Flat Nose Ammo

At the range yesterday. I started having problems with Federal flat nose ammo hanging up at the bottom of the feed ramp in my Taurus G3C. Seems it would nose dive before getting to the ramp. Same with 2 different mags. Actually it would not make it to the ramp. It would jam itself just before the very bottom of the ramp. It would Only do it when the slide was locked back and I inserted a loaded mag and then release the slide using the slide release button. I could insert a loaded mag with slide closed and then rack the first round in by hand and the gun would cycle every round until the mag was empty no problem. It would jam Only when using the slide release button and only when using flat nose ammo. Remington round nose and jhp had No problems.
Anybody have any problems with Federal flat nose? Is there a fix. Or am I just going to have to give up flat noses?

 

You could pull the slide back and release it instead of using the slide release.
If it is just range ammo and it doesn't jamb when you fire it. I wouldn't worry.
If I was worried. Then I would try polishing the feed ramp with a mild abrasive and a fiber wheel. Do not use a grinding stone on a Dremel.

 

It's not the ramp.

The shell does not reach the ramp before it stops. It drops short. Only with Federal flat nosed ammo. Round nose Remington and jhp no problem.

 

I used to tell my customers that when it comes to what they "eat," firearms are a little like people -- some people like hot dogs while some people prefer hamburgers. Firearms are similiar in that they often will "eat" -- function and perform -- better with one kind, style, load, manufacturer of ammunition than others. Back in the "old days," when there was more hand-finishing involved, it wasn't unusual, for example, to find that one S&W 39 would prefer one ammunition and the very next one would prefer something else. This problem caused head aches for lots of police armorers. I recently had a old customer who came to me with a pistol that was new to him with the complaint that he couldn't get this Colt Woodsman Match Target Model to funtion properly. It had the same problem that you seem to be having in that the rounds would "nose dive" down into the magazine before they even reached the feed ramp. I explained that this problem was probably long standing and may have been part of the reason that led to a 90+ year old pistol still looking like new in the box. In any event, we tried 30 to 40 different .22 rounds and never did find one that worked consistently. Finally, I had an old, beat up magazine that we tried and it worked better, but only with a couple of the different .22s. The moral is: 1) try different types, styles, etc. of ammunition and 2) try different magazines. Let us know if you find something that works.

 

Guess you are right. I was just reading on another forum about a guy that is having the very same problem with all flat nosed ammo he has tried in his very expensive handgun.

 

I had frequent failures to feed with my Ruger LC9 with the extended or hooked magazine base. Using the flat base eliminated the problem. It took a bit of study and shooting to figure that one out. Torquing the bottom of the magazine with my #5 finger changed the aspect at the top of the mag enough to nosedive the rounds.

Your weapon has a similar magazine base. If a flat base is an option you might try it.
Good luck. I know it is frustrating.

 

I would also try pulling the slide back and letting it go or "sling-shotting" as some call it. See if the problem persists. Or if you grip the gun as you would shoot it, hit the slide release with your off hand. If the bottom of your hand is contacting the mag when you reach the release with your thumb, you could be torquing the mag like

just enough to throw it off with that ammo.

If every other ammo works fine and you don't have another gun to try that ammo in, use it up however you must and don't buy any more.

 

I wonder if the OAL (over-all length) on these batch of rounds is not-standard compare to the ammo that works.
Is that something you could measure with calipers ?

 

I used all the flat nosed Federal ammo I had at the range. I wish I did have some. I would like to measure one to compare to other brands. They were Federal 115 gr. fmj if anyone has any. On the way home I stopped at the LGS to replace what ammo I had shot up but did not buy any Federal. I was planing on using 124 gr. from now on anyway.

 

I’m trying to understand the problem. I get it won’t chamber a round with slide lock lever. If all else works, just grip it and rip it when loading a new mag.

Or use RN ammo.

The reality is that certain guns may not like all ammo types. That is why folks need to check if their carry ammo works in their carry gun…at the range.

 

My 1911 does not like Speer Gold Dot ammo and will not reliably feed it. I changed my carry load to a different brand and shot enough to verify reliability and have had no problems in the past 12 years. My friends Ruger 10-22 doesn't like federal ammo, but it loves the remington thunder du-bolts. Each gun is different and needs to be shot with the ammo it likes, and not every gun likes every type of ammo.

 

I 've got a bunch of Federal 147 grain 9mm with flat nose, or truncated bullets. Never had any issues out of my HK USP, Shield 9mm or Beretta 92FS. It will occasionally fail to feed in my Star BD or Zastava m88A.
Other brands use a more rounded profile with a flat nose, I think PPU is one of them. And they go up to like 158 gr.
so was it Federal 115 gr. flat nose? If so, never seen that. Only reason they truncate the 147 gr. is to get that many grains of bullet short enough to fit.
It's not a great bullet profile, simple as that.
I'll file off a sharp edge of the upper feed ramp in a heartbeat but when it hangs on the transition from the mag follower to the ramp, that's more complicated. Shimming the bottom rear of the mag might take out some front-back play.

 

Have you tried other magazines?