P90 Misloading

[kingmt]

I have a Ruger P90 .45APC that when it loads the a round from recoil it doesn't slide all the way forward so the hammer just drops when you pull the triger & doesn't strike the primer. The slide is open 1 mm or.05" at the most & a tap on the rear will close it. The hammer dropping will even close the slide. I can't find unusual ware where something is dragging & have tried different ammos. If I pull the slid back & chamber a round(no riding the slide) then all is good. I have also tried shooting with my other hand with no difference. This came on all at once without ever having a problem with it to every round.

Has anyone seen this? Any ideas of what to check?

If I try to duplicate it I have to ride the slide forward very slow or it works just fine.

 

[kanook]

does it do it with other mags?

does it do it when others shoot it?

when was the last time it was cleaned and lubed?

could it have been a long day and perhaps limp wristing came into play?

 

[CJ]

One more question...how many rounds through it? (i.e. could be a weak recoil spring).

But I'd bet that a good cleaning/lubing would help the most.

 

[9mmepiphany]

start with the easy stuff first

change the recoil spring
clean the chamber and lube the rails

 

[rogertc1]

:banghead:Ruger

 

[Blue .45]

Is the recoil spring installed correctly? make sure the larger end of the spring is at the muzzle end of the gun. Clean and lube as others have said. If that isn't the problem, try a new spring.

 

[kingmt]

does it do it with other mags? Yes. I have 2 mags & it does it with both.

does it do it when others shoot it? I am the only one to shoot it.

when was the last time it was cleaned and lubed? The gun is very clean & I have even tried to over lube it.

could it have been a long day and perhaps limp wristing came into play? No. I have worked on this problem off & on for awhile.

The first thing I thought of was oversize cases but that wasn't the problem. I also thought about the recoil spring but it feeds fine if I pull the slide back & release it. The spring is on the right direction. I am thinking between the trigger, recoil spring, & I just found something new the slide where it moves across the hammer is very ruff. This gun has less then 2000 rounds through it. Probably more like 1000.

I am going to work the slide down with a file & stone to see if that takes care of it. I have never seen this happen before. It looks like it is burnt like when you short out a battery.

 

[9mmepiphany]

you know, we never asked...what kind of ammo are you shooting?

brand, bullet weight and shape?

 

[kanook]

it would be to easy if it was reloads. but yet funny.

 

[kingmt]

The best I can remimber it was 250gr Hornady hallow point but I have tried different ammo. I have just noticed this: If I hold the gun at a angle to the right & ride the slide forward it doesn't stick but if I hold it to the left it sticks every time.

There was no change from smoothing the slide & hammer.

 

[kingmt]

it would be to easy if it was reloads. but yet funny.

It does it with no round in the chamber if I ride it forward.

 

[kanook]

if I ride it forward.

don't ride it foward. Most semi's can be made to not go into battery if rode foward.

 

[P90shooter]

You may want to think about running a round nose instead of a hollow point.

I would also suggest changing the recoil spring. I started having a nice pogo stick sound with my P90 so I changed to an EFK firedragon spring, that worked well (PITA to install but nice when youre shooting it)

 

[Mad Chemist]

Did you buy the gun new or used. If it's used and you have more than 1K rds through it you probably need a new recoil spring. Wolf should have heavier upgrades or Ruger will send you one for free if you ask them.

BTW, keep the dang file away from the slide. Since you are asking for help in diagnosing a simple failure to return to battery problem, I seriously doubt you are skilled enough to be precisely shaving a slide.

 

[kingmt]

Most of these answers I am getting don't make since if you have read the whole thing. It has nothing to do with the ammo, riding the slide forward, or how clean the gun is.

I am perfectly able to smooth a surface also. Just for your comfort though I had already decided to use microfinishing film. This is also stainless steel so it is very hard stuff & hard to take to much off.

I would prefer no more insults or can't post considering you have no idea of my skills. Just because you don't know how to do something doesn't mean another can't.

This isn't just a normal given problem that gets salved by cleaning or different ammo & unless someone has had the same thing happen befor I doubt you can help because even the guy at Ruger was lost. I still want to know your ideas though because you might have a idea that is right or at least will point me to the right thing.

I haven't striped the lower yet because I hate dealing with those little springs & pins but I my have to to find the problem. I have taken everythig except the sights & firing pin lock off the slide & found no problem other then the ruff surface where the hammer rubs.

 

[kanook]

The gun is in your hand, not ours.

You said it does it when you ride it foward, that why i replied not to.

expect good and bad comments as we don't know you.

most importantly, if the guys at Ruger couldn't figure it out, it's one of a kind problem or it's you.

 

[kanook]

and not that it matters, I've had a P90 since 91. The one time feeding problem was reloaded ammo related and only changed the mainspring cause I felt like it. It doesn't have a round couter so I have no clue on how many rounds, but I used it for competition for 3 years.

 

[nelson133]

Is the chamber rough or is there something in it? My P90 was doing the same thing and I found a little piece of lead from a bullet at the lip of the chamber. Cleaned that out and the problem ceased. I would check the chamber first and then change the recoil spring. One easy check is to remove the barrel and drop a round into the chamber while holding the barrel pointing down. If the bullet easily drops in to the proper depth, that points to recoil spring or something in the feed path.

 

[Runningman]

I would be tempted to get a new recoil spring because Ruger normally only uses a 11 LB recoil spring in the P90. It does the job but it is a the low end of the scale and you may be experiencing recoil spring fatigue due to time and use.

I would be tempted to order a new stock recoil spring, or something along the lines of a Wolf 13 LB or 14 lb recoil spring if you mainly use typical 230 grain loads?? to see if it solves your problem. The P90 uses some different slightly different locking and unlocking geometry in its action design than some other typical semi auto pistol designs. It sound like your P90 is basically acting right but with just not enough force forward. Hence the new recoil spring. http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=1&mID=52

 

[theotherwaldo]

Sounds like a dirty chamber, over-sized rounds, or a weak recoil spring.

Since you already checked for the first two, it's most likely the third.

I'll be replacing my P90's recoil spring soon, too.

 

[kingmt]

I would be tempted to get a new recoil spring because Ruger normally only uses a 11 LB recoil spring in the P90. It does the job but it is a the low end of the scale and you may be experiencing recoil spring fatigue due to time and use.

http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=1&mID=52

Thanks for the link. I will probably be ordering one in the future but I have ruled this out as a problem. Over the past three days I have spen more time tinkering with this then I have over the past year. I only have a little time in the evenings after the kids go to bed & I try to stay awake to study it.

Anyhow I have found this out today. It will catch if the gun is lend to the left but not if it is lend to the right. I found that it is the bolt that is catching on the rail. I believe the slide stop, trigger, & the ring that the pin of the slide stop goes in on the bottom of the barrel.

 

[MICHAEL T]

let Ruger fix it It should be warranty work Call them and they might send ups to pick up on their nickle .

 

[kingmt]

let Ruger fix it It should be warranty work Call them and they might send ups to pick up on their nickle .

I spoke to them before & they didn't talk like they would cover anything but if I sent it to them with a $35 check they would tell me what was wrong with it.

I do plan on giving them another call now that I know a little more about it & see if I can't at the lest get some parts from them. They used to be great about giving out parts so I will see.

 

[Mike J]

If you can't get it worked out Kingmt. You might want to ask questions at rugerforum.com or rugerforum.net There are some very knowledgable folks over there. I haven't seen him post in a while but there was one member that actually worked on the design of the P-series pistols. It does sound like the recoil spring to me but I'm not there seeing what you are so I don't know.

 

[Radaray]

There is some mighty good information here, and I won't go over it again, except for these observations. Find a buddy to take with you to the range, and if the P-90 is acting up for you, have your buddy shoot it to see what it does for him/her. I say this because you mention the "canting" symtom, which is very weird. This might shed some light. There was a mention of a small piece of lead in the chamber. I found this once in my P-90, and cleaning didn't get it out. It was a sliver of lead wedged against the ledge that the case mouth touches to establish head spacing. I had to use a pick to pick it out of there. This did not cause a problem every time~~~just once in a while. BTW, I used those plastic picks that Midway sells.
While I believe I'm pretty adept at fixing things, I'm not a gunsmith, so I don't use files on any of my guns. Nothing tougher than plastic or bronze brushes. You travel at your own risk. Besides, that is a good way to void a warranty, and Ruger has one of the best in the industry.
another problem I had with my P-90 when I first got it, was failure to feed. The way I was holding the gun when I fired it masked the problem. My off hand was under the magazine well, thus I didn't see what was happening. When a friend of mine fired it, the magazine fell out of the well. The mag release spring was weak. When I contacted Ruger, they sent two of them out to me at no charge. Easy to replace, and never had another problem. So, sometimes it helps to have someone else shoot your gun.