and I have only had 3 failures since thru about 500 rounds. I couldn't really tell what they were because they were all during a match. Two I believe were from lack of lubrication because I got rushed into being the first shooter and didn't have time to lube my gun properly before the first stage (I know should have done it before but the only bottle of lube was in my range bag, in my truck so I thought I would just hit it before I shot, it was almost bone dry). After that it ran fine and the other could have been unrelated like a bad primer, couldn't diagnose.

Thanks for everyone's input.