Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A-ha! Stoppage! (Although not the gun's fault.)

After doing some shooting with my carry gun and also installing a gizmo on my M&P357 that I'll maybe write about later, I pulled the PPX out yesterday to put another 50 rounds of Winchester White Box 115gr FMJ through it, bringing the tally up to 750.

I was standing at about 15 yards and ringing the steel, having a grand ol' time, trying to play a tune on the different-sized plates. When the second to the last mag went dry I did a speed reload from the belt pouch and...
Round 741 failed to feed, although the reason was immediately apparent: Trying to do a fast reload with this gun, something I have not really been doing, I didn't seat the magazine fully. It was in the gun, and inserted far enough to let the slide shove a round out of the mag, but cartridge nose hit the feed ramp too low and the picture was the result.

Not sure I should hold shooter error against the gun. The unusual shape of the floor plates and magwell opening could take some getting used to for me.

ETA: Incidentally, nosing around the Walther fanboi sites, it appears that P99/PPQ night sights are compatible with the PPX.
.

12 comments:

og said...

The floorplates come off quite readily, I bet it would be easy to attach some kind of a pad to thicken/extend them. I'm sure someone will make that in aftermarket in about 5,4,3,2,1...

staghounds said...

"If you do your part."

Tam said...

"...by not getting your fat hand in the mag well."

Blackwing1 said...

I'm curious as to how you cleared that "malfunction" (or operator-error) at the range after you took the picture.

Did the usual "tap, rack, bang" thing work, or did you have to drop the magazine in order to get the offending round out? It looks like it may have been somewhat solidly stuck in there for a bit.

mikee said...

Something I read long ago by Jeff Cooper, that you have reiterated in this post, is that the mechanical aspects of firearm functions like reloading or preparing to fire generally work better when performed with vigorous intent.

Rifle bolts are built to take the force of small explosions; pulling the bolt back and pushing it forward need not be done daintily.

Likewise, slap those magazines in, like you mean it. The handgun will not mind in the least.

Tam said...

Oh, it wasn't a lack of vigor that led to this.

global village idiot said...

Give the gun a mulligan - ain't its fault.

gvi

Scott J said...

"Oh, it wasn't a lack of vigor that led to this"

I have trouble believing it was a fat hand too because you don't have them :)

Hands, yes. Fat ones, not so much.

Critter said...

On an unrelated note, I bought one of the "gun burkhas" you mentioned. It's very nifty, especially in "stone" because masculine. :)

Matthew said...

Subconscious sabotage to justify your unease over liking the gun? ;)

Bubblehead Les. said...

Hey, Lesson Learned, Time to Move On, Don't Beat Yourself Up Over It.

I think that's enough Platitudes.

But I do have a Request. Since you got the Chrony, and I don't have access to one, would you be interested is settling something that's been Bugging me since the "Morgue Monsters vs the Jello Junkies" days?

Just what IS the difference in Muzzle Velocity between a 124 grain JHP 9mm and a 125 grain JHP .357 Magnum which is fired from a 4 inch Barreled Revolver?

I know it's "Gunnie Geek," but I don't recall ever seeing a "Side-by-Side, Apples-to-Apples, Compare and Contrast" test done on this. I mean, just how much difference can there be between two such Similar Bullets? I know there's tons of Data in Reloading Manuals, and the number of Trees Killed writing about Individual Pistols could build an Ark, but done at the Same Time and Place and Shooter?

And I'm not saying go out and buy 5 Boxes of "Super Critical Defender Plus" ammo. Just a couple rounds of each if you have any loose stuff in an Ammo can. Just enough Shots to get a Print Out.

But I think this may be able to help those of our Sisters and Brothers who are "Stuck Behind Enemy Lines" in a "VolksRepublik" where the Political Elitists issued a Decree saying that "High Capacity Pistols are BAD" while "Six Shooters are GOOD." Maybe a Lawyer who is working on regaining their Freedom can use the Data.

Think about it, please.

Tam said...

Bubblehead Les,

Will do! :)