I bought a new P365 MS shipped from the factory in July of this year. Before firing it, I cleaned it and lubed it per the manual. I just got back from my first range trip with it.

With the first box of new, FMJ ammo, about half the time the slide would hang up about 1/2 inch from battery. All it would take is a light tap of my thumb and it would go all the way home.

On the second box (different brand) of FMJ, it would hang up 20-30% of the time. The last box was Sig V-Crown JHP and I had one hang up.

I am caught between two conclusions: A) There is something wrong with the gun and I should send it back to Sig, or B) It is just tight and needs to be "shot in."

What say you? And if it is "B" about how many error free rounds would it take for you to feel comfortable with it as an EDC?

Can you post photos of the position of the slide and cartridge when it doesn’t go into battery?

It’s possible that whatever’s causing the problem will work itself out, but with the cost of ammunition these days I’d just be inclined to have SIG fix it. That isn’t normal.

As for how many trouble-free rounds to be confident of its reliability, I recommend 200. That’s based on how soon a problem will usually show up with a new gun.

I was sort of able to recreate it with a snap cap, but I couldn't get a picture because when I set the gun down, however gently, it snaps into battery. I was able to measure it. It was not a half inch, but only an eighth of an inch and it is right at that point where the barrel snaps up into battery. So it may be the base of the bullet is dragging against the breech face.

But I think your are right about sending it to Sig.

BTW, I heard a great corollary to your signature line recently from Thomas Sowell.

"A big problem in society today is that people are smart enough to believe they are right, but not smart enough to know when they're wrong."

Is it doing it when you're actually firing the gun, or just when you're loading a new mag and sending the slide into battery? If the former, that's a big problem. I'd ship it back.

If the latter, I've seen this on numerous 365s. It usually works itself out with lube and a couple of hundred rounds. Also, try sending the slide home using the slide release lever to make sure that you're not inadvertently riding the slide home when you release it.

IMO Sig is riding the ragged edge of reliability with the way these things are finished and sprung. From what I've seen of the ones we own as a department, they've always worked under live fire, but it's not confidence inspiring that they do this at all. This issue, along with a coupe of other factors, is why I gave mine back and switched to a P320SC.

It only happens when firing the gun. Not every shot, but at least one round in each magazine, sometimes more. It never happens when cycling the slide. So I will be calling Sig tomorrow.

Please keep us posted.

One thing I noticed when cleaning the gun is I cleaned some brass residue off of the extractor area. Also, cycling some snap caps through it, it seemed the extractor was abrading the rim of the snap cap where it contacted. Maybe that's normal, but I have not encountered that with other autos. My amatuer hypothesis is the extractor may be too tight. But we'll see what Sig says.

It just burns my butt that the last three new autos I've bought, two Sigs and a Smith, have all had to be sent back to the factory for some kind of problem.

quote:

It just burns my butt that the last three new autos I've bought, two Sigs and a Smith, have all had to be sent back to the factory for some kind of problem.

Yes, that is indeed a pain. Sorry it worked out like that, but I've learned it's worth the hassle to send them back, rather than live with a defective gun that you can't trust to be reliable. hopefully Sig gets it corrected and back to you quickly!

quote:

Originally posted by jmf552:
One thing I noticed when cleaning the gun is I cleaned some brass residue off of the extractor area. Also, cycling some snap caps through it, it seemed the extractor was abrading the rim of the snap cap where it contacted. Maybe that's normal, but I have not encountered that with other autos. My amatuer hypothesis is the extractor may be too tight. But we'll see what Sig says.

It just burns my butt that the last three new autos I've bought, two Sigs and a Smith, have all had to be sent back to the factory for some kind of problem.

This should not be an issue.
When firing the next round is fed under the extractor, so unless the extractor slot is undersized that’s not the problem.

I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but I think you’ve got another one that has to back to SIG.

Just got off the phone with Sig Customer Service. Long on hold wait, but that happens with every company nowadays. The guy was really nice. He recommended I send it in. He said they could just send me a stronger recoil spring. It was up to me, but he said it would be better to have a gunsmith look it over. Amazingly, he said their turnaround now is only about a week. We'll see. Off it goes tomorrow.

Keep us updated.

I had a similar RTB problem on a different pistol. Changing in a stronger recoil spring helped a lot, but I'm not 100% confident that the problem is resolved.

I would like to hear what Sig tells you and what their solution is.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Keep us updated.

I had a similar RTB problem on a different pistol. Changing in a stronger recoil spring helped a lot, but I'm not 100% confident that the problem is resolved.

I would like to hear what Sig tells you and what their solution is.

I agree.

A stronger spring might overcome a problem but I’d much rather actually solve the problem.

OK, I sent the gun into Sig. First, I'd like to say that customer service was excellent. The guy on the phone was great. Also, they were fast. I put the boxed gun into FedEx on a Tuesday. Tracking indicated Sig got it on Thursday. Saturday I got an email saying it was on its way back, ETA today (Tuesday). It showed up at Noon.

The gunsmith comments were:
Found slide/fcu within spec.
Replaced extractor and recoil springs
Polished and reblued barrel transition
Lubed and test fired 20 rds of Sig FMJ and 20 rounds of Sig V-Crown with no failures.

I look forward to getting it to the range again.

Excellent. Looking forward to your next range report.

quote:

Originally posted by jmf552:
Polished and reblued barrel transition

What does this mean?

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

quote:

Originally posted by jmf552:
Polished and reblued barrel transition

What does this mean?

I wondered that too. I disassembled it and appears they polished and reblued the breech face. Why they didn't just say that, I dunno. It did not seem they did anything to the barrel itself.

I edited this post significantly because my original comments gave too much credence to the idea that the “barrel transition” that was polished and reblued was the breech face of the slide. I was willing to entertain the notion that an exceptionally rough breech face could interfere with chambering the cartridge, but that is just not reasonable.
==============

I am not certain what “barrel transition” means, but I do not believe it has anything to do with the breech face. The breech face is the vertical surface of the slide just behind the ejection port that the firing pin protrudes through when the cartridge is fired. See the picture below.

The breech face of most SIG pistols, including the P365, isn’t “blued” in the first place, so I don’t understand how it could be “reblued.” That’s especially true because the slide is made of stainless steel which would complicate matters. It would be interesting to see photos of the area that was thought to be modified.

I believe that “barrel transition” much more likely refers to the transition ridge at the top of the feed ramp between the ramp and the chamber. If that’s too rough, sharp, or abrupt, it can hinder chambering because the cartridge may hang up there. Slightly radiusing and polishing that transition point is something I did a number of times years ago with early autoloading pistols of the time and it did help eliminate chambering problems. Because the barrel isn’t (AFIK) stainless steel and the ramp is normally blued, it would be possible to reblue it. Unless one is very familiar with the part and if the work is done carefully, the modification might not be apparent.


Top of the feed ramp, i.e., the “barrel transition”? As we can see, mine is not perfectly smooth, and it is blued.





The breech face which is not blued. I strongly doubt that’s where the work on the OP’s gun was done.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

@sigfreund: I don't have a camera that will take detailed close up pics like yours. I took the direct approach and called Sig. The customer service guy didn't know, but he was curious about it too. He talked to the gunsmith and called me back.

It turns out you were right, they did polish and reblue the feed ramp. Not sure why they didn't just say that. All I really care about is that it works. I am going to try to get to the range and 200 round through it soon. I will report back.

@sigfreund: Good call!

One thing that is obvious is that the replaced extractor looks more robust than the original one. The claw on the new one looks beefier.