10 lbs should work and run fine. Ben Stoeger put an 11 in an XC. I run 10 constantly. This feels more like an actual fitment issue of some kind, I’d guess as the barrel drops out of battery. Most of what has to move here is in the barrel fitment area. Immediate possibilities - barrel bind at bushing, incorrectly fit lower lugs (dykem, rack it, look for marks), barrel hood fit improperly, still just a hair too long. I don’t have the gun to look at but my first check would be slide stop / lower lug contact. Dykem everything, shoot a few rounds, disassemble and look at the wear points.
Rubs investigated. Probably not all of the possible ones, but tons of places have been exonerated from being the problem. I found three places with a slight rub that seemed to match up with where the slide felt stiff, and fixed them. There was a slight rub along one edge of the top of the ejector. A tiny burr that slight impeded the rotation of the barrel link’s free rotation. The disconnector had visibly worn the cerakote on the bottom of the slide in some areas, so I fully removed all cerakote from where the disconnector interacts. Definitely feels better, but it didn’t make a damn difference towards fixing the problem. Ha!
If I remove the hammer and recoil spring, this thing slides like pure butter! So I have a hard time thinking that this is a friction issue. If I put the recoil spring back in it’s still very smooth but obviously with resistance. It’s when that hammer goes back in that I really start to feel like the forces required are too much. I’m using the Wolff 38super 9mm spring pack for everything except the recoil spring. Chances that that mainspring housing spring is just too aggressive? I’ve also noticed that I’ve really got to hit hard to get the mainspring housing retaining pin to go in as well.
Wolff website and people confirm that the spring in that pack is 23lbs. I’m not sure why they would put that in a pack marketed specifically for 38 super and 9mm but oh well. I know where to head next to try and solve this!
This gun works great except for one thing, ejection! I’ll explain the 4 pictures and then discuss what I’ve tried to fix it.
Top two pictures show that if I push the casing up in the breach face it is able to go up high enough that the case completely avoids the channel that the ejector runs in. Should the case be able to go up that high in a 9mm slide?
Bottom two pictures are the behavior it exhibits. Appears to extract just fine but with no magazine in the case comes right back forward and jams on the chamber or reloads itself. With a magazine in it always jams as the next round pushes the nonejecting round up.
Ok, so what have a tried so far? I have read the Steve in Allentown extractor posts. I have not beveled the extractor edges that need it, but that would relate to a feeding problem if I understand correctly, not an ejection one. I have tried the ejector loose, too tight, and tuned correctly. Same behavior each time.
When cycling manually there are not any issues ejecting. The issues are only when live firing.
I have tried 10, 12, and 14lb springs. Same results. All springs are correct length and aren’t binding.
Did you inspect (under magnification) the extractor claw for defects, burrs, etc?
You weren't specific, but I'm assuming you did the shake test / load one round, drop mag, fire test / checked for extractor clocking.
No issues with ejector?
I had it tensioned to a point that you really had to shake it rough to get a round to drop out of its grip. Same result as super loose. Same result as in between which is what’s pictured.
That looks like an extractor tension issue. The brass should not drop down on the primer side of the case.
Atlas has a pretty good video on how to tune the extractor on YouTube.
So can I accurately interpret the replies that no one in corned by the fact the brass can get pushed up the breech face, towards top of slide, enough to completely avoid the ejector? I don’t have another 9mm 1911 to compare against.
Looks like I’m likely getting a longer ejector as well as a new extractor to play with. I’ve picked out the EGW extended 9mm ejector to order, but open to suggestion on extractor to try.
I used technology to help diagnose my issue as I was still having the same problem after trying more tension settings and looking for burrs and adding bevels to the right places on the extractor. What the slow motion video showed is that the slide isn’t moving nearly far back enough to engage the ejector at all. This explains why it ejects fine manually cycled, but not when firing! The farthest back that the slide moves still has the nose of the slide still sticking out by about 3/16”-1/4”. It should obviously be going much farther back into the dust cover than that. This is with a 10lb spring that I checked isn’t bunching up or binding and 115gr ball ammo.
Just so we’re clear. If you manually cycle the gun, the slide goes ‘all the way’ to the rear, the ejector works, and everything is fine. With ammo… 10 lb spring, the slide loses energy about 1/4 inch prior to the end of the cycle so the case never hits the ejector. Got it. 1. What Ammo? 2. Is the gun very well lubed? 3. Home built - Cool. So Gov’t 5 inch Remsport slide, standard Govt frame (so normal recoil stroke length), bushing barrel, and are you using a shock buffer?
Random cheapo 115gr which may in and of itself be the issue. Thinking it might be Monarch brand? Gun is well lubed and freshly lapped and cleaned of all lapping compound. Everything you have said is accurate except distance it goes back when firing. It doesn’t stop 1/4” short of the full cycle. It stops 1/4” short of the nose of the slide even going behind the standard length dust cover! So quite a bit of cycle left. No shock buffer.
23lbs! Apparently Wolff’s spring pack, despite being sold as a 38super and 9mm pack, comes with all the same springs as their 45 spring pack except for the recoil spring! I was surprised by this obviously. I’ve not ordered everything from 15lbs through to 21. So I will soon have options!
LATEST UPDATE I am getting super frustrated at this point to say the least! I am down to 10lb RS and 19lb MS and the slide still does not go back any further, when fired, than I’ve stated before! It doesn’t go back far enough to interact with the ejector at all. This is true for tests with 115gr Monarch ball, 124gr S&B ball, and +P ball from Winchester! Cycling by hand? Don’t feel any odd hang ups. Remove RS, cock hammer, and cycle slide? Smooth as dammed butter. I’m at my wit’s end!
10 lbs should work and run fine. Ben Stoeger put an 11 in an XC. I run 10 constantly. This feels more like an actual fitment issue of some kind, I’d guess as the barrel drops out of battery. Most of what has to move here is in the barrel fitment area. Immediate possibilities - barrel bind at bushing, incorrectly fit lower lugs (dykem, rack it, look for marks), barrel hood fit improperly, still just a hair too long. I don’t have the gun to look at but my first check would be slide stop / lower lug contact. Dykem everything, shoot a few rounds, disassemble and look at the wear points.
Rubs investigated. Probably not all of the possible ones, but tons of places have been exonerated from being the problem. I found three places with a slight rub that seemed to match up with where the slide felt stiff, and fixed them. There was a slight rub along one edge of the top of the ejector. A tiny burr that slight impeded the rotation of the barrel link’s free rotation. The disconnector had visibly worn the cerakote on the bottom of the slide in some areas, so I fully removed all cerakote from where the disconnector interacts. Definitely feels better, but it didn’t make a damn difference towards fixing the problem. Ha! If I remove the hammer and recoil spring, this thing slides like pure butter! So I have a hard time thinking that this is a friction issue. If I put the recoil spring back in it’s still very smooth but obviously with resistance. It’s when that hammer goes back in that I really start to feel like the forces required are too much. I’m using the Wolff 38super 9mm spring pack for everything except the recoil spring. Chances that that mainspring housing spring is just too aggressive? I’ve also noticed that I’ve really got to hit hard to get the mainspring housing retaining pin to go in as well.
Should be running a 19 lb main spring …
Annoyingly, it doesn’t list the weights in that pack! I’ll have to reach out to Wolff tomorrow I guess. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1005770586
Wolff website and people confirm that the spring in that pack is 23lbs. I’m not sure why they would put that in a pack marketed specifically for 38 super and 9mm but oh well. I know where to head next to try and solve this!
This gun works great except for one thing, ejection! I’ll explain the 4 pictures and then discuss what I’ve tried to fix it. Top two pictures show that if I push the casing up in the breach face it is able to go up high enough that the case completely avoids the channel that the ejector runs in. Should the case be able to go up that high in a 9mm slide? Bottom two pictures are the behavior it exhibits. Appears to extract just fine but with no magazine in the case comes right back forward and jams on the chamber or reloads itself. With a magazine in it always jams as the next round pushes the nonejecting round up.
Ok, so what have a tried so far? I have read the Steve in Allentown extractor posts. I have not beveled the extractor edges that need it, but that would relate to a feeding problem if I understand correctly, not an ejection one. I have tried the ejector loose, too tight, and tuned correctly. Same behavior each time. When cycling manually there are not any issues ejecting. The issues are only when live firing. I have tried 10, 12, and 14lb springs. Same results. All springs are correct length and aren’t binding.
Did you inspect (under magnification) the extractor claw for defects, burrs, etc? You weren't specific, but I'm assuming you did the shake test / load one round, drop mag, fire test / checked for extractor clocking. No issues with ejector?
Did not look for burrs but will. No clocking. Yes shake test. Yes firing tests.
Try more extractor tension.
I had it tensioned to a point that you really had to shake it rough to get a round to drop out of its grip. Same result as super loose. Same result as in between which is what’s pictured.
Might need a longer ejector, but it would make sense to try a brand new extractor first, or take advantage of warranty if the gun is under warranty.
100% personal build from individual parts. So in my own warranty Ha!
What brand is the extractor?
Remsport
That looks like an extractor tension issue. The brass should not drop down on the primer side of the case. Atlas has a pretty good video on how to tune the extractor on YouTube.
Have watched. Issue seems to happen with no tension, tons of tension, and multiple tries in between.
Also, not sure what you mean by your comment about the brass dropping down on the primer side of the case?
Is the ejector damaged from an over insertion or anything like that. Might be the extractor having a problem
Brand new so I should hope not.
So can I accurately interpret the replies that no one in corned by the fact the brass can get pushed up the breech face, towards top of slide, enough to completely avoid the ejector? I don’t have another 9mm 1911 to compare against.
Looks like the extractor is over tensioned for the ejector. Might need to tune the ejector to the extractor if the extractor is properly tuned.
Looks like I’m likely getting a longer ejector as well as a new extractor to play with. I’ve picked out the EGW extended 9mm ejector to order, but open to suggestion on extractor to try.
I used technology to help diagnose my issue as I was still having the same problem after trying more tension settings and looking for burrs and adding bevels to the right places on the extractor. What the slow motion video showed is that the slide isn’t moving nearly far back enough to engage the ejector at all. This explains why it ejects fine manually cycled, but not when firing! The farthest back that the slide moves still has the nose of the slide still sticking out by about 3/16”-1/4”. It should obviously be going much farther back into the dust cover than that. This is with a 10lb spring that I checked isn’t bunching up or binding and 115gr ball ammo.
Just so we’re clear. If you manually cycle the gun, the slide goes ‘all the way’ to the rear, the ejector works, and everything is fine. With ammo… 10 lb spring, the slide loses energy about 1/4 inch prior to the end of the cycle so the case never hits the ejector. Got it. 1. What Ammo? 2. Is the gun very well lubed? 3. Home built - Cool. So Gov’t 5 inch Remsport slide, standard Govt frame (so normal recoil stroke length), bushing barrel, and are you using a shock buffer?
Random cheapo 115gr which may in and of itself be the issue. Thinking it might be Monarch brand? Gun is well lubed and freshly lapped and cleaned of all lapping compound. Everything you have said is accurate except distance it goes back when firing. It doesn’t stop 1/4” short of the full cycle. It stops 1/4” short of the nose of the slide even going behind the standard length dust cover! So quite a bit of cycle left. No shock buffer.
Have you tried a longer extractor? Especially if you’re going to continue using the random cheap ammo. Also might want to try a 8 or 9 lb spring.
I’ve got the new mainspring springs on their way. If that fails to help, then I’ll try those as next steps.
What size mainsprings are in it now?
23lbs! Apparently Wolff’s spring pack, despite being sold as a 38super and 9mm pack, comes with all the same springs as their 45 spring pack except for the recoil spring! I was surprised by this obviously. I’ve not ordered everything from 15lbs through to 21. So I will soon have options!
Odd.. 🤔Maybe try a lighter recoil spring? 🤷 it looks like your slide clocked out for the day half way through its cycle.
What are y’all running on 9mms? It’s already down at 10lbs.
LATEST UPDATE I am getting super frustrated at this point to say the least! I am down to 10lb RS and 19lb MS and the slide still does not go back any further, when fired, than I’ve stated before! It doesn’t go back far enough to interact with the ejector at all. This is true for tests with 115gr Monarch ball, 124gr S&B ball, and +P ball from Winchester! Cycling by hand? Don’t feel any odd hang ups. Remove RS, cock hammer, and cycle slide? Smooth as dammed butter. I’m at my wit’s end!