Crusader103
Member
A friend of mine just bought a brand new handgun. He is sending it back to the factory right now so I don't want to give up the brand name but suffice it to say that it is a very nice, $800.00 9mm.
Anyway, he picked the firearm up from the shop/range and immediately took it into the bay to fire a couple of boxes of ammo. He said that on approximately the 8th round the weapon "misfired." He continued shooting. Half way through the second magazine the slide locked back and he couldn't get it to go forward. In fact, it had locked back past the slide stop.
Here's what I mean. If you pull your slide all the way back and then push the slide stop up, the slide goes forward about 1/8th of an inch to catch the stop. His didn't do this. It was stuck all the way back, past the stop.
Of course, he brought the handgun to me. I was able to get the slide to go forward but sure enough every time I pulled the slide back it stuck to the rear, past the slide stop (no, the magazine was not inserted). I also noticed that, with the slide to the rear, the barrel was immobile. Normally, with the slide to the rear on an autoloader, there would be some play in the barrel. There was not on this occasion.
I took the firearm apart and noticed that there was a slight bulge on the barrel, approximately 1/2 inch forward of the chamber. Examining it closer, this is exactly the point at which the front of the slide would get stuck when pulling it to the rear, also accounting for the barrel being immobile.
I asked him what kind of ammunition he had been firing and he showed me some A-Merc marked brass. Apparently, he had several hundred loose A-Merc rounds in a plastic bag that he got from a family member. Without the box, I could not give any more information on it than that (FMJ's).
While I have come across some A-Merc cases my knowledge of the ammunition is limited. I am a trainer and therefore come across some weird things but will never attest to being a gunsmith. However, while it technically could be the case which is why he is sending it back, I cannot imagine that this particular firearm is the root of the problem.
Does anyone else have any experience with A-Merc that might provide a clue?
...I'll post the make/model of firearm when it is prudent to do so, i.e. after he gets it back.
Anyway, he picked the firearm up from the shop/range and immediately took it into the bay to fire a couple of boxes of ammo. He said that on approximately the 8th round the weapon "misfired." He continued shooting. Half way through the second magazine the slide locked back and he couldn't get it to go forward. In fact, it had locked back past the slide stop.
Here's what I mean. If you pull your slide all the way back and then push the slide stop up, the slide goes forward about 1/8th of an inch to catch the stop. His didn't do this. It was stuck all the way back, past the stop.
Of course, he brought the handgun to me. I was able to get the slide to go forward but sure enough every time I pulled the slide back it stuck to the rear, past the slide stop (no, the magazine was not inserted). I also noticed that, with the slide to the rear, the barrel was immobile. Normally, with the slide to the rear on an autoloader, there would be some play in the barrel. There was not on this occasion.
I took the firearm apart and noticed that there was a slight bulge on the barrel, approximately 1/2 inch forward of the chamber. Examining it closer, this is exactly the point at which the front of the slide would get stuck when pulling it to the rear, also accounting for the barrel being immobile.
I asked him what kind of ammunition he had been firing and he showed me some A-Merc marked brass. Apparently, he had several hundred loose A-Merc rounds in a plastic bag that he got from a family member. Without the box, I could not give any more information on it than that (FMJ's).
While I have come across some A-Merc cases my knowledge of the ammunition is limited. I am a trainer and therefore come across some weird things but will never attest to being a gunsmith. However, while it technically could be the case which is why he is sending it back, I cannot imagine that this particular firearm is the root of the problem.
Does anyone else have any experience with A-Merc that might provide a clue?
...I'll post the make/model of firearm when it is prudent to do so, i.e. after he gets it back.
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I had some with primers upside down, and this was at least eight or nine years ago.
