Stuck case

[cdoc42]

A friend described a problem with his 9mm that I'd like to share for thoughts.

He was using factory ammunition,not reloads. He fired 15 rounds with no problem but the 16th round fired and the slide did not open to eject the case. He could not open it manually. He tried a wooden dowel and hammer, but it would not budge. He sprayed WD-40 down the 3-inch barrel and let it sit, went to a weekend reunion (where he told me about it), and upon returning home, tried the dowel. Only after his wife held the gun down on the table and he used a forceable hammer blow, did the action open and he was able to expel the case.

He then dismantled the weapon and cleaned it thoroughly, which, he says, is his usual routine with the gun. He was able to insert the fired case and it dropped back out without resistance.

I opined that he may have had a situation where chamber debris and/or lube (oil) effectively reduced the chamber size such that the fired round expanded the case and essentially glued to the chamber. The other option is that round was overcharged but I think that would have at least ripped the case from the extractor and the action would have opened.

Any thoughts?

[F. Guffey]

The other option is that round was overcharged but I think that would have at least ripped the case from the extractor and the action would have opened

.

If the case is locked to the chamber there is nothing about the function if the pistol that is going to move the slide back unless it is gas operated; if the case is stuck, the slice is stuck.

Wasted opportunity: I hear these stories all the time; most stories start with, "It must have been a double charge". To avoid all of the excuses I have suggested the reloader/shooter weight all of the ammo they are going to shoot in a session, one heavy round makes all of the effort worth while.

Again, a shooter locked his Model 66 S&W up, he could not pull the trigger, he could not pull the hammer back, he could not rotate the cylinder and he could not kick the cylinder out. His pistol was locked, he fired a case with a primer and bullet without powder; the bullet was driven into the forcing cone.

A friend and I cleared his weapon and gave it back to him, he immediately started loading it again, I decided he was not going to shoot next to me without knowing if the powder meant for one case became a double charge for the next round. We offered him all of the ammo he could shoot, we offered to loan him equipment, we offered to check his ammo before he continued all he got was mad and he left.

I will never figure what is so entertaining about pulling the trigger without knowing what is about to happen.

F. Guffey

[hdwhit]

F Guffey wrote:
...I have suggested the reloader/shooter weight all of the ammo they are going to shoot...

Actually weighing all of my ammunition against a standard weight at the end of a loading session is part of my written reloading procedures.

Of course the feedback I get when I say this that I'm stupid, weighing loaded rounds won't tell me anything, the powder charges are too small to affect the weight, and the like. But my response is that in the 30+ years I have included check weighing in my procedures, I have never had a squib or double charged round make it out to the range. Also, EVERY time the scale has said something was wrong, there has been something wrong.

This obviously wouldn't apply to 25 ACP where the powder charge is smaller than the sum of the tolerances on the bullet, case, primer and scale.

[FrankenMauser]

Does his standard cleaning procedure also include WD-40?...

[cdoc42]

That's a good question, Frankenmauser......I was going to comment on it to him,but deferred.

The stumble was the first 15 rounds fired, the 16th froze things up. But even then, I suspect carbon debris + WD40 might explain it.

FGuffey and hdwit, recall I mentioned he was shooting factory rounds, not reloads; I think your discussion related to reloads.

[F. Guffey]

The other option is that round was overcharged but I think that would have at least ripped the case from the extractor and the action would have opened.

FGuffey and hdwit, recall I mentioned he was shooting factory rounds, not reloads; I think your discussion related to reloads.

You are welcome anyhow but if anyone else is able to keep up ask them how the slide got kicked back if the case was locked in the barrel 'AND" the barrel locked to the frame

It would never happen to anyone else but I checked a home build 45 ACP; not ever time but frequently the barrel would not drop down in the rear and the slide would not slide back.

F. Guffey