A new gun and a new problem. Maybe.

[Sheslinger]

We just bought an SW99 Compact in .40. Of course, Cslinger had to clean it and then release it into its natural habitat (even though we were just there yesterday). The gun is very comfy even though it's just a tad bigger than a G26 and one of the two mags does not have a pinky rest. It ran through 50 rounds of American Eagle 165 grain ammo with no problems. More accurate than my Walther P99 was right out of the box (could have something to do with my familiarity with the platform) and a lot of fun.

Then we put 20 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 165 grain through and it choked on two of the rounds, one of mine and one of Cslinger's. So, Cslinger says that it could be because of the size of Gold Dot's hollow point cavity and goes back in and buys 20 rounds of Federal Hydrashok 165 grain, and the gun chokes on one of them. All three were failures to feed and fed fine after dropping the mag, dropping the slide, etc. All three happen in the middle of a mag (two different mags).

Then we were all packed to go home but of course Cslinger was on a mission and had to buy 20 rounds of 165 grain Winchester SXTs. Ran fine this time.

So, now of course, it will be bugging him until we have the gun for a year or so. He says he just needs to run a couple hundred rounds through to break it in or that it could be fond of certain ammo brands but his forehead says, "It's not a SIG, what do you expect?"

Help...pick a choice in the poll to let us know what you think the reason might be. I realize that this is way too early to tell but this is our first SW semi-auto, and we don't know if they are prone to be picky in the first 500 rounds or so.

Oh, yeah, and I was not watching but Cslinger said all the guys' jaws dropped when I turned to him and said, "Honey, could I get this?" So, I told him, "They can think you wear the pants in the family but you and I know the truth".

Thanks a bunch
Sheslinger

 

[seeker_two]

First, give it a good cleaning & lubing...
Then, try shooting 200 rounds of ball through it...
If the problem persists, try two new magazines...
If that doesn't work, send it back to S&W for warranty work...

And, if THAT doesn't work, trade it in on a 1911...

 

[Preacherman]

First of all, until it's had several hundred rounds through it, relax. Any pistol needs a break-in period.

After the break-in, you can start to worry if more than a quarter of hollow-point ammo. brands fail to feed in it. Under those circumstances, I'd have a gunsmith do a throat and ramp job (smooth/polish the feed ramp and round - VERY LIGHTLY! - and polish the bottom half of the chamber entrance, to allow rounds to slip over the edge more easily). This should solve your problem. It's often required on untuned pistols, so it's by no means a major defect. (For example, the full-size CZ97 often won't feed hollowpoints, and needs this work.)

If, after all that, you still have feeding reliability problems with JHP, sell the gun and buy something more reliable.

 

[Josey]

Hey What if? You buy a new car and 3 times out of a 100, it fails to start? Can we say lemon? Good, I knew you could.

 

[Bowlcut]

hmmm you got me wondering julie. ive never fired my gun with any defensive rounds yet. next outting i planned to cycle the federals out of stock since ive had them about 4-5 months now. maybe next shoot we need to go together and try them side by side. and the fact i want to shoot the compact . ive loved my sw99 full size... smith got something right...maybe

 

[Bowlcut]

wait.....failure to feed, not on first round or last round right? then its limp wristing . nah. but know the follower was changed on the .40's and mine still has the old follower even tho its a 2003 gun. thats not an issue till you get to the last round tho. trying to remember if ive fired any hollow points though my gun yet. know ive put around 1500+ rounds though it now maybe more. mostly winchester, but some alabama ammo, some seller benot, some federal, some speer. hmmm ok dont make me shoot the expensive stuff

 

[boing]

Can we say lemon? Good, I knew you could.

And if it then runs for 200,000 miles without a lick of trouble, what do you call it?

 

[Josey]

Hey Gunsmith tuned?

 

[PCRCCW]

Shoot FMJ's through it, clean it and repeat. Repeat, repeat and repeat.


JHP's really dont cause failures with todays guns, their geometery and good ammo. Id bet you just have to shoot it more. For the time when the metal parts are still getting to know each other and are slowly getting intimate, ANY gun can be finicky. Buy more bullets and have fun.

Let us know what happens. Shoot well

 

[mtnbkr]

And if it then runs for 200,000 miles without a lick of trouble, what do you call it?

A Toyota?



Chris

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

I voted for "It needs a break in period". 'Cause it probably does.

But what I am really thinking is "It's not a Walther and it's trying to choke itself so you get rid of it and get the real thing"

I like my wife's Walther P99 a lot... might need to get one of my own too.

 

[Old Fuff]

This will probably get me in trouble …….

But rather then lube the pistol I would dry it out. Why? Because the dry parts will burnish faster, and that’s what “breaking in†is all about. Will this cause feeding problems? Maybe, but at this point I wouldn’t care. After a couple of hundred rounds thoroughly clean and lube it and see what it does. Some automatics are sensitive to cartridge profile (read that to mean overall-length and the shape of the bullet’s nose) and some minor adjustments might need to be made to the magazines lips to accommodate certain rounds.

I wouldn’t polish anything. You may end up returning the gun to Smith & Wesson, and they might consider any after market alterations cause to void the warrantee. Save the home gunsmithing until later. Incidentally, I wouldn’t trust my neck on any pistol that REQUIRED a polished feed ramp and barrel throat to feed reliably.

 

[PCRCCW]

Sorry, old fluff, I dissagree...there is no way in h$ll I would run a new gun dry.
Metal to metal surfaces do wear and mate to each other....but proper lube will allow them to seat to each other properly. The lube gives the metal particles that come off during breakin, some where to go instead of being used like sand paper on your new guns metal parts. Without proper lube, you may get galling, excessive wear in places you dont want it, you can get your gun hot enough to change the Rockwell of the frame/slide....making it harder or softer than its supposed to be.

Gun lube cools as it dissepates the heat, carries away particals that DO come off of guns...keeping them suspended and out of harms way, until you clean it again and of course lubricates the parts as needed for consistant bearing surface wear and break in.

I havent done this...but call Kimber or Sig and talk to their Customer Service managment. Ask them if they would warranty a gun that was run dry for the first 2-300 rnds. Id like to know the answer.

Just my take on things......respectfully, Shoot well

 

[cslinger]

Well, it looks like it just needed to be held.

Took it to the range today and ran 100 rounds of Win White box hollow points and it ran like a dream. Ran 15 rounds of Federal Hydrashok and it ran like a dream.

We are going to keep running some defensive ammo through it but it looks like it may have just needed to be held.

Sheslinger shoots it extremely well. I am surprised since it is such a tiny little gun. I find it very comfortable and like it very much and now I am feeling much better about it.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Old Fuff]

PCRCCW:

Well I said I'd probably get into trouble.... and I have no objection if you disagree with me.

However.....

>> Without proper lube, you may get galling, excessive wear in places you don’t want it, you can get your gun hot enough to change the Rockwell of the frame/slide....making it harder or softer than its supposed to be. <<


Shooting at a high rate of speed may get a pistol a bit warm to handle, but no way will it effect the material it's made of, and that includes the ones with Polymer frames. I believe this thread is in reference to a handgun, not a full-automatic something-or-other.

>> Gun lube cools as it dissepates the heat, carries away particals that DO come off of guns...keeping them suspended and out of harms way, until you clean it again and of course lubricates the parts as needed for consistant bearing surface wear and break in. <<

A thin film of lubricant won't do much toward dissipating heat. An excessive amount of it combined with powder/primer residue turns into a very effective lapping compound. Hopefully a lot of "particals" won't be coming off of my new gun and suspended somewhere.

>> I havent done this...but call Kimber or Sig and talk to their Customer Service managment. Ask them if they would warranty a gun that was run dry for the first 2-300 rnds. Id like to know the answer. <<

I haven't either, and if I did I'd feel a bit foolish. I do know them though. One way or another I've been a part of the firearms' industry for over a half-century. For the last 30 or so I've been associated with a Firearms Industry trade magazine as a writer and researcher. SIG/Sauer's for example are engineered to go through unlimited rounds while bone dry. So are the other big-name brands.

This is not to say that a handgun shouldn't be clean and properly (not excessively) lubricated when it's being carried or used - especially as a weapon. But a couple of hundred rounds downrange to get it settled in while it's dry won't hurt it, and it may reveal a condition you need to know about. I know ... I've been through a heap of them.

 

[boing]

Keep us apprised of any additional gunsmith tuning your lemon requires.

 

[Bowlcut]

i know walther/smith both recomend shooting heavy loads in the 9mm for the first few hundred rounds to break in the spring. if i had to guess...the compact in either 40 or 9 really need that done as well. I know i havent ran andy defensive ammo yet...next range session I will. but the trigger is now just getting "good" and im shooting it well....1600 or so rounds later i guess

 

[Darrin]

Is this the SW99 Compact that was at ASP?

Nice gun.

 

[cslinger]

No, we actually bought it at Guns and Leather. Assuming everything breaks in nicely it really is a nice little gun. I like it much better than the other Sub-Compacts.

Chris

 

[10-Ring]

She's just breaking in. Once you run a few hundred reliable rounds through it & keep it well lubed & cleaned, you'll be fine!

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I think it may be overly optimistic to think this is all due to the gun not being broken in.

It seems to be a very ammo specific problem, with hollowpoints.

You have put 160 rounds thru it. It is getting close to being broken in.

 

[cslinger]

Lone Gunman,

The malfunctions occured in the first 90 rounds.

Since round 90 we have fired 135 rounds of hollowpoint ammo with no malfunctions.

The ammo was 100 rounds of Win White box 180 grain, Win SXT 165 Grain and Federal Hydrashok 165 grain.

It will be a week or two before we can run more through it but it is starting to feel like it was a break in issue.

Chris

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Oops, i misread your original post.

I thought you said you put 100 rds of FMJs thru it first with no problems, sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[PCRCCW]

Old Fuff

Well I said I'd probably get into trouble.... and I have no objection if you disagree with me.

Ya know what...same. I seem to get into my fair share of completely avoidable trouble to boot

Its a pleasure agreeing with you about disagreeing

Shoot well

 

[cslinger]

Geeezz guys get a room wouldcha.

I tell you this is one of the reason's I like this site, people are civilized even when they don't agree with each other. Ford or Chevy it don't matter.

Thanks for all the replies.

Chris