Received my R9S about two months ago and believe it or not I was only able to get to the range last week. Some good, some not so good. I am not quite disgruntled but not really gruntled either.
Before going to the range I started with a disassembly just to see what it looks like on the inside. With all of the previous discussion to teach me it really was not difficult at all. I used a piece of 12 gage copper electric wire for the punch and was surprised that it is plenty strong to do the job of removing the pin. I was not able, after considerable trying though, to reinstall the guide rod / spring assembly without employing the pliers technique.
I posted some of this info in the thread “Jammed while racking the slide” last week so some of this might be a repeat.
At the range I started with Speer Gold Dot 124 gr (the range did not have the 115 gr.). For the first 10 magazines I started with an empty chamber and just shot the 6 rounds in the magazine. 1st magazine experienced no failures. To my surprise and delight the very first round was a bull’s eye at 7 yds, medium slow aim. The second magazine jammed on round 3. Mags 3 & 4 no failures. Mag 5, round 3 jammed, mag 6 round 1 & 3 jammed, mag 7 round 3 jammed. Some of these had the bullet nose jammed low on the feed ramp, some with the bullet nose partway into the barrel, and some with the bullet nose jammed at the top of the barrel. Some of the jams were as Cuteo showed in his photos on July 25 with two bullets overlapping. Magazines 11 thru 14 started with a round in the chamber. Mags 13 & 14 both unlatched during the firing of the first round, dropped down about .5 in and did not pick up the next round. I do not think my fingers hit the latch during firing but it is possible. I can’t imagine how the mag could become unlatched. After 88 rounds, 14 magazines full, 12 jams of one sort or another I packed up and went home a bit unhappy.
I stripped it down and cleaned it thoroughly. I noticed that the portion of the frame that contacts the bottom of the barrel on each side is a bit rough. You can see this in Cuteo’s photos, the top left of the bottom four photos. Is this a normal wear pattern? I would expect some wear of the anodizing but should it feel rough? Re-lubricated per instructions and re-assembled.
The next day I went to the range again. First four mags (7 rounds ea.) of Speer Gold Dot 124 gr. Experienced 2 to 3 jams each. Switched to Remington 115 gr MC (round nose) ammo. Four mags full (7 rounds ea.) no failures or jams. Switched to Federal Hydra-Shok 135 gr, first mag full unlatched the mag & one jam, second mag one jam. Switched back to Remington 115 gr. MC, one mag full no jams. The slide was sticking open a bit so I stopped and went home to clean. When stripped down a piece of what looked like the brass barrel brush fell out from somewhere. Hope it didn’t damage anything.
The Gold Dots I was firing measured 1.120 to 1.122 over all length. Could anyone measure their Gold Dot 124 gr. to verify if this is the correct length?
I cannot replicate the jams while hand cycling the slide.
I did notice that the second round often has a fairly large dent just at the back end of the lead after chambering the first round.
Sorry for being a bit long winded but I hope this might help figure out what is going wrong.
Any comments & suggestions are most appreciated. Not about to give up but sure has me baffled.
I might try the Militec as Cuteo has done.
Craig T.