After almost 2 months I finally was able to get the new gun out to a shooting range and test it out this past Saturday. I was pretty happy with the feel and accuracy but I had several rounds fail to properly feed into the chamber. I ran approx. 8 full magazines (80 rounds) through it with PMC bronze FMJ 230 ammo and had about 6 instances where the round only halfway entered the chamber causing a misfeed. As far as I can recall, it only happened once per mag. I even marked the base of one magazine to see if it was just one of the mags (I only have 2) acting up, but it happened with both mags. In most cases, it occured with the last round or second to last round in the magazine and once it occured with the second round. My brother in law said that he had the same thing happen with his glock and was told it needed to break in. He said that after a few hundred rounds his doesn't do it anymore. Have any of you seen or heard of similar issues with these guns? I'm not sold on the break in theory, though I could be totally wrong. Thanks for any insight you can offer.

I have a M&P 45 too. Never had any FTF or FTE. I don't mean to offend, but is it possible that you may have a poor grip? Sometimes "limp-wristing" can cause the gun to enter that condition.

We had the similiar problems when we first received our new M&P 45 duty weapons. Over half the weapons we received had failure to feed issues with the Federal ball ammunition.

 

We were later advised by Smith and Wesson to sand down the breech face of the slide with 400 grit sandpaper. They said the firing pin channel is drilled from the rear in the direction towards the muzzle. Where the firing pin protudes from the breech face, some burrs may occur from the drilling process that may cause a failure to feed.

 

After the sanding, the guns ran fine, no feed issues.

I've never been happy with the term "beak in period." I've I've paid $700 for a gun it better darn well shoot when I take it out of the box!!!

 

I had a similar problem with my PX4 Compact when I got it. I attribute that to my own errors:

 

#1. I was limp-wristing my PX4 because I was used to metal guns.

#2. I was trying to keep my weak hand finger on the rounded trigger guard like I used to do with my 92FS (which as a square trigger guard) and Glock 22. It took me a few range trips to train myself not to curl my weak hand index finger around the trigger guard.

#3. I ran my PX4 dry. Anything with a rotating barrel needs lube.

#4. I never cleaned my PX4 after I got it. I just shot it with all of the factory gunk still inside it.

 

First off, is this your first gun? Have you fired a pistol before? If this is your first gun, or you are new to pistols, you may need to work on fundamentals. If it's not, then the problem may be mechanical or ammunition related.

 

From the sound of the problem, it seems like the cartridge is only feeding halfway into the breech, it's not getting hung up in the magazine, correct? You could try the sandpaper idea, but I would hold off doing that until you rule out the first three items below:

 

#1. You could be limb wristing. When the magazine is full, the weight of the extra 6 .45 ASP rounds provides enough mass for the gun to push back enough for the slide to cycle correctly. By the time you only have 2 rounds left in the magazine you start to see failures. Try for an 80% crush. Pretend like you are trying to crush a soda can in your hand then back off 20%. Also consider changing the backstrap. When you hold the gun in your hand, the slide should line up with your forearm. If the slide is at an angle to your forearm, the gun is going to recoil into the webbing of your hand, which has a lot more give than the bone of your forearm, you may just need a smaller backstrap.

 

#2. Give your gun a good cleaning and then lube it wherever you see wear marks. The gun will tell you where it needs to be lubed. Just look for the wear marks on the gun and that is where metal is rubbing against metal. CLP is fine for cleaning, but I prefer to use a tiny dab of Gun Butter for lube wherever I see a wear mark. Militec works well too, but we could talk about lube all day.

 

#3. Try a different brand of ammo. But only try the different brand if #1 and #2 don't work out.

 

Let us know how it works out.

I would polish the feed ramp with a dremel or similiar tool.

I would polish the feed ramp with a dremel or similiar tool.

 

I would do what 4506 mentioned, since it is the exact problem you are having, no? A little sandpaper and clean up the breech face. Machining on some of these guns can be a little rough. With a much FINER grit sandpaper or polishing media, it might be a good idea to also clean up the feed ramp a bit too. That is often a sport where a rough edge can make for poor feeding.

I've never been happy with the term "beak in period." I've I've paid $700 for a gun it better darn well shoot when I take it out of the box!!!

 

I think that some people would be upset if they found out that the "new" gun they bought already had 500 rounds shot through it at the factory to eliminate the user break-in period. Not to mention that the cost of that fired ammo would end up being added to the price of the gun. Metal surfaces that mate need to wear into each other, especially on quality firearms with tight tolerances. Either the factory does it or you do it.

I would just break it in by running a few million rounds through it.

Good advice... break in with a few hundred rounds, and POLISH, don't SAND the ramp and breech face. A dremel with a pad wheel and some Flitz can do wonders.

400 or 600 grit sand paper on a Popsicle stick to clean up the breech face.. I prefer wet sanding paper..

Thanks for all of your help and advice everyone. I'm pretty sure I'm not "limp wristing" the gun because I have a fair amount of shooting experience with some handguns ( Glock 17's and 21's mostly) and didn't have any problems with them. That and the FTF occured when my brother in law and another guy I was shooting with tried it out as well, so it wasn't just me. Even so, I will definitely concentrate on my technique next time around just the same, afterall it can't hurt. Also thanks especially for the info about sanding the breech face and polishing the feed ramp. Looks like I'll have to get the sandpaper out again, LOL. I did a bit of sanding today since the slide lock was a pita and seemed to get stuck against the slide right near the bottom of the opening when trying to release the slide forward. Now it releases much better, although it is still a bit hard, at least it can wear itself in better with use.

I did find some info about polishing the feed ramp via a google search. From what I had read, it helped some guns but not all. However this was the first time I had seen anything about sanding the breech face. I will have to do both, as well as buy a different brand of ammo just in case. Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated.

The slide lock is just that, a lock. It should not be used to release the slide.

 

If you are loading the chamber from the magazine, slingshot the slide. If you want the slide forward on an empty chamber, drop the mag and again, slingshot the slide.

 

I frequently see people trying to push the slide lock down using both thumbs trying to release the slide. Especially with the magazine inserted. Besides working against the magazine spring, they are trying to force a piece of metal out of a cut in another piece of metal. Something is going to give.

Thanks for setting me straight PK90.

After shooting several different semi auto pistol's for over 25 years I don't recall ever being told that before, seriously. The operative phrase being "I don't recall", LOL. I'm trying to make light of it because Im a bit embarrassed. What you posted does make perfect sense especially since it's called a "lock", as you pointed out, and not a "release". Well, I guess I'm not too old to learn the right technique after all these years. With both you and Mcbethr's pointers, looks like I'm going "back to school".

There is no way that a brand new, modern service pistol like an M&P should require breaking in, sanding, polishing, dremelling or any other messing-with to run reliably. And unless you are an anorexic teenage girl I doubt you are limp wristing enough to cause a failure to go into battery either. Send the damned thing back to Smith & Wesson for them to fix it.

Follow up to my orignal thread.

I followed your suggestions about polishing the feed ramp, running fine sandpaper over the face of the breech, and getting different ammo. Yesterday I was finally able to get to a range for "round 2" with my M&P to test it and see if my labor paid off, lol. I'm pleased to report that your suggestions (feed ramp and breech face polishing) worked like a charm. I started out shooting the same ammo (PMC) that was malfunctioning in the gun initially and the gun blasted through it with no hiccups whatsoever. After that I switched to Armscor ammo and it functioned fine as well. All told, this time I shot 70 rounds of PMC and 50 Armscor. Needless to say I'm very happy with the outcome. Thanks again everyone, for great advice.

 

 

There is no way that a brand new, modern service pistol like an M&P should require breaking in, sanding, polishing, dremelling or any other messing-with to run reliably. And unless you are an anorexic teenage girl I doubt you are limp wristing enough to cause a failure to go into battery either. Send the damned thing back to Smith & Wesson for them to fix it.

 

I can't agree with you more about that point. Though I also realize that sometimes items that are mass produced don't come off of the assembly line in "blueprinted" condition and spec either. I figured that, in this case, it would take only a few minutes of my time to clean up the ramp and breech face and if it didn't work after the first try, the gun was definitely going back.

M&P are not designed to use the slide lock/release with the thumb. Support hand comes over the rear of the slid and sling shother it. GLOCK is designed the same way. Another note you shouldn't have to sand down a duty weapon to get it to work. That's just crazy.