"dings" in GDHP 115 gr.

[Aglifter]

The case of the top round in the magazine seems to develop a sharp "ding" in it after being carried for a day or two -- I haven't been able to get to the range since I got my gold dots, but I am a little concerned about it -- the hydrashocks that I carried previously did fine.  It's a rather sharp crease -- I can post a photo, but I need to figure out how to shrink it first -- I don't think anyone wants a several MB pic of the round.

[R9SCarry]

Strange Ag - very strange.  I just checked my mags - and these have been full for some while - no apparent distortion of top case - GDJHP 124's.

Re a pic - always useful.  Go to http://www.irfanview.com/ and download the small image viewer which IIRC is still a freebie.  You might even consider downloadfing the plug-ins too - as they can be useful.

Anyways - study the application a bit and you should find you can set ot up to save your file as a JPG, with a qual;ity factor of your choosing - and - reduce size.

Aim if you can for something like 640 x 480 for size and compression to achieve a file size of sub 100k.

Also if useful to you - take a peek HERE which is a small site I have up for reference - with a bias toward the High Road site regarding posting.  Your pic will need hosted somewhere, like Photobucket.com or your own server if you have one.

[Aglifter]

http://homepage.mac.com/aglifter/PhotoAlbum1.html

In theory, this is a link to the two pics of the cartidges.

[sslater]

I'm seeing the same kind of dings as your lefthand picture (ding1).  The rounds I'm carrying are 124 gr. Gold Dots.

Expect to be going to the range tomorrow and will report it those rounds cause any problems.  I don't anticipate any.

Dings are probably due to strong magazine spring pushing up on the chambered (unfired) round as you unload the weapon before putting it away at night.

We all DO unload before putting our R9S's away don't we.  Sure.....

Steve S.

[R9SCarry]

Thx for pics link Ag - I am still puzzled!!!  Brass cases are not that tough but - even if I try and force a round up at the tip so lips bear on case - I can't make a significant mark, let alone a dent.

The only situation where I could envisage this is if I accelerated a single round in an empty mag - from bottom to top under spring tension - but that would be difficult!

I daresay there is some logical explanation but it escapes me thus far.

[Aglifter]

I unload the mag. outside of the pistol -- I looked inside the mag well, and I can't find anything to cause that ding -- only thing I could think of is that, on rare occasions, when the pistol gets bumped in my pocket, it's somehow bumps the rounds into the slide???  Doesn't really make sense how that would happen though

[TW]

>>I've experienced these same dings in my .115g GDHP coming out of both my R9s.  Go figure...TW<<

[sslater]

I've thought about it some more, and see that the magazine doesn't have anything to do with it.  But I still say the ding is caused by the top edge of the chamber as you cycle the action to unload an unfired round:
-The slide has the case gripped by the extractor groove.  
-As you manually cycle the action, the slide and barrel travel back locked together for a short distance.
-The barrel unlocks from the slide and begins to pivot downward.
-The slide still has the case held tight by the extractor groove, but the case still has the unfired bullet in, so the whole assembly has to travel back more than it would to eject a spent case only.
-So the modified Browning tilting barrel mechanism is trying to bend the round as it extracts / ejects it.  A tight chamber, max diameter brass would be worst case in this respect.

These forums are really great for bouncing ideas back and forth.  It makes me think about the basic mechanical principles of the mechanism, increasing my understanding of firearm function.  And John Moses Browing had this stuff all worked out a hundred years ago.....

sslater

[Rocnerd]

Thank-you Mr. Browning!

[BlueGrips]

I experienced the exact same thing. It is caused when you are loading the magazine. Notice how the top bullet's base is pressed down on the bottom's case during the insertion. The only way to get around this is using a magazine loader.

Cheers!

[Aglifter]

I don't think it's caused while loading -- I thought that originally, but I removed the rounds again immediately after loading, and there weren't any dings, nor were there any dings on my 147 gr. hydrashocks that I carried previously.

[R9SCarry]

Steve - good rationale - and I had been considering this too.  I just inspected by last chambered round and found a very very small ''ding'' almost hard to see.

I again am convinced the mag per se and loading of same will NOT produce this.  It has to be caused as round leaves mag on chambering - and I and most I expect do a vigorous ''sling shot'' to ensure round goes fully in to battery.

I did describe the whole cycle in a thread recently - forget which one but Steve has reiterated some of that and this so far for me is the reason.

Makes one realize here that constant reloading (re-chambering) of one same round always is not a good idea.  Best to rotate ammo and then use up at a practice shoot periodically.

[sslater]

R9SCarry, cuteo100, et al:
I do use a mag loader to take the pressure off my sore thumb, so R9SCarry and I are pretty much on the same page.  Use up those carry rounds when you go to the range and reload with fresh ammo.  Lots of gun 'experts' recommend that your carry ammo be replaced at least every six months.  

At my range session today I fired 68 rounds for a cumulative total of 157.  No functional problems at all, other than one of those UMC rounds I'm using up needed two hits to fire.
Four of the 124 gr. Gold Dots I fired had dings like Aglifter's.  No problems feeding or extracting.

I did notice those areas on the frame that are rubbed by the barrel (another thread) are looking a bit rough.  I was liberal with Super Lube grease last time I assembled it, too.

One other observation:  Recoil spring started out at 42 mm free length.  After 157 rounds fired, that spring is 33.75 mm.  It looks like it's relaxed a full coil.  That seems a lot for less than 200 rounds.  I'm shooting only Gold Dots and FMJ practice stuff.  No +P's.  Unless the relaxation reaches a plateau soon, I won't make 500 rounds before the first spring replacement...
Has anyone else measured their recoil spring 'shrinkage'?

[R9SCarry]

Haven't actually measured ''shrinkage'' - something I must get round to.

On a theoretical basis tho - I would expect a newly installed spring to take somewhat of a ''set'' after being in the gun a while - fired or not.  Then actual cycling will probably add to that set a bit, after which a near plateau should be reached.

Over time tho and probably way beyond the 500 round mark, I'd expect spring to become a tad ''fatigued'' such that probably a measurable decrease in its rate could be seen.  The recommended replacement point is probably for most part to reduce ''beating up'' the gun as it weakens a bit and avoid too much unwanted ''slide slam'' effects when fully rearward.

I really must do some comparisons.

[EdMan]

Aglifter,
I've used Speer 115gr GDHPs in my R-9 and Kahr PM9s for a while. I've never had this problem.

Ed