Posted: 10/24/2007 12:20:23 AM EDT
|
By bullet compression I mean the round gets pushed back into the brass. I run into a failure to feed every so often. Doesn't matter what magazine or what type of ammo I use. When I have this failure I pull the slide back a little bit and let it go, then the round chambers normally. PIC----->  At home on my test bench I insert a fully loaded a mag, chamber a round then drop the mag and inspect the chambered round. It is compressed by one or two hundredth's of an inch(checked by caliper). I put the same round back in the mag, repeat the process 4 or 5 times until the round is visibly compressed into the brass. Is this normal for .45 caliber? All other handguns I own (9mm) dont abuse the ammunition, ie; they dont compress bullet into the brass no matter how many times I chamber the same round. Is my extractor bad? Do I need to send it back to Kimber? |
| It's normal. I will happen eventually in all calibers, although more common in calibers with heavier bullets or .357 Sig, with its short neck. This is the cause of most .40 caliber KBs when they occur with factory ammunition. The solution is to not unload and reload your gun all the time with the same ammunition. |
+1 |
Read through these and self check your extractor before you spend the $$$$$$ to ship the Kimber off.  ar15.com/content/page.html?id=289 ar15.com/content/page.html?id=412 |
| I was actually thinking about making a post about this. I notice this happening with my self defense ammo. I will unload it when I target shoot and put it back in the gun/mag when I'm done. I try to mix it up so one round doesn't get pushed back to far but I've noticed some going back a noticable amount. I always throw those rounds away when I see them. How dangerous is it to shoot them if they are pushed back approximately a millimeter? |
Thanks for the info! I'll definitely be focusing my attention on the extractor.
In that picture yes, but it's happened with other ammo too. When I pay $900 for a pistol I expect it to work properly. 
|
Could be nothing. Could blow your gun up. Do what I do, shoot them off before they get set back. |
|
This is not what I'd call normal. I can chamber and rechamber rounds 15 - 20 times and get no setback. From the picture of the jam, it looks like a hard three point jam. The bullet appears to be pressing against the roof of the chamber and jammed between the breach face and feed ramp. I'd first check the extractor tension and also for any roughness or burrs on the breach face that might be preventing the round from sliding under the extractor. As someone else pointed out if the set back is too much - toss the round. |
agreed on all points. Excessive extractor tension, rough breech face and weak mag springs (or dirty mags) are the usual culprit in these kinds of malfunctions. |