So picked up my brand new 220ST with external extractor yesterday and hit the range today. From the first target, I knew this was the most accurate gun I've ever fired. Here's the first target @ 7 yards.
Anyway, here's what happened. First 50 rounds, flawless. I decided to try my Federal HST 230 grain +P's that I plan to use as my defense load. First shot felt like a dud, puff of smoke but didn't see any hole on the paper. Recoil felt like a .22. Didn't eject properly so I cleared it and fired again. Same thing although this time there was a hole on the paper, albeit very low from point of aim. This is when I realized just how big of an idiot I had been. I had also brought my 226ST in .40 S&W because I hadn't tested it with the Federal HST's yet. I had accidentally loaded the 220 mag with .40 S&W's! Here's some pictures of one of the shells.
It looks like it bulged and ripped apart. I could not believe that I did this. I've taken multiples guns with multiple calibers to the range before and never been this dumb. Why couldn't I have done this to one of my Glocks instead of my brand new 220ST? Anyway, this is when some problems started happening. I loaded it with the proper .45 HST's and it failed to fire one of them in the magazine. For the next hundred or so rounds it would also fail to fire ocassionally even with regular Blazer Brass. When it did it was only once per magazine (always some round in the middle). I had about 3 failures to fire. The round before would fire fine and eject but then on the malfunction I'd pull the trigger and nothing would happen. Then I'd rack the slide and the round would come out looking like new. Then everything seemed okay for about 50-100 rounds (except my friend had some sort of malfunction on the first round, but I think he may have not loaded it properly or limp wristed). The range was closing so I went home.
At home I cleaned and inspected the gun. I didn't see any damage but I'm far from a gunsmith. Barrel looked fine. Not feeling satisfied, I packed up and headed to another range that closes later. During this session I fired about 200 rounds without a hitch (WWB and Blazer Brass). This restored my confidence, however I want a few more hundred rounds before I feel comfortable with it.
My questions are, did firing two .40 rounds through it damage it and cause the malfunctions? Will problems show up later because of this? The first 50 rounds were flawless before I did that incredibly stupid act. However, the last 250-300 rounds that I have put through it have also been flawless. Did the gun or magazines just need some break-in? It seems weird to me that if putting the wrong rounds through it would screw it up, it would somehow fix itself later. I'm leaning towards it needing break-in and it just a coincidence that it malfunctioned only after I put the .40's through it but I'm not sure and want some expert advice from the gun gurus here.
Here are some pics and targets.
Anyway, here's what happened. First 50 rounds, flawless. I decided to try my Federal HST 230 grain +P's that I plan to use as my defense load. First shot felt like a dud, puff of smoke but didn't see any hole on the paper. Recoil felt like a .22. Didn't eject properly so I cleared it and fired again. Same thing although this time there was a hole on the paper, albeit very low from point of aim. This is when I realized just how big of an idiot I had been. I had also brought my 226ST in .40 S&W because I hadn't tested it with the Federal HST's yet. I had accidentally loaded the 220 mag with .40 S&W's! Here's some pictures of one of the shells.
It looks like it bulged and ripped apart. I could not believe that I did this. I've taken multiples guns with multiple calibers to the range before and never been this dumb. Why couldn't I have done this to one of my Glocks instead of my brand new 220ST? Anyway, this is when some problems started happening. I loaded it with the proper .45 HST's and it failed to fire one of them in the magazine. For the next hundred or so rounds it would also fail to fire ocassionally even with regular Blazer Brass. When it did it was only once per magazine (always some round in the middle). I had about 3 failures to fire. The round before would fire fine and eject but then on the malfunction I'd pull the trigger and nothing would happen. Then I'd rack the slide and the round would come out looking like new. Then everything seemed okay for about 50-100 rounds (except my friend had some sort of malfunction on the first round, but I think he may have not loaded it properly or limp wristed). The range was closing so I went home.
At home I cleaned and inspected the gun. I didn't see any damage but I'm far from a gunsmith. Barrel looked fine. Not feeling satisfied, I packed up and headed to another range that closes later. During this session I fired about 200 rounds without a hitch (WWB and Blazer Brass). This restored my confidence, however I want a few more hundred rounds before I feel comfortable with it.
My questions are, did firing two .40 rounds through it damage it and cause the malfunctions? Will problems show up later because of this? The first 50 rounds were flawless before I did that incredibly stupid act. However, the last 250-300 rounds that I have put through it have also been flawless. Did the gun or magazines just need some break-in? It seems weird to me that if putting the wrong rounds through it would screw it up, it would somehow fix itself later. I'm leaning towards it needing break-in and it just a coincidence that it malfunctioned only after I put the .40's through it but I'm not sure and want some expert advice from the gun gurus here.
Here are some pics and targets.