Post by "DoubleAction" on May 29, 2005 18:27:14 GMT -5
While shooting the Aquila 180 gr., .40 S&W , 180 gr. Target ammunition at the range, in one of my Sig 229 sport pistols, I had a few failures of the slide failing to go into full battery. At first I thought the problem was with a weakened recoil spring.
Another trip to the range with the Aquila would be tested in Sig's standard P-229, with other ammunition in .40 S&W accompanying the tests.
After firing only a couple of magazines through the 229 the failure to feeds began to show up, with the bullet wedging at the case mouth and the upper ledge of the barrel chamber; This happened very often.
Taking the barrel out; I cleaned out the chamber and ramp to try again but same thing happened.
I put away the Aguila and loaded up some georgia arms 180 gr. JHP factory reloads. Fifty rounds of the georgia arms fed through the SIG with out a hitch.
I then loaded up three magazines of Federal's 135 gr. Hydra Shoks; They too fed without a single sign of failure. I went back to the Aquila and the second magazine had the same failure to feed.
After returning home I took out the barrel of the SIG 229 and inspected how the bullet on the Aquila was hanging up. Something was different about the Aquila cartridge where the bullets seats in the case mouth. The outer rim of the case mouth protruded along the edge of the bullet, where the bullet begins to narrow in it's shape. On the top of the SIG's barrel chamber is a rimmed edge where the case mouth will snag and wedge. The other FMJ bullets I examined from Georgia Arms, Winchester, and Fiochhi had a similar case mouth ridge but not to the extend of catching on the upper rim of the barrel chamber while being fed.
One thing I'm taking a closer look at is the upper edge of the chamber on the 229, to possibly increase the reliability to feed such bullets, or I can discontinue the use of the Aquila in the 229.
Another trip to the range with the Aquila would be tested in Sig's standard P-229, with other ammunition in .40 S&W accompanying the tests.
After firing only a couple of magazines through the 229 the failure to feeds began to show up, with the bullet wedging at the case mouth and the upper ledge of the barrel chamber; This happened very often.
Taking the barrel out; I cleaned out the chamber and ramp to try again but same thing happened.
I put away the Aguila and loaded up some georgia arms 180 gr. JHP factory reloads. Fifty rounds of the georgia arms fed through the SIG with out a hitch.
I then loaded up three magazines of Federal's 135 gr. Hydra Shoks; They too fed without a single sign of failure. I went back to the Aquila and the second magazine had the same failure to feed.
After returning home I took out the barrel of the SIG 229 and inspected how the bullet on the Aquila was hanging up. Something was different about the Aquila cartridge where the bullets seats in the case mouth. The outer rim of the case mouth protruded along the edge of the bullet, where the bullet begins to narrow in it's shape. On the top of the SIG's barrel chamber is a rimmed edge where the case mouth will snag and wedge. The other FMJ bullets I examined from Georgia Arms, Winchester, and Fiochhi had a similar case mouth ridge but not to the extend of catching on the upper rim of the barrel chamber while being fed.
One thing I'm taking a closer look at is the upper edge of the chamber on the 229, to possibly increase the reliability to feed such bullets, or I can discontinue the use of the Aquila in the 229.