Malfunctioning: Need advice

[coyote]

Hey guys

I could use some help.

One of my R9s malfunctions.

It was a back-up to my daily carry model (Stealth), was never fired much so I don't know if this has always been a problem...

Its a Deer Park model, serial number R39XX, in great condition.

Upon firing, the first or second round (sometimes even the third round) often nose dives into the base of the feed ramp, usually denting the head of the bullet and locking the slide open.

An example can be seen in the attached photo.

The recoil spring has been replaced with a new one, it's well lubricated, have tried numerous brands of standard pressure 115gr FMJ rounds, used a half dozen different magazines, even tight/loose grip holds.

After the first couple/three rounds, it runs without issue, thus it only happens when the magazine spring is under heavy tension.

What am I doing wrong? Thoughts? Suggestions?

[tracker]

Have you tried a new magazine spring?

[coyote]

i've tried a half dozen magazines that function perfectly in my other R9s, so don't think that would help.

but thanks for the suggestion

[tracker]

Eric might have a thought or you could try contacting Alex at Williams Gunsight in Davison MI who was doing warranty work on the R9 after Remington bought Rohrbaugh.

https://williamsgunsight.com/contact/

[coyote]

tracker: great idea. will keep that in my pocket if members here can't help.

i hope eric might eventually chime in, seeing as he's The Man.

[backupr9]

Is the mag release a bit loose or off center?  Also check the firing pin retainer to be sure it is not loose enough to move to the side when gently pushed with a probe.

[coyote]

thank you backupr9, i checked both of the good possibilities you came up with. both were ok.

but in looking around again, i found an overhanging burr on the back side of the magazine well (see photo), apparently caused by the slide catching on it.

that bent-over bit of metal may be catching on the rising cartridge rim, possibly causing the rising cartridge to slow down, tilt and misfeed.

i carefully stoned the burr off and its ready to check it out...

i just put 12 rds thru to test for function.
no malfs!!!! wahoo!!! making headway...
when time allows i will test again with different ammo/mags.

thank y'all for taking an interest. you gotta love this forum!

[ECR]

Coyote mentioned:  "but in looking around again, I found an overhanging burr on the back side of the magazine well (see photo), apparently caused by the slide catching on it.

that bent-over bit of metal may be catching on the rising cartridge rim, possibly causing the rising cartridge to slow down, tilt and misfeed."

Over the years of messing with these, I don't remember what caused that little bump you're showing on the frame in the photograph, but it never was an issue to the feeding of ammo from the magazines.

Ref. the problem you're having here:  Tracker hit the button. Notice in your first photo the round is nose down a bit in the magazine.  Replace or simply remove the magazine spring and bend the front of it up more to keep the pressure pushing up from the front. This seats the round more firmly in the correct position in the mag for a better feed into the chamber.

Looks like you're on the right track coyote!  Good work Sir! . . . . . . and Happy New Year to Ya too!

Eric R.

[chrisodasso@comcast.net]

Looks like you have it figured out.

I had a Seecamp 32 that would have ftfs, and the bullets would be nose down and marred.  Seecamp had trouble correcting it and to their credit, they sent me a new gun!

This article might prove valuable, if the problem raises its ugly head again.

Best wishes!

https://aegisacademy.com/blogs/test-blog-post/diagnosing-pistol-malfunctions-part-i-failure-to-feed

[coyote]

hey eric, nice to be talking with you again. been a while. and thanks for the encouragement.

you stated "...bend the front of it [mag spring] up more to keep the pressure pushing up from the front..."
Q: in a mag full loaded with 6 rounds, completely compressing the spring, would an additional bit of bend actually effect feeding of the first round or two being fired?

but i will use that "bending" suggestion by loading a single round in every mag to see how they each seat. if any show the round is nose down a bit, i'll do some spring tweaking.


tracker: good article, thnx. yes, it might prove valuable someday with any number of semi-autos.

[ECR]

hey eric, nice to be talking with you again. been a while. and thanks for the encouragement.

you stated "...bend the front of it [mag spring] up more to keep the pressure pushing up from the front..."
Q: in a mag fully loaded with 6 rounds, completely compressing the spring, would an additional bit of bend actually affect the feeding of the first round or two being fired?

but I will use that "bending" suggestion by loading a single round in every mag to see how they each seat. if any show the round is nose down a bit, I'll do some spring tweaking.

tracker: good article, thnx. yes, it might prove valuable someday with any number of semi-autos.

Well, to answer that question Coyote. . . . . . . . That is what I did back in the day and it always seemed to work for me.
I would do that and then test-fire the pistol. All was well and I'd go over everything else in the gun, clean and oil things, and send it back. Usually, everything was good to go from then on with that customer.

Regards,

Eric R.

[coyote]

ok my friend, i now have a road map and a goal

thank you eric, for your on-going support, and particularly for my R9s firearms

you should be proud of what what you guys created and built

[ECR]

I'm proud to have people who never knew us and believed in our product early on. . . . . and stayed with us!

You folks here, the Rohrbaugh R9 Series Pistol adoptors. . . . . . Your commitment to the R9 is something you all should be proud of! 
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart to yours.

Eric C. Rohrbaugh

[chameleon]

I'm proud to have people who never knew us and believed in our product early on. . . . . and stayed with us!

You folks here, the Rohrbaugh R9 Series Pistol adoptors. . . . . . Your commitment to the R9 is something you all should be proud of! 
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart to yours.

Eric C. Rohrbaugh

Very well said indeed Eric. I miss you guys and your pistols. So great to see you participate on the forum. Means a lot to all of us fans.

[PsychoSword]

My Kahr MK9 magazines always do that. I have to be careful with them and even had a custom holster made to prevent the magazines from losing rounds as well.

The rounds would be nose down in the magazine before they would try and fall out. It was worst with the original metal magazine followers. The newer plastic ones fixed things a bit, but the problem is still there. I haven't tried the newer Lake Line aluminum ones.

However, even with the rounds were nose down, it never caused a feeding problem with any of my MK9's. And none of my R9 magazines that I've loaded hold the top round like the one you pictured does. They are flush with the feed lips.