Ammo that Feeds or Fails (Pictures Please)

[AFCop]

I am experiencing failure to feed in my K40 with Federal 180 grain Jacketed Hollow Point. The bullet is pretty blunt and jams on the feed ramp, not sure if I will be able to make my Kahr and this round play well together but I'll keep trying.

I will also look for a bullet shape that slides up the ramp more dependably.

What rounds work well for you? Please post pictures of the bullets that feed well and/or those that haven't.

Thank you



I've been able to reduce the malfunctions but still have about 3 out of 50 get hung on the polished feed ramp like this. Although it happened toward the end of the session and the ramp had become blackened with soot.

[sas PM9]

AFC:

I have no experience with the .40S&W, but a few answered questions might help the next person formulate a reply.

-At what round count in the magazine does the jam occur?
-Is the feed ramp highly polished?
-Is the weapon lubricated according to the "lube stickie procedure"?
-With the magazine out and empty does the follower move smoothly inside of the magazine?
-Are the recoil springs fresh and full strength or old and tired?

HTH.

-steve

[muggsy]

Instead of trying to make this particular round work, why not look for an SD round that will feed reliably. There are plenty of good SD rounds out there. If it consistently happens toward the end of the session it could just be shooter fatigue and a dirty gun. To be honest, I can remember the last time that I fired 50 rounds in a SD situation.

[AFCop]

AFC:

I have no experience with the .40S&W, but a few answered questions might help the next person formulate a reply.

-At what round count in the magazine does the jam occur?
Didnt count them, next time I will do that.
-Is the feed ramp highly polished?
Yes, highly polished.
-Is the weapon lubricated according to the "lube stickie procedure"?
Yes, I ran it wet and according to the lube chart.
-With the magazine out and empty does the follower move smoothly inside of the magazine?
Yes, I sanded the follower, it passes smoothly past the mag catch.
-Are the recoil springs fresh and full strength or old and tired?
I have a new spring for it and will try that next.

HTH.

-steve

Thank you for the suggestions, I really am curious as to what rounds and bullet shape work reliably for other K40 shooters.

[AFCop]

Instead of trying to make this particular round work, why not look for an SD round that will feed reliably. There are plenty of good SD rounds out there. If it consistently happens toward the end of the session it could just be shooter fatigue and a dirty gun. To be honest, I can remember the last time that I fired 50 rounds in a SD situation.

I want to see if this round will work reliably in the K40 as it is my duty ammo and I have ready access to it. If I have to, I will purchase different ammo, but I want to eliminate all other causes for the FTF before I blame the ammo/weapon compatability.

[gb6491]

Looks to me like the slide stop might be interfering with that bullet's profile.
If it were my pistol, I'd probably tape off the frame to protect it, then insert just the slide stop pin (leaving the lever completely outside the frame) and see if I could hand cycle some of those rounds through it that way. If they did cycle, I'd be inclined to take a little material off the stop to see if that would let the rounds cycle with the lever inserted. Since I'd have to be careful about where and how much material I'd need to remove so that the stop would still function correctly, I might buy a spare stop first.

Regards,
Greg

[mtnwinds]

I agree with Greg. It looks to me like something is pushing your cartridge to the right and the most likely culprit is the slide lock. I feed that same round in my K40 with no problem.

[AFCop]

I agree with Greg. It looks to me like something is pushing your cartridge to the right and the most likely culprit is the slide lock. I feed that same round in my K40 with no problem.

I agree, it looks like the round is pushed to the right and binding on the right side of the ramp. I also agree that the rounds are possibly bumping the slide lock as the slide occasionally locks back with rounds in the magazine.

However the weapon feeds 100% when manually cycled and the rounds push straight in. Judging from this view of the weapon, the slide stop shouldnt affect the round that is in line for feeding.

I have a spare slide stop and have been sanding the current slide stop in an attempt to stop the premature slide lock. I may just sand it off/flush and see how it does.

What are your thoughts?

(Click for a larger picture)

[jocko]

well te worst one can do is ruin one slide stop lev er. My thoughts are also, if one would write kahr and explain itit to them they might send u a new slide strop lever to try. I could just hav eone a tad out of spec, .If not then u have a spare slide stop andt you can do the mod that Gregg is showing u.

Persoally, if it was my gu and doin OKJ with utter brand, I would just stay awaqy from thet one problme round. to many great 40 cal round sout ther eto get to excieted about one not doing well. Just my 21 cents. It is very easy to test to see if youyr rounds are hitting the lever to..

[AFCop]

well te worst one can do is ruin one slide stop lev er. My thoughts are also, if one would write kahr and explain itit to them they might send u a new slide strop lever to try. I could just hav eone a tad out of spec, .If not then u have a spare slide stop andt you can do the mod that Gregg is showing u.

Persoally, if it was my gu and doin OKJ with utter brand, I would just stay awaqy from thet one problme round. to many great 40 cal round sout ther eto get to excieted about one not doing well. Just my 21 cents. It is very easy to test to see if youyr rounds are hitting the lever to..

I have writen to Kahr which is how I aquired the spare slide stop. I have been slowly making the modification to the stop and testing it as suggested.

I honestly don't know if the malfunctions are caused by this ammo as this is the only round I have tried. I have a stock pile of the Federal 180 but will try another round and see how it does. Thanks, I will keep you all posted.

[AFCop]

Looks to me like the slide stop might be interfering with that bullet's profile.
If it were my pistol, I'd probably tape off the frame to protect it, then insert just the slide stop pin (leaving the lever completely outside the frame) and see if I could hand cycle some of those rounds through it that way. If they did cycle, I'd be inclined to take a little material off the stop to see if that would let the rounds cycle with the lever inserted. Since I'd have to be careful about where and how much material I'd need to remove so that the stop would still function correctly, I might buy a spare stop first.

Regards,
Greg

Thanks Greg. The K40 slide stop is different, but I have been sanding and polishing as you describe here. It is almost to a point where it wont lock back on empty but the rounds still occasionaly bump it up for a premature slide lock. I'll keep playing with it and let you know how it goes.

[muggsy]

You might also want to see how easily a round slips under the extractor. That could also be contributing to the problem. Just a thought.

[AFCop]

You might also want to see how easily a round slips under the extractor. That could also be contributing to the problem. Just a thought.

The rounds seem to pop up under the extractor normally. I assembled the pistol with out the spring and guide rod and slowly cycled the slide several times with a full magazine. It runs like a fine machine in slow motion.

I am starting to think the problem lies in the magazine. When it fails to feed the rounds are pointed down and caught on the feed ramp. When I manually cycle the weapon the rounds are practically lined strait up with the barrel and barely need the feed ramp at all.


I dont know what is causing the round to tip down and jam during firing. The followers all pass smooth by the mag catch.

[mtnwinds]

AFC, do you have more than 1 magazine? I'm wondering if the feed lips of your magazine might be part of the problem. I have 3 magazines and they all feed that cartridge just fine.

Just to clarify regarding the pic showing the round angled off to the right, is that round jammed in that position?

How about the pic showing the round partially inserted into the chamber; is that round jammed?

A weak magazine spring will cause the round to tip down and jam on the feed ramp.

[JERRY]

kahr magazines have been the culprit for many failures with these pistols. this is evident by many reports even from learned members here, yet there are no plans from kahr to fix this.