Failure to Feed problem

[BlueMerle]

I not sure what is going on here. Would appreciate some input.

I was at the range with my Glock 23 (.40). I had 50 rounds of Federal Hydro Shok that I fired without any problem what so ever using three different mags.

Then I started to go through the 100 rounds of Winchester white box and I began to have problems. I loaded 5 rounds into the mag and I would fire the first two and then it would fail to feed the third round, leaving the slide open. A quick tug on the slide cured the problem and the remaining 3 rounds fired fine.

Thing is this problem continued for the entire 100 rounds always failing to feed the third round. I rotated through all the mags with no luck.

I have approx 800 to 1000 rounds through the Glock with no problems before this. I think that this is the first time I've run Winchester through it, but I'm not sure. Either way, this doesn't seem like an ammo problem to me... or am I mistaken?

BTW all the mags are "Glock" and I've not made any modifications to the gun. It's factory stock.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[QKShooter]

I've said this on the forum before.
Never judge any pistol by how well it shoots/handles WWB ammo.
Some members swear by it and even carry for self~defense purposes.
I never had much luck with it and I won't ever buy it again.
It's GREAT for what it is.
And what it is - is cheap, low budget ammo. Just my personal opinion.

[Tangle]

I've experience similar stoppages. Here's my thought on the problem. I believe the recoil springs in Glocks are designed to handle moderate to heavy loads. The white box ammo may be just a bit light to fully cycle the slide. That means that the slide doesn't travel rearward enough to develop enough force to chamber the next round.

A guy in my class at Blackwater last May said he had experienced FTF by releasing the slide from slide lock using the slide lock lever. But, he never had the problem if he pulled the slide rearward. The difference is how much force the recoil spring develops. The further to the rearward the slide travels, the more force it returns with.

You could confirm this by installing a slightly reduce power recoil spring. But, I wouldn't shoot 'high performance' ammo with a reduced power recoil spring.

Another issue may be your grip. A combination of light loads and a slightly relaxed grip/wrist may be interfering with the slide cycling.

It is interesting that while I have experienced FTFs with my Glocks, my H&K USP, Sigs, Beretta, and XD eats the WWB ammo like I eat was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

[Bud White]

try different ammo first WWB quality has went done the past year or so

[Rob72]

It sounds like this is a problem with 1 magazine, and every 3rd round (not "about" every 3rd...)? If so, a new mag spring would be my first step. Glocks are pretty much GTG, out of the box for a looooooonnnngggg time, but occassionally, you'll come across a dud spring.

[amlevin]

try different ammo first WWB quality has went done the past year or so

There must be some correlation between Price and Quality. Don't you think? When they lower the price, I wonder what they leave out?

[foob]

That means that the slide doesn't travel rearward enough to develop enough force to chamber the next round....
You could confirm this by installing a slightly reduce power recoil spring. But, I wouldn't shoot 'high performance' ammo with a reduced power recoil spring.

That doesn't sound right. The force to chamber the next round is dependent on the previous round and the slide mass, has nothing to do with the spring.

I think what you mean is that the slide doesn't travel rearward enough to physically chamber the next round. And a reduced power spring will allow the slide to move rearward enough.

[ckd]

+1 to the comments. Mark you mags so you can identify if it is a mag problem. I not a fan of WWBs but every third round would suggest its not the ammo, its the magazine or possibly gun rotation. If it is a new gun, the magazines shouldn't be an issue, and at worst, only one magazine. Are the magazine very easy to load? Do you tap them back after loading?

Did you shoot any more hydra-shocks immediately after?

Did you only have a failure to feed with out a stove-pipe? Stove pipes are almost always operator induced by having too much gun movement.

The best way is to have an instructor/long time semi shooter watch you and then see if the problem can be duplicated with them.

It could be some after Katrina ammo?

Let us know how what you discover. Good luck.

[Bud White]

There must be some correlation between Price and Quality. Don't you think? When they lower the price, I wonder what they leave out?

Yes and no

I used to get WWB cheaper than i can now and it worked fine now it cost more and more problems

Couple be that its outsourced or they changed powder etc etc


But i used to recommend it now i don't

[BlueMerle]

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll be going back to the range in a few days and will shoot some more Federal ... we'll see.

After talking with some friends I've come to the conclusion that it must be ammo related.