Does your 9mm CZ RAMI feed 147 gr ammo?

[wally]

Picked up a CZ RAMI 9mm at last Saturday's gun show. Great little gun, about the size of my Kahr P40 although quite a bit thicker, but not nearly as thick as the Beretta 9000S I also considered. Since it weighs empty ~1/4 lb more than my P40 does fully loaded, I chose the 9mm over the .40 S&W since I'd likely never carry it, simply another gun to satisify my lust for guns smaller than normal for their caliber.

Anyways, it functioned 100% out of the box with Wolf 115 gr FMJ and my Hard Cast lead TC reloads. Only problem was when I tried 145gr Sliver Bear JHP -- these were not reliable. Basically the second or third shot would "nose dive" and fail to feed catching on the feed ramp. After dropping the mag, pushing the round back to its normal position in the mag, it and the remainder of the shots would always work. Seems like a pretty classic "weak mag spring" issue to me which I have fixed with Wolf "extra power" mag spring replacement on another gun (FEG RP9K). Never had a problem when I only put 5 rnds in the mag.

The RAMI is too new for Wolf to have extra power replacement springs. I like the Silver Bear as its very accurate for the price ($80/1000 at a local gun show) and has worked well in my other 9mm guns up to now. I'm curious if other 9mm RAMIs work with 147 gr ammo, which is what I'd want to use if for some reason I decided to carry my RAMI, but as I said, if this was the plan I'd have gotten the .40 version instead.

--wally.

 

[wally]

Nobody else got one yet or had time to shoot theirs?

This sunk off the radar after only one day so I thought I bring it to the top for another day.

--wally.

 

[citizen]

Most of the country is waiting to ORDER one, and you've already got a range report???!!!!!! Patience, young man........

 

[tbz]

I've only tried 115gr fmj so far which as you found , functioned flawlessly.

Citizen - my RAMI came in about ten days ago. I did nag the local dealer to make sure he ordered one as early a possible.

 

[PCRCCW]

Well two thoughts occur to me after reading your report and questions......

First the Rami's seem to be a little finicky at first with some ammo...Ive got a 40 and for the first 200 rnds it didnt like Blazers...now it loads anything.

The slide/frame fit seems to need more break in to really smooth out and the longer bullets can be a problem until that occurs.

The second thought is NEVER USE 147 gr Silver Bear. This is very likely your problem. CZ's have tighter spec chambers and the Silver Bear is the ONLY ammo to lock my CZ's togethor from over expansion.

Buy some 147 gr....Hydrashoks or another JHP and try them out.....Ill bet you have a good surprise coming....

If the SB locks your gun togethor........it has 4 of my guns thus far.....you wont like it a bit.

Shoot well.

 

[wally]

Silver Bear works fine in all my other 9mm guns so far. It shot fine when it fed.
Classic "nose dive" into the feed ramp on the second or third shot from a full mag. Loading only five always seemed to work.

I find the Silver Bear to be outstandingly accurate and a pleasure to shoot and at $80/1000 at a local gun show, I can't reload for this cost!

I may try putting a shim under the spring to increase the force a bit or maybe swap a spring from my CZ75B and see if it solves the problem. Wolf doesn't have RAMI springs yet, but I guess I could try a CZ75B extra power spring and cut it as necessary. I'll do this if either of the above seems to solve the problem.

I had to get stronger springs for my FEG RP9K to feed Silver Bear too, but its worked well since. Silver Bear is not SD ammo unless nothing else is available, but then if the SHTF, I'd like my guns to not be ammo sensitive so I could shoot what I can find! If some brand doesn't work I try to find out why, and if the gun can be fixed to make it work I'll do it.

--wally.

 

[PCRCCW]

Im glad youve had better luck with it than I have.......

Shoot well.

 

[wally]

Pretty sure stronger springs will do the trick on making my RAMI feed 147 gr ammo. Wolf didn't have RAMI springs yet, but 9mm CZ75 mag springs should work if I cut off a few turns to get the right length.

As a test, I bent the top turn of the spring up about 3/8" on one mag, where it engages the follower. Shot three full 10-rnd loads of 145 gr Silver Bear without problems. My wife tried it, had two failures -- pretty sure she was limp wristing it. I shot the las 10 from the box without failure.

Before the minor spring bend, it'd jam every time on the second or third shot form a full mag and then be fine. No problems with "normal" 115-125 gr ammo.
Just a little extra force to get the nose of the heavier bullet up seems all that's needed.

--wally.

 

[ah]

Wally, RAMI width??

Wally, is the RAMI as thick as a Baby Glock? Would it be closer to a 1911?

I have not seen a RAMI, but someone who handled one said it reminded them of a Glock.
It doesn't look that way in the photos, but pics can be deceiving.

Thanks

 

[wally]

I don't know how anyone could say the RAMI is in any way like a Glock other than a bullet comes out the front end when you pull the trigger -- but the RAMI trigger won't work when the safety is on very unlike a Glock The Glocks are quite a bit thicker than the Kahr P40.

In overall size the RAMI is about the same as a Kahr P40 -- RAMI is about 3/8" longer because of the "beavertail", but also about 3/8" shorter in the grip with mags inserted mostly because of the Kahr's rather thick baseplate.

The Kahr is <1" thick except for where the slide release lever sticks out a bit. The RAMI is about 1.1" thick in the frame and about 1.25" thick in the grips.

The RAMI safety is 1911 style and doesn't stick out beyond the grips. Trigger is SA with DA available as an option if you manually lower the hammer (it has a firing pin block) or need a second strike on a hard primer. The Kahr trigger is more like a Glock -- DAO but with no second strike capability. IMHO the Kahr trigger is better than what is on my Glock 17 & 20 by a lot

Weight is where the RAMI comes up shortest -- The RAMI empty with mag is about 26 oz, the Kahr P40 loaded with 7 rnds of 180 gr only weighs 23 oz.

The RAMI really is pretty impressive, I'd have got the .40 version if I had planned to carry it, but my carry options are pretty hard to beat right now, in order of preference -- Kimber Ultra Carry .45 with CTC laser grips, S&W SC360 Scandium with CTC laser grips, Kahr PM40, and P3AT. In terms of percentage actually carried its: S&W, Kahr, P3AT, Kimber. Kimber season is definitely pretty much over now that we're back in the 80's for daily highs.

If CTC came out with laser grips for the RAMI, one in .40 might replace the Kimber UC to save a little weight -- but I'm so biased towards the 1911 that carrying anything else I'd admit is being forced to go with second best, but actually being able to keep it concealed is priority one -- I work with mostly anti-gunners and would face serious discrimination if they knew I carried -- I feel the pain of gays that need to stay in the closet.

I really have a thing for guns smaller than normal for their caliber, although most of my range time is spend with full size guns or practice with the carry pieces beyond testing the new additions to the collection.

If a Kahr P9/P40 sized gun is what you are looking for in a carry piece, but you are unsure about the Kahr's trigger The RAMI is definitely worth a look if you prefer 1911 style operation. 10+1 is a nice bonus, but not important to me as I don't plan to miss Potential savings of $100-150 don't hurt either.

--wally.

 

[Ky Larry]

I have the same problem with my .40 S&W RAMI. The second round in the mag nose dives into the feed ramp. I've polished the feed ramp but I haven't had a chance to get to the range yet. As soon as Wolf starts making springs (mag,recoil, etc) for the RAMI I'll change them out like I have on my other CZ's. BTW, this is the first CZ I've ever owned that wouldn't eat anything I fed it out of the box.

 

[mbott]

I have the same problem with my .40 S&W RAMI.

Before changing out the springs, why don't you try the S&B ammo .40 cal ammo. I wouldn't be surprised if your results might be a bit different.

--
Mike

 

[wally]

I'd try the little bend that worked for fixing my 9mm feeding 145gr Silver Bear while you are waiting for stronger replacement springs. Shot another box yesterday, no problems.

Basically I grabbed the top turn (under the base of the cartridge) with a standard pliers and used a long nose pliers to bend the "half loop" up about 3/8"

Not a first class solution, but I can now enjoy my 9mm RAMI with the ammo I prefer while waiting for stronger mag springs. Doesn't seem to be a break in issue as the unmodded mag still had the problem. Bent it to match when I got home yesterday.

Might be possible to get CZ75B extra power springs and cut them to the appropiate length, but my CZ7B is .40 so I can't compare the springs to see if this would be feasable. Since my hack seems to have worked I'll wait for stronger RAMI springs from Wolf, but I was going to try cutting an "extra power" CZ75B mag spring if it didn't.

Ammo sensitivity is the fastest way for a gun to become a safe queen for me.
I only blame the ammo if its also a problem in other guns of the same caliber that have been problem free with a wide variety of other brands. I mean if TSHTF, I want my guns to shoot anything I can find that fits the mags! The ammo sensitive ones would be quickly sold/bartered!

--wally.