LC9 : Picky with HD Ammo!

CrossHairs · Aug 26, 2012

Morning chaps,

Took my LC9 to the range yesterday to put some of the HD ammo I have through it to make sure it's "all good". Interesting thing happened, with a full mag, the first round chambered and fired perfectly, the second did not feed correctly and the flat nose got hung up on the feed ramp. After I cleared that one, it was plain sailing.

Next mag, same deal. Picked up some Hornady ammo on the way home last night, it has a smaller diameter 'nose' and just racking the slide seems to chamber without problems.

The problem ammo was Federal Premium 124 gr hydra shok JHP and Federal 147 gr JHP.

The Hornady was the 115 gr XTP.

Looking at them, the Hornady has a rolled finish to the tip while the Federal has a much flatter rougher edge.

Interested to hear if anyone else has had any issues with HD ammo on your carry gun. I'm glad I tested it out, would not have liked to discover that at a bad time.

On another note, boy was I flinching after the first couple of rounds, I was shooting low, really low till I realized what I was doing and relaxed a little. My full size 9mm is not a problem, guess I am going to have to put some more ammo down range with this one too. Another excuse to go shooting I guess

thurston24 · Aug 26, 2012

I'm sorry to hear that problem. I don't have an LC-9 so I don't know if your problem is normal. However if you can't remedy the issue, I know of another pistol that would work for you. I bought a Sccy CPX-2 which may be as good or better and is cheaper. I bought mine for $250 tax included. I know it doesn't solve your problem but if the pistol won't shoot, it provides an alternative. I hope your issue gets fixed.

jonn5335 · Aug 26, 2012

It's really hard to get used to that long DOA trigger pull on the lc9. Why not shoot FMJ's? I will only load JHP's in a revolver carry gun because if I loaded them in a semi auto even if the gun never jammed before that would be the time it did.

SavageGerbil · Aug 26, 2012

Some of the micro carry guns can hate the heavier bullets, if you've got your heart set on the stuff it doesn't like you can try polishing the feed ramp if its not perfectly smooth
Or you can give Ruger a call and see if they can fix it up for you, you'd likely be without the gun a few weeks if you had to send it back but I'd imagine they can sort it out for ya

** Edit, I hate to trash things but when you're running into problems its probably not the best idea to go cheaper, I'd avoid the SCCY if possible
SCCY CPX-2: Bad Name, Bad Gun - The Armed Lutheran

stmcelroy · Aug 26, 2012

How many rounds through the gun? If it's new then I would run a couple hundred rounds of FMJ through it first.

CrossHairs · Aug 27, 2012

It is pretty new, and yes, I intend to run some more fmj through it. It's had a few rounds, but most likely not enough. I'll give it some time and see how it pans out.

I'm not sold on the heavier rounds, it's just that I had some for my P226 and figured I'd give them a go. The Hornady rounds have not been fired yet, I'll give them a go sometime soon.

biggie24420 · Sep 3, 2012

I used to have problems with my 1911 when it came to JHP ammo... so I used Pow'R Ball ammo and it had no issues feeding. It is not a bonded bullet so the jacket and the lead do come apart but it does flatten out pretty good. Order a few boxes if you can't find them locally and run a few mags through and I'll bet you it will cycle just fine.