Sig P226 Failure to Feed

[nwbackpacker]

Hi all. Apologies if this is in the wrong forum - I checked before posting.

I have a six month old 9mm Sig P226, Enhanced Elite version if that matters. The gun is stock - no modifications of any kind. I've fired 1400 rounds through this gun with ZERO failures of any kind. I've mostly fired 115gr and 124gr FMJ ammo at the range. S&B, Speer Lawman, and American Eagle. I've also verified that the Speer GD +p works fine. Everything was perfect.

Until last night! I had TWO failures to feed with Speer Lawman 124gr FMJ. The ejection was fine, but the round failed to chamber. It was perhaps only 1/3 moved out of the mag if that makes sense. I fired a box of S&B 115gr through and it was back to being flawless again.

I clean this gun every time I get back from the range. Quick clean out mostly, wipe gunk off slide and frame, and then regrease with TW25B. I always clean out the barrel with Hoppes 9, and rarely clean the mags but they really don't seem to be dirty! I like to *think* I have a pretty good cleaning regimen.

So, what could have caused this failure? I'm thinking weak rounds, but wouldn't that have made the ejection fail? Perhaps the mags were dirty? Haven't cleaned them yet. BTW the failure was with the same magazine. Any ideas?

Thanks...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HotGuns]

The first thing I would do is try a new magazine.

A lot of times that fixes it.

[Ram Rod]

Speer Lawman isn't exactly top-of-the-line ammo in my book. I've used a lot of it in my 45acp pistols over the years....Glocks and SIG. Your cleaning regimen? Wire brush the feed ramp, etc........ Plenty of spare mags is always what I like to have on hand to narrow down issues. Also consider fatigue after 200 rounds downrange and changing your grip. Ruling out possibilities is generally easy if you follow one step at a time. Either way....a FTF is good training at the range IMO. Any FTF should elicit an immediate response (other than stopping and staring at the pistol in surprise). Tap, rack, bang. Years ago I looked at a FTF as *** too. A FTF might as well be a FTWA (failure to walk away) from an encounter....luckily all my problems have happened at the range. Basic steps to follow......ammo, magazine, firearm, user.

[QKShooter]

What HotGuns said - and order a replacemment magazine spring for that one from Wolff and you might be about due for a recoil spring replacement also.

Do clean your magazines. If they are yukky internally then that could result in a sluggish/lazy follower that may not position every cartridge perfectly for a flawless feed.

[RKM]

99% of the time it's ammo or mags. Did both failures happen with the same mag? If so, mark it and know that it's suspect to poor reliability and keep shooting. Continue to use it, but know that it's "the one". I do this with my 1911 mags. I have one bad one but still use it at the range. If I have a FTF, I drop the mag and see that it's "the one" and move on with my life.

Try different ammo too. stick with ammo you've used with no failures. If you continue to have issues with multiple mags and multiple brands of ammo, contact Sig. Otherwise... don't worry so much. I freaked out once when my G30 stovepipe with UMC 2 years ago Even the BEST guns may choke on bulk ammo. Hasn't happened since, since I started using "better" bulk ammo.

[dukalmighty]

Some failure to feeds can be due to out of spec ammo,but at 1400 rounds it could very well be a recoil spring issue,the spring may have lost some of it's power and doesn't have enough oomph to grab a round and chamber it,do you know if both FTF were from full mags,sometimes a weak recoil spring and tension on the round from a full mag could stop the slide from slamming home.

[rstickle]

Another vote for a mag check!

[OldMick]

I agree with previous posters.

In the Sig Armorer's course I learned that the vast majority (upwards of 80%, if I recall correctly) of Sigs returned to the factory for service have the problem resolved by cleaning. So I would disassemble and clean the mags first. Note the orientation of the spring as you remove it from the body and replace it the same way.

For carry guns I would do spring changes every 3000 rounds or annually. So, second I would replace the mag spring and recoil spring.

If those two suggestions don't work, I'd try another magazine to see if the problem persists.

[sigmk25]

i also agree with the others, clean your mag, also im sure your well aware that sigs are very picky on what ammo they are fed, they hate and will not digest ( if you will) blazer or wolf too well, a lot of FTF's. so if its your first p226 dont go the cheap route on ammo , if you want to go cheap get the .22lr conversion kit

[nwbackpacker]

Thank you all for the replies!!!

I have now cleaned the mags and they are spotless. They really weren't that dirty - just some powder residue here and there.

The failures were in the same mag (which of course I did NOT mark!! Uggh) and were not the first round in the mag. The first failure was the second round and the second failure was maybe round 5 or so out of a full 15 magazine.

I've inspected the recoil spring and have a question about that. It doesn't slide gracefully back and forth on the rod. It's somewhat "sticky" and not because it's dirty - it just fits fairly tight. I have always lightly greased the rod and wipe off the recoil spring, which also appears to be very clean indeed. Is it supposed to stick or fit that tightly on the rod? I guess I would expect it to be snug but not so tight that I have to give it a little tug to remove it from the rod. That would seem to impede correct movement of the spring on the rod.

I'm wondering if I should get a new solid stainless rod at the same time as the new recoil spring. I'll monitor the situation and see if it's the same mag. I know the ammo is cheap, which is why I bought it to be honest as it's just range ammo. But I can't afford to fire my SD ammo through the gun on a regular basis. I just put 20 through every month or so to make sure it's still "good" with the gun.

Again, thanks for all the feedback. It's very much appreciated.

[QKShooter]

I'm wondering if I should get a new solid stainless rod at the same time as the new recoil spring.

The highly polished Stainless recoil spring guide rods are always a nice plus.
Friction is the enemy of all semi-automatic handguns. Go for MecGar magazines as they ARE the SIG factory magazines and they are usually finished a bit BETTER than the factory SIG mags.

[OldMick]

And just a side note: on the stranded recoil springs there is a "tight" end of the spring - it goes on the guide rod first.