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walther ppk/s finicky feeding?
jag
Member Posts: 484 ✭✭✭
just picked up a like new used interarms ppk/s...using brass cased ammo, when I slowly release slide, the bullet gets hung up....If I let it go fast, it seems fine.....the other night I bought some blazer aluminum cased and it was jamming like crazy....prior to shooting, I took apart and cleaned the whole gun and mag....are these problems normal? I was told .380's can be finicky...true? anything I can do to make more reliable? just use certain ammo if that works? thanks for any help!
Comments
Cycling a pistol slowly is no way to judge its performance. It doesn't cycle slowly when fired, so yank the slide back smartly and let it go.
You may want to try different magazines. You may want to have the feed ramp polished. You may want to experiment with different brands of ammo and bullet shapes.
Beyond that, don't use Blazer ammo.
One design problem in this type gun is that the chamber is exposed to hot gases more so than any other type of pistol. You have to clean it well (with a brass bore brush, J-B Bore Paste, or Lewis Lead Remover). You may even want to polish it with auto polishing compound on a mop.
Neal
It's a common mistake among many people.
Blazer ammo used to be a problem, but nowadays it seems to work okay for me. I do prefer European or Russian .380 ammo simply because it's loaded hotter than most American ammo.
A commonly offered solution to problems a while back, was to cut the recoil spring on the PPK/S. I've seen several like this and seen it mentioned on websites. Look to see if your spring was altered and replace it if it was.
After reading this from the Seecamp website and written by Larry Seecamp, I've personally avoided all aluminum cased ammo.
Larry said;
"I would be cautious using Blazer ammo based on some limited experiences dating back to the LWS.25 days of twenty to twenty-five years ago.
A few customers reported they were shooting Blazers when they started getting misfires. In switching back to the ammunition they had been using prior to using Blazers the misfires continued.
On examining those pistols the chambers had shrunk so that the cartridges were no longer seating properly. The chambers had in effect been remanufactured It took a chamber reamer to remove the aluminum residue that had plated itself on the chamber walls."
The only feed problems I've experienced with my PPK/S were from also riding the slide. I suggest you buy several brands of ammo and perform your own test as to which if any are problematic and stick with those that feed fine. Keep a log of your range activity to track any problems... logging ammo used, which magazine used and the results.
The problem is you riding the slide. When you pull the slide rearward, LET IT GO! By you holding on to it and easing it forward, it doesn't have the momentum to seat the cartridge.
It's a common mistake among many people.
Blazer ammo used to be a problem, but nowadays it seems to work okay for me. I do prefer European or Russian .380 ammo simply because it's loaded hotter than most American ammo.
Earl at Earl's Repairs (who is a repair agent for German made Walthers) recommends Fiocci ammo for the PPK/S in .380ACP.
Give it a try.
1-try a new/different mag
2-scrub out chamber
3-polish ramp(looked pretty good when cleaning...)
4-try different ammo.... seems like its acceptable to have to use a specific brand or model for jam free firing? this is my main question I suppose....
Lastly...I DON'T ride the slide...just threw that in in case it gave some clues to problem...thanks again!
just picked up a like new used interarms ppk/s...using brass cased ammo, when I slowly release slide, the bullet gets hung up....If I let it go fast, it seems fine.....the other night I bought some blazer aluminum cased and it was jamming like crazy....prior to shooting, I took apart and cleaned the whole gun and mag....are these problems normal? I was told .380's can be finicky...true? anything I can do to make more reliable? just use certain ammo if that works? thanks for any help!
Thats what you are doing wrong, the slide must be free to move forward under spring tension, don't ease the slide forward, that will cause problems.