re: Mo' jammin'
Howdy Drakejake,
Okay...there's a few possibilities. First off...A heavier than standard recoil spring is NOT the cure for a failure to return to battery. If the pistol is right,
it should go to battery with a 10-pound spring. Overspringing the slide
masks the real problem and can bring on other issues.
Let's try the process of elimination.
Remove the extractor and the recoil spring from the gun. Load 5 rounds in
a magazine and see if the pistol will go to battery with a brisk push from
the rear using two fingers on the back of the slide. If it works, the extractor is your likely culprit. Either too much tension...or the hook is
hitting the case inside the extractor groove...or the front of the hook is
bearing on the angle just forward of the groove. If your gun has a stub
guide rod, leave the spring in, but at free length to keep the guide rod
from binding in the tunnel.
If it WON'T go to battery without the extractor, you may have a 3-point jam,
aka excessive stem bind. Have you noticed a crescent-shaped mark on the jammed cases just below the mouth? (Let me know on this one. The cure may get a bit long)
With the extractor out, use a dial caliper to measure the breechface. Flip
the slide upside down and look closely. You'll see two parallel "rails"
that are just below the rounded area. The distance between these rails should be .484 to .488 inch...but a bare minimum of .480 will get you by with ammo that is within-spec on the rim diameter...barely. .490 is better
for best feed reliability with any old ammo that you want to cram in the gun.
Some pistolsmiths will take that to as much as .495...
Lay the barrel in the frame with the slidestop pin through the link. Push
the barrel down and back and hold it firmly. The bottom of the barrel throat
should be a 32nd of an inch forward of the top of the feed ramp. It can be
a bit more, but not less. If the bottom of the throat is flush with the feed ramp, that's probably your bug. Quick fix with a smooth mill file, a scrape,
(The tip of a good pen knife will do) and a piece of 600-grit wet or dry sandpaper. Undercut the bottom of the throat a little and blend it in with the scrape. Just a little! Don't cut the throat deeper into the chamber...
just blend and polish it with the paper on your finger.
I've got a couple more suggestions and things to check...but this is gettin' long.
Standin' by for the results...
Tuner