Jam or Failure to Feed?

[CidDawg92]

My 8-year-old son and I were shooting my Glock 19 Gen 4 yesterday. After 5 rounds the 6th did not feed all the way into the chamber. Is this considered a "jam" or a simple "failure to feed" and what may have caused it? Ammo is Remington UMC 9mm Luger. This is the second time this has happened with this brand of ammo. Anyone got any similar experience or feedback?

 

[gunnerbob]

Semantics. Jam is a general term applied to whatever specific malfunction/failure you have. I have to ask, are you sure one of you isn't pressing on the mag release when firing causing the magizine to fall slightly out of battery? Perhaps this caused a bad pickup of the round, throwing it off its alignment into the chamber? Dirty gun? Dirty ammo? Poor lubrication of important parts? Dented cases? Weak recoil impulse?

I'd keep shooting it, try to narrow it down for us.

 

[CidDawg92]

Thanks, gunner bob. Gun only had 50 rounds in it since last cleaning (two days before). Ammo was fresh out of the box. It may be a weak recoil impulse. Jr. doesn't quite have the strength yet. Like you said, keep shooting and find the root of the problem. Thanks once again for the reply.

 

[apvbguy]

it sounds like the problem is LIMP WRISTING, glocks and other semi autos are prone to failing to cycle properly if anything less than a firm grip is used.

 

[ConcealCincinnati]

This was a failure to feed. It could also be considered a jam. If it was your 8-year-old son shooting, it was likely due to his lack of arm/hand/wrist strength which caused the pistol to short-cycle. This is also known as "limp-wristing" and is quite common in Glock 9mm pistols, especially the Glock 19. Here is a video explaining the phenomenon (note, this is not me in the video):

 

[jcreek]

it sounds like the problem is LIMP WRISTING, glocks and other semi autos are prone to failing to cycle properly if anything less than a firm grip is used.

I've actually never had a limp wristing problem with my glock. My 92fs and LC9 are notorious for it but unless you're really trying, my 23's never had an issue.

 

[CidDawg92]

Thanks for the replies. I believe it was a case of limp wristing. ConcealCincinnati: Thanks for the video. Great educational tool for Jr. and my bride.

 

[atbdrummer]

Remember "Tap, Rack, Bang". Tap the bottom of the magazine (smack it pretty good), rack the slide, and attempt to fire again. Happy shooting!

 

[warthog97]

I think you've gotten all the advise you can get without providing pictures or video. Limp-wristing is one possible cause, low energy ammo is another, as is in adequate lube on sliding surfaces, or a spring issue. One thing I didn't see mentioned is the extractor. I used to shoot lead with unique in my 1911 and had a lot of buildup under the extractor that would cause the new round to not easily slip into alignment with the bore. The slide could be pushed forward by hand, and the junk was easily removed and I'd get a couple hundred more rounds through without issue. Even if you aren't shooting lead, might want to check your extractor for buildup.

 

[JimTh]

Most likely limp wristing. What happens by limp wristing is pretty simple to understand. If the pistol is not held firmly enough the gun will actually jump around in the hand after a firing by the shooter...jump around quick enough to cause the spent round to be caught up in the workings of the slide rather than fully eject. The limp wristed pistol and the spent casing are moving at approximately the same speed after firing therefore the slide, on its forward return, will actually snag the spent casing which is trying to eject. In other words the slide catches the casing in the air.

 

[Deserteagle]

Remington UMC seems to jam more often than any other brand ammo in my Glock

 

[Stan45]

Just cross Remington off your ammo list. They do not not have very good quality control. They just keep cutting cost to the point that that many people are haveing problems with their ammo.

 

[CidDawg92]

Deserteagle & Stan45: I've been hearing that more and more lately. Not just in Glocks too.

 

[jcreek]

Remember "Tap, Rack, Bang". Tap the bottom of the magazine (smack it pretty good), rack the slide, and attempt to fire again. Happy shooting!

They've actually changed that now. Now they're teaching "cant, tap, rack, bang." First cant the weapon left to observe the malfunction, then right to make sure the brass clears the weapon when you tap, rack, bang. Makes sense but just doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

[XD40scinNC]

Most polymer based semi-autos are susceptible to limp wrist failures. Saw a video where a guy could cause a Glock to fail every time with a limp enough grip. He was able to get a SA XD to fail about 1 out of 6 shots. These were both 9mm. He also had some non-polymer guns that didn't and couldn't duplicate it the problem.

Uhhhh! that would be the video posted earlier in the thread:redface: