Help With Hi Point C9 & Federal Ammo.....

First off I don't want to hear a single comment about how Hi Points suck etc etc etc. I have nice handguns that I trust my life too this is just a plinker and kind of an experiment so please be a grown up & keep those comments to yourself.

Well I finally decided I needed to find out who was right about the Hi Point handgun, junk or good deal for a plinker, so I bought a C9 the other day. My dad also bought a brand new one at the same time as me. Well we take them out today to try em out and mine just jams jams jams almost every round on the first couple of mags using Federal Champion ammo from Wal-Mart. I've used this ammo for years and never had a problem with it in Glocks, Rugers etc etc. So then I try the mag out of my dads and the same thing happens.

At this time my dad loaded up a mag of the Remington ammo that he brought with him and his shoots perfect not a single jam. I also load up a mag of the Remington and shoot it out of my C9 and all of a sudden it's working perfect just shot right through it zero jams. I load up another mag of Remington and same thing feeds perfectly. My dad then loads up a mag of Federal ammo and his starts jamming same as mine but maybe not quite as much. I shot two more mags of Federal through mine and it started to work a little better but then started jamming on the very last round. I then tried only loading 7 instead of 8 rounds and it would feed the Federal ammo perfect....

When I say jam it's like the bullet is going in nose down and jamming under the feed ramp. I have to lock the slide open drop the mag and then re-insert the mag and it will work again. I've noticed when I place the ammo on a table the Federal ammo is a little bit longer than the Remington ammo. They are both 115 gr. but the Federal is a little more pointy at the tip and just overall longer. Now I know the easy solution is to just buy Remington ammo and call it good but Federal ammo is about $2 cheaper per box and it's going to drive me crazy to know that it wont shoot it reliably but will other brands. Since it did get noticeably better the more I shot it should I just shoot a couple more boxes of the Federal through it and see what happens or is there something else I should be looking at trying?

 

Try putting the hi point in the garbage and see if that works.

No I'm joking, but seriously, hi points are known for their problematic mags. Nose diving rounds are pretty common. I believe it's both a follower and feed lip design issue. I'm not surprised that the shape of the bullets can affect function, but there's no reason why any pistol should refuse to work with common brass cased FMJ ammo. That's hi point for ya........

 

That would be my solution. However, you may be on the right track with the cartridge OAL and bullet profile being the problem. Perhaps you could contact Hi-Point and ask if there is some adjustment that can make to the magazine feed lips or something.

Not since I paid nearly six times as much for a handgun that malfunctioned - starting, literally, with the second shot - and shed parts on the range floor.

 

There's also the Hi Point forums where actual Hi Point owners and enthusiasts have probably had and fixed the problem. They probably won't make fun of your choice or tell you to put it in the garbage either. I enjoy the survival forum there a lot.

http://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/forum/index.php

 

I've had a C-9 for around 13 years now. It was given to me by my brother in lieu of $50 he owed me. Hi Points are notorious for being ammo brand sensitive. You have to find the brands that it likes & those it hates. Mine loves Winchester white box. Curiously, Hi-Point suggests staying away from this ammo because it doesn't feed well in most C-9s. I guess my C-9 didn't get the memo. I can't get it to feed Remington or Federal worth a flip, so I stick with WWB. You now know to stay away from Federal & shoot Remington. Trial & error will tell you which ammo is still out there that your's will cycle unencumbered. I see no reason to try to force it to cycle ammo it is telling you it doesn't want. We are not masters of our Hi-Points. They call the shots when it comes to ammo preference. (pun intended).