I am still going to ask for help and use the newbie crutch.
I just got back from the range and I had 2 FTEs on my newly acquired P226ST 9mm. This is also my first pistol.
Some things:
1. I was using WWB 9mm ammo. I did notice a lot of smoke and discharge which leads me to think...this was very dirty ammo.
2. The gun was very wet with oil (this was my doing after my first trip to the range using WWB with no failures), I cleaned the gun and heavily oiled (not lubed) all the internals and left a small coat of oil behind.
3. This happened after about 125 rounds.
4. I have a total of about 350 rounds through the gun. The gun was bought used with less that 20 rounds through.

Can anyone offer any thoughts on what could have caused the two FTEs?

Thanks again for the help.

"FTE": failure to extract or failure to eject? Or something else?

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
"FTE": failure to extract or failure to eject? Or something else?

When shooting (15 round mag) at around the 5th round the bullet fired, the case stayed in the chamber. I had to remove the mag. The next round in the mag was getting ready to be chambered (it was not fully engaged in the mag - it kinda fell out) and then I was able to manually cycle out the empty shell from the gun.

I hope this offers some clarification as to what happened.

Thanks.

Failure to extract, then.
That's much rarer than ejection failures and harder to diagnose. It's usually due to an extractor problem, but can have something to do with the ammunition or a dirty/damaged chamber.

My first suggestion is to ensure you clean under the extractor hook after every range session and while you're at it, inspect it carefully. Any sign of chipping or anything else that seems unusual should be inspected by a knowledgeable gunsmith. Replacing the extractor is relatively easy and might be worth trying before sending it back to SIG for service if the gun is not under warranty.

The Winchester ammo you're using is dirtier, I believe, than Blazer for example, but it's hugely popular and should not be the problem in itself.

Generally WWB is decent ammo. I have noticed recently that the ammo is not as good as in the past but generally it is ok ammo for range practice.

Things I would do:

1. clean and examine the extractor. If the gun is used then it is possible that the extractor has carbon and other crap built up on it and a simple cleaning could fix the problem.

2. Try some other types of ammo. I have been shooting mostly CCI blazer these days. I have found it to be cleaner burning than WWB and the quality is generally better. I have actually had two light strikes and one failure to extract with WWB in my Sig 226 that has a previous perfect track record of 3000+ flawless rounds.

I buy 9mm in bulk from Natchez. They had a sale, I am not sure if it is still going for 9mm aluminum case blazer which IMO is better than WWB.

3. Make sure you are not putting too much oil on the gun. On my 226ST I only lube the rails (usually with tetra grease) and add a thin film of oil to the barrel and barrel hood.

Good luck! I hope you are able to get it running perfectly.

It was late last night, but I did look at the extractor. Yep it was pretty caked with crap. This may be mostly my fault as I said, the gun was pretty wet with oil all over (including the extractor) which would probably have helped adhere any resiudes and being I didn't have this problem initially with 200 rounds through before I oiled the crap out of it, I will attribute the failures to me.
No barrel or chamber damage damage, no extractor damage (from what I see - especially now that its clean).
I still have about 150 rounds of WWB and the next trip to the range will bare out the truth.

I am going to CCI Blazer. 1,000 rounds due today from Natchez (couldn't resist the sale @ $7.99 a box).

Thanks for the inputs!

I had the very same problem a little back, but my problem was much more servere (on the order of 15-20 FTEs per 500 rounds). That and a broken take down lever prompted a trip to Sig for repairs. My extractor needed a slight adjustment and thus far, my 226st runs like a dream. Funny, my problems mostly occured with WWB.

Now....before you go sending her off to NH, I ease up on the wetness in the firing chamber. Reading your description of events made me think that your piece was way over lubricated. Chill on the oils and take her out to the range and see what happens.

@ the O.P.
there is an excellent set of videos on the sigarms website that shows you how to properly lube your pistol.

in my opinion, people make too many excuses for Sig pistols by blaming perfectly good ammo like WWB. i've been running WWB in my IPSC/USPSA glocks for two years with no issues ever.

in your case, it sounds like it was a dirty extractor, but how dirty could it get in 150 rounds? i go 1000+ rounds between cleanings with my glocks.
my german stamped slide 220 eats WWB ammo like nobody's business. nary a problem. ever.

quote:

Originally posted by fastdiablo:
@ the O.P.
there is an excellent set of videos on the sigarms website that shows you how to properly lube your pistol.

in my opinion, people make too many excuses for Sig pistols by blaming perfectly good ammo like WWB. i've been running WWB in my IPSC/USPSA glocks for two years with no issues ever.

in your case, it sounds like it was a dirty extractor, but how dirty could it get in 150 rounds? i go 1000+ rounds between cleanings with my glocks.
my german stamped slide 220 eats WWB ammo like nobody's business. nary a problem. ever.

Thanks for the video info.

Again, being relatively new, I was just putting out thoughts to the community as to why something happened.
I have put about 360 total rounds through the gun. The first 200 of WWB - not a hitch. After that 200 (which was the first 200 I put through), I cleaned the gun when I got home from the range. Then after that cleaning (the first that I performed), I oiled the heck out of everthing leaving a coating on all parts and a heavier coating on the moving parts.
As for how dirty did it get...at least 1/3 of the extractor finger (the hook) had gunky build up. I took a piece of wire and pushed crud off in small chunks. I believe that the oil and residue make for a nice mud pie. Also in the hood of the gun there was a lot of gunked residue. Again, much oil here.
So after seeing the feedback (thanks again all), I am 98% convinced that it is not the gun, 99% convinced that it is not the ammo, but 97% convinced it is operator error - lesson learned.
I will find out the truth on my next trip to the range where I have 150 more WWB rounds to shoot.

I have also posted this in the Sig Armorer area.
I am asking folks to take a look at my extractor because after all the good advice above, I seem to be still having a bit of a problem. I was at the range and after cleaning I still had a two FTE (extracts) out of 125 rounds.
Does this extractor look right (maybe this would have helped initially)
Thanks again all!

It looks to me like the extractor is severely worn or possible broken off.

Yup... looks mighty worn to me!

quote:

Originally posted by cdrross:
...newly acquired P226ST 9mm. This is also my first pistol...

Was that a new in box purchase, or a new used 226ST purchase?
zzz

quote:

Originally posted by f2:

quote:

Originally posted by cdrross:
...newly acquired P226ST 9mm. This is also my first pistol...

Was that a new in box purchase, or a new used 226ST purchase?
zzz

It was a used purchase at a gun shop. I was told that there were very few rounds put through - but seeing, this who knows?

That extractor looks like it has extracted more than "a few rounds"

Yeah, maybe he meant 2000 vice 20 rounds through it. Or maybe it is the case of a fault part... hopefully it is easy to replace the extractor - not sure if you can DITY or have to send it to SIG... Topgunsupply has the part for it, so it seems...

Because few people read the armorer section posts, I'll repeat my comment here:

I compared yours to the extractor in my 9mm P226 and although my gun has about 2300 rounds through it, it shows nothing like the wear yours does. The edge of your hook seems rough, somewhat rounded, and maybe beveled more at the bottom than mine.

I can't be certain of course, but at this point I believe your problem is due to a damaged extractor.

Thanks for all the replies.
It is good to get concurrence.
Based on a suggestion, I will get the new extractor and the Sig Armorer DVD and determine how difficult it would be to do a DIY.

quote:

Originally posted by cdrross:
Thanks for all the replies.
It is good to get concurrence.
Based on a suggestion, I will get the new extractor and the Sig Armorer DVD and determine how difficult it would be to do a DIY.

The extractor isn't hard to remove/install. Good luck, and give us a follow-up.

quote:

Originally posted by kotzage:
[QUOTE] Good luck, and give us a follow-up.

Thanks - Thats good to know.

I will share the replacement with the forum as a lessons learned.