Greetings.

I recently picked up a lightly used P230. My first range visit yielded some issues.

I have two factory mags. A box of Winchester flat point, S&B FMJ RN, PPU FMJ RN.

In short, both mags and all ammo generated multiple jams where the round presented at too high of an angle and the nose hit the the upper barrel hood and became trapped almost in a vertical position. The flatpoint Winchester is just not compatible with this gun and wouldn't fed at all. The other RN FMJ loads were maybe 75% functional / 25% jams.

I have smoothed out the feedramp and the sharp edge of the underside of the barrel hood; hopefully that will alleviate the issue.

If not, what is the likely cause? Is this common with the P230?

Checking both mags for how the cartridge slides out doesn't show any obvious differences, nor do I see the cartridge pointing up as it leaves the feedlips.

I probably would suggest checking your grip to make sure you’re not retarding the movement of the slide, inducing some short stroking. I’d also replace mag springs and recoil spring, maybe they’re making for a timing issue. I wouldn’t have bubba’d anything first thing. As for JHP, the P230 probably wasn’t made with them in mind. Can’t say I’ve ever tried with mine; it’s a range toy so it only gets target ammo.

No JHP was attempted. All rounds are FMJ, the Winchester being a flatpoint.

In short it's all target ammo.

My name isn't Bubba and I don't do Bubba things; just a light polish to remove ramp chatter and smooth out that 90 degree sharp edge on the underside of the hood.

The recoil on this is nothing so I don't think hold is an issue but I will be more focused on that next time.

Replacing springs with some Wolff springs might be next. The gun clearly has not had a lot of rounds through it but maybe the mags were fully loaded for 20 years so....?

I have a 230 that feeds everything. Agree with replacing recoil and mag springs. Make sure the breechface is clean and the pistol lubricated.

Any sources for mag springs?

Numrich has them but usually their stuff like this is sketchy. Wolff is a no.

Check your grip first and foremost both to make sure you are not screwing with the slide and to make sure you are gripping / supporting the gun strongly enough.

Try some hotter or heavier for class ammo to see if that functions. If it does you might just need to wear it in a bit.

Make sure the mags are assembled properly. I have seen factory NIW mags assembled incorrectly.

See if you can duplicate with a dummy round/by hand to see if you can “feel” or see any hitches or issues if you can duplicate it.

Springs as a last resort. I’ve never had issue with Numrich.

Also don’t take offense at the term “Bubba” it’s just a colloquial term for screwing up a gun or warning folks to be careful. It’s not used as a personal attack generally.

Hope you get her working. I had a Glock 30S that I would induce a malfunction similar to that due to fatigue in my grip/after a little shooting. That gun for whatever reason was just perfectly sized to transmit the recoil right into my wrist. I have never had limp wristing issues with any firearm including other Glocks, a normal Glock 30 and a vast number of others but something about the “s” was the perfect storm for me. Maybe the 230 is something similar for you. Does it occur with / can you have other shooters try.

The 230 I had was tightly fitted and would jam if not kept well lubricated.

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Originally posted by YooperSigs:
The 230 I had was tightly fitted and would jam if not kept well lubricated.

This^^^^. I have a couple 230's and several 232's, I run them wet, use TW25 on the rails and I don't have failures of any kind.

Got a buddy that can shoot it to see if they get the same problem?
Did you try several different brands/types of ammo?

If it isn't easily resolved:
If you bought that gun in a private deal then remember to never do business with that person again.
If it was bought at a dealer let them know what a piece of crap it is.

First, it's a long way from a piece of crap.. I suspect the spring suggestions will solve it. I can only say my P230 has never had a problem.... and extra lube never hurt.

Oh, I will mention that about 15 years ago when I bought my P230 at a gun show I took it home and went to clean it before even trying it at the range and I don't know what kind of lube was used on it but the stuff had pretty much set up kind of a yellow tacky substance?

I’ve shot a P230sl on and off for the last couple decades. I think they are sweet little pistols. I would be surprised if a clean and lube and spring replacement didn’t resolve your issues. Despite your current issues, congrats on a sweet pistol.

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I don't know what kind of lube was used on it but the stuff had pretty much set up kind of a yellow tacky substance?

Never even thought about this but yes I remember that preservative gunk and the stuff that smelled like coppertone.

Clean your mags, clean your gun. That stuff got everywhere.

I went around with mine a lot, new springs, ammo, lube, etc. Finaly got a pair of new stainless mags, problems gone. I traded the old mags back to the pawnshop I bought the gun from....

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If not, what is the likely cause?

The most common is the magazine. Stoppages with the flat-point bullets could be forgiven if it functions with round-nose, but with 25% stoppages with round-nose - one every fourth shot - apparently it isn't doing that either.

Try this. If it doesn't work you're just out a little time. Take the springs out of the magazines and without changing their position, lay the springs side by side with the magazine bodies. The "steps" or "coils" in the springs should be parallel, in the horizontal plane, with the tubes. If not, they were installed backwards.

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Checking both mags for how the cartridge slides out doesn't show any obvious differences, nor do I see the cartridge pointing up as it leaves the feedlips.

Hand cycling, especially in slow motion, doesn't tell you much. You can't exert the same speed and force with your hands that firing a cartridge does.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have a couple of springs inbound and am working on obtaining a new 3rd magazine.

I'll report back next time I can make some changes and range test.

Be real careful when breaking the gun down... that little spring on the left side of the chamber can pop loose and fly off into a different dimension.

Also, never ever take the trigger group apart.... that is a job for a serious gun smith and if by chance you do... the P230 trigger group is different than the P232.

An out of spec/tight extractor can cause the cartridge to nose up as you describe. I had an early P320 that had this issue.

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the P230 trigger group is different than the P232.

How so? The 232 hammer has a recess for a reset spring, but so do very late model 230s.

Long time ago I was out on the lake on my boat and could not sleep and got up very early in the morning and decided to clean my p230... and I took the trigger group apart... I finally got it back together after a couple days and probably at least 8 hours of work. the reason I say they are different, and this is the extent of my memory, is that I down loaded a diagram of the trigger group on a p232 and after a while realized it did not match the P230... there was a spring or some part that was different.... and I finally got it back together after finding the exploded diagram of a P230.

Still having FTF. Better but not acceptable.

I polished the feed ramp, removed the sharp edge under the barrel hood, replaced magazine springs in a total of four Sig factory mags with springs from Numrich. These new springs are 2-3" longer than the factory springs and they have the correct 'tail' that locks in the floorplate.

I replaced the factory 15# recoil spring with a new 15# spring from Wolff.


Range Trip #2 was better but not there yet. I had a box of Fiocchi FMJ, Federal FMJ, S&B FMJ, and some longer (.980 COAL) reloads I made as a test. I didn't try the Winchester FMJFP as it refused to eat these in Session #1.


I found no real difference in any of the mags; pretty much there was a fail-to-feed with every mag and every brand of ammo. Oddly, the second round failed to feed frequently. The gun definitely did NOT like the S&B (2-3 FTF every mag) and preferred the Fiocchi (~1 FTF per mag). It failed to feed one or two of the .980 COAL reloads.


At this point I'm inclined to swap out the 15# Wolff recoil spring for the 16#, maybe even the 18# springs and see if perhaps a faster forward slide action has an effect.


Aside from that, any other suggestions?