One of my P239s (my all time favorite hand gun) chambered in 357 Sig will not hand chamber a round. It will chamber the round fine if the slide is locked back and then the slide release pushed down or when the gun is fired.... but not by hand.

Any ideas on why this is and how to fix it?

No problem with any of the other P239's I own.

Could your extractor be gummed up and having a hard time making it over the rim unless it forcefully does so?

Maybe pop it out and clean the channel, inspect the spring etc.

This is just me spitballing.

Also you’re not “riding” the slide into battery right? I assume you are not but if for some reason you are don’t do that and should any new shooters be reading this don’t baby your loading so to speak. Run slide all the way back and completely release it letting it run home all on its own spring pressure.

I know this might be a “no duh” thing for the vast majority of folks here but I assume there are new shooters who read these sites everyday.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Also you’re not “riding” the slide into battery right?

If you’re not doing that and you’re releasing the slide to chamber the round at full speed, there’s no logical reason why two methods work and one doesn’t.

But yes, also check the extractor.

Added: If you’re not experiencing the problem with other P239 pistols, I’d also check the chamber of the 357 to ensure that it’s clean and there is no build up. I’ve never experienced any problem with the cartridge and see my first statement above, but I suppose that’s a possibility.

I'll look at the extractor .... I've cleaned the chamber and that is of course the odd thing about it all.. from all I've heard and experienced the 357 Sig round because it is necked down is the less likely to do this. To say more than I should I actually own 9 P239's 7 in 357 Sig and this is the only one that does this.

Is it a recent development or is it a, I just got around to this particular P239 and realized it had an issue out of the box thing?

I still think the extractor is an easy thing to check for gunk or spring issue etc.

Another thing to look at / try is make sure the feed / stripper rail isn’t dragging on the top round in the magazine. Maybe give it a light polish or make sure there is a light finger run of oil on it. Does it happen with all magazines? Maybe a super tight mag spring pushing hard up on said feed rail?

Again just spitballing.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Could your extractor be gummed up and having a hard time making it over the rim

The extractor doesn’t go over the rim. The round slides up and behind the extractor.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Orndorff:

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Could your extractor be gummed up and having a hard time making it over the rim

The extractor doesn’t go over the rim. The round slides up and behind the extractor.

Yeah your right and I was thinking about that after the fact.

The idea is that the breech face pushes the rear of the next round forward out of the feedlips of the mag. It is supposed to be in contact with the breech face the entire time, so that the round pushes up under the extractor.

Presumably, when you are “hand feeding” you’re placing a round in the chamber then closing the slide. This would require the extractor to ride over the rim and fall into place rather than the rim slide under the extractor. You’re creating an impact that isn’t intended, and could damage/chip the extractor.

The real question I have, is why do you want to do this? I can’t say I’ve ever felt the need to load one round in the chamber. Not saying there might not be a good reason, just that I’ve never had one.

I had a box of hollow points do this to me in mine. It would jam if I did it by hand but if I did the slide release it would chamber them.

Again thanks... and I'm going to have to look into it more... few things...

This P239 was bought used from one of y'all (a member here) and it has been this way since I got it. I took it to the range and it shoots and functions fine... it is just when I get ready to load the pistol... put a fully loaded magazine in and try to hand cycle the first round that it does this. Does not matter about the ammo (hollow point or full metal jacket) and I'm pretty sure it does not matter about the magazine. This is my 'bedside gun' and I keep forgetting that it does this. Like almost all the others it just sits there fully loaded hoping to never be needed. I got all my p239's together this past weekend because I feel I need to start cycling them to the range and keep a log of when I last 'proved' them. I also wanted to know which ones have a short reset trigger. Seems 4 of the 9 do but two of those 9s are DAK triggers and so 4 of the 7 DA/SA ones do.

Didn't Kahr used to or do they currently recommend using the slide release for X number of rounds because something like this could occur??? Strong recoil spring or something else??? Could this be something similar requiring a break/wear in period?

I know Kahr pistols are a different animal but I could have sworn they suggested the above and maybe you are experiencing something similar.

Since you have other P239s have you tried switching RSA's and Mag out just to experiment?

Again I am simply trying to throw some simple things out there that might help you focus in on a specific part or issue. Stuff like this can be frustrating especially when it is JUST wrong enough to be annoying but not wrong enough to drive you to really work on it.

My hunch is that he has a worn recoil spring that is slowing the slide just enough to cause a mis-feed. Cslinger I would suggest you take the recoil spring from one of your other P239's and see if that provides a solution.

Recoil spring would be when firing the gun.... this is not the problem... only when trying to hand cycle the first round from the magazine when reloading.... simple solution is to just don't do it this way.... lock the slide back... insert full magazine and then push down the slide release lever and let the slide 'slam' the round into the chamber... this works ever time. But the reason for the question is that none of my other p239s have this problem and so I just want to figure it out and possibly fix it.

I guess it could be a break in thing but since the pistol was bought used.... kind of hard to imagine this....

In looking at how the one I carry works.... I think I might just have to polish the feed ramp... the odd part is now that I look the round on either one coming out of the magazine is pointed pretty straight into the ramp and that first impact give the round a slight tilt which then allows it to feed up into the chamber tilting even more.

Blume9mm, do you have another P239 .357Sig/.40cal? Perhaps you could swap barrels between the two and see if the problem follows the barrel.

Good call Broadside...

I tried the pistol with both a 40 cal and 9mm barrel and it hand cycles fine with both of those... now I'm actually down to is it either the feed ramp of the barrel or magazines.....

After some more trials... it is the feed ramp on the barrel... but I can't see a difference in it and the other 357 sig barrels. I even got out my dremal tool and polished it a bit and it does not make a difference.....

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blume9mm,

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
After some more trials... it is the feed ramp on the barrel... but I can't see a difference in it and the other 357 sig barrels. I even got out my dremal tool and polished it a bit and it does not make a difference.....

Could the angle of the feedramp relative to the chamber be different?

What about the length of the feedramp? Maybe one is longer than the other.

It's about friction . . . here's some things to check (not necessarily in order of likelihood).

Chamber check: Barrel out and muzzle down, drop a round into the chamber, it should slide in easily. Repeat with several rounds.

With barrel and reoil assembly removed from slide, slide a cartridge up the breech face. It should do so with minimal friction and only slight resistance as the case extaction groove goes under the extractor claw. No shaved brass. With slide level, the extractor should hold cartridge in position even when gently swayed from side to side.

With barrel and recoil assembly still removed, install slide onto frame and feel the friction of the slide to frame fit . . . it should be minimal and smooth.

With a full magazine, the top round exerts the most friction against the slide stripper rail. It's good to wipe a very thin coat of grease the length of the rail, also against the back of the rail, the part that rides against the hammer to cock it.

Check the movement of the extractor against its return spring, it should compress and return easily.

Oh, almost forgot, polish the feed ramp.

This is just about to drive me crazy... I was sure it was the feed ramp on the barrel after I tried the 40 and 9mm barrels.... just now I put the slide with barrel and recoil spring on another p239 and it works fine... then put the slide and barrel from that 'other' p239 on this one and it jams.... So now I'm looking at it is the lower part of the pistol and probably the ramp of it.... to me when the round jams it does not look like the bullet is even touching this part... but.... what is the function of it unless it does.

Well, you've got 7 of them and identified the barrel as the issue. sounds like a replacement barrel is what the doctor ordered.