Now What? First reloads too long for auto gun. Won't load properly ,won't eject !

[John Gault]

So much for the "fun stuff".... First reloads are too long for my pistol and slide will not close 100% or open to eject. I have a 90% ready to fire round. I now have a dangerous club. NOT GOOD.

Anybody have suggestions on getting this round out without damage to self or gun?

So much for thinking I had a good understanding of this process. Rounds fit in magazine ok, fit nicely in head space gauge but I'm way longer than I'm seeing posted. Guess I missed a critical read.

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[John Gault]

Fixed!
Cheap dentist tools finally paid for themselves. Now to shorten the seating a tad bit!!

 

[bellarum]

When I develop pistol rounds I remove the barrel and drop them in to check if they fit. If that happened to me I think I would drop the mag and attempt free it up at home, outside in a safe direction while another adult was present in a safe area. That way if anything did go wrong you are close to medical help. Not gonna happen in the woods with no cell sevice. Youll probably have to slip a short tube over the barrel against the face of the slide and tap it back open with a mallet. What ever you decide to do will be at your own risk. Everything I do is Good luck!

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yea, your barrel is the best case/cartridge gauge. It should "plunk" in.. ie pass the plunk test by just falling in with a plunk to proper depth.

 

[Bob243]

Fixed!
Cheap dentist tools finally paid for themselves. Now to shorten the seating a tad bit!!

So,how did you fix?

 

[My 3 sons]

A wise old reloader told me once to make up a few rounds for a semi auto without primer or powder to check the action. I would pass this on to you as well and hopefully avoid any future frustrations like this. Been there done that though. Glad you got it out safely.

 

[John Gault]

So,how did you fix?

Able to disengage extractor which allowed slide to come back and took pressure off bullet seating.

 

[Nickb]

A wise old reloader told me once to make up a few rounds for a semi auto without primer or powder to check the action. I would pass this on to you as well and hopefully avoid any future frustrations like this. Been there done that though. Glad you got it out safely.

I have a box of bagged up brass with a bullet in them, no primer no powder. The baggies that the dummy rounds are in are labeled with the load data, in case I ever lose my log book.

They are also nice to have to get the seat die set close after switching bullet shapes/weights.

I also always do the plunk test, even on rounds I have loaded 1000's of that are well documented.

 

[John Gault]

A wise old reloader told me once to make up a few rounds for a semi auto without primer or powder to check the action. I would pass this on to you as well and hopefully avoid any future frustrations like this. Been there done that though. Glad you got it out safely.

I used that method to get to the point where I thought I was right (except the part about putting them in the chamber) because I thought I understood the LEE headspace guage I bought as something other than what it was...... Next time!

 

[John Gault]

Went to the range and put 25 rounds down range but was in a bit of a hurry due to closing time so didn't do as much scientific research as I wanted but::

All twenty five rounds (in groups of 5) went bang!!

I loaded 5 groups of 5 each of 115 grain HAP with FC brass and Federal Match primers. Each with a slightly larger powder charge.

4.0 grains Titegroup, 4.1 gr, 4.2 gr, 4.3 gr and 4.4 grain

The 4.2 and 4.4 grain groups seemed to hold best but I'll work up some more and try again when I have time to circle groups and enjoy the process. Tonight was primarily a shoot and live or die night. I feel pretty good but not cocky by any means. Back to the drawing board.

Thanks to everyone who posted (I'm listening) and didn't laugh too much.

 

[Mikej]

On Wifey's Kimber Pro Aegis I had to reduce OAL to 1.085 using Montana Gold 125gr JHPs, 1.095 and it doesn't pass the "Plunk Test". It's wasn't an issue with the first loads I did with Speer 115gr RN bullets. The Kimber had the lands way closer to the chamber than any of our other 9mm arms. there never was an issue with the extractor locked on the rim of the bullet though. The gun wouldn't go into battery is all.

My concern, when shortening the OAL so much, would be pressure. Maybe not so much an issue in a full size, but in an LC9, or KelTec PF9/P11 type gun?

Mike