Gunsmith Recommendations

[JMH]

Hello; My first post. Much enjoy reading though and have learned from you all. Thank you. I own serial no. 3069. It had just under 100 rounds fired when it developed a problem. Very difficult to rack the slide. Have to make multiple tries and use a fast forceful motion to get the slide to pull back more than about a 1/2 inch. First happened after 2 magazines. Noted the gun warmed up a bit but not much. Then last week fired 4 more magazines and the problem became severe. I suspected an out-of-spec roll pin. It might be heating and expanding and introducing drag. Not the roll pin, first I replaced it and then took it out all together. Same symptom. Happens just past where you can see the roll pin. I see nothing out of place but only have the one R9 so no comparison is possible. There is slight scoring  on the inside of the slide (roll pin) but nothing else. Can't feel any burrs or observe galling on the slide. I called Williams Gun Sight where I purchase spares (thank you all for the referral), and Gunsmith Alex said he had not experienced this problem (there is a Gunsight Alex there too). Wondering if there is any recommendation on this? You all seem very knowledgeable and I can tell you respect this firearm greatly. Me too. I am in Tampa Bay. Any help appreciated. You folks make me want a second one of these. They are really something special. I worry about getting someone who will know how to address this problem. Sorry for the long message.

[tracker]

Welcome, JMH. Your problem is one I haven't heard about in 13 years on this forum. Eric would be the best authority on this unusual issue. I have experienced a similar situation where the roll pin wasn't fully initially inserted but not after firing several magazines. Could the pin have backed out somehow?

[johnny]

Welcome JMH.
Yes Eric will probably have a good idea of the issue.

[PhilZ]

Does the slide move smoothly with the takedown pin out? 

[JMH]

Thank you for weighing in. All appreciated. Problem occurs with or without roll pin and with the magazine in or out. In my hand it feels like something 'hits' and stops the slide and after then several tries with considerable force and a sudden motion, the slide seems to 'jump' past the obstacle and it works smoothly the rest of the way to its limit of travel. I am baffled. Just knowing it is not something that happens with regularity is an important insight.

[offrdmania]

What if you pull the barrel and the recoil rod out of the slide? Try that and see if the empty slide moves along the frame just as tight or if it smooths out with these items removed. It will help eliminate areas to consider.

[JMH]

Great suggestion offrdmania! Thank you. Your idea was a springboard to a new way to look at the problem. I did as you suggested and without the assembly and barrel, the slide is smooth as can be. So, I put only the barrel back in and held the R9 upside down to help keep the barrel flush with the top of the slide. I was able to replicate the problem with only the barrel in place. But I don't see anything that might cause the barrel to impair slide travel. So while I feel like I am closer to understanding what is going on, I am not able to explain why it is happening. Anyone recall anything similar? All contributions much appreciated. At this point I would be happy to discover the fix and have a working R9 and a big red spot on my forehead from my palm hitting me in the head.

[offrdmania]

Take a look at where the barrel rubs against the underside of the slide when you rack it, as seen below. You can see the rub marks on the top of the barrel. A lot of times this edge on the slide gets marred up causing too much material to grind against the top of the barrel. Have you greased up this point or put some oil on it to lessen the friction?

[JMH]

Great photo offrdmania! Serious macro lens. I do not see any wear on my barrel or slide but with fewer than 100 rounds fired it might not be readily visible. I did measure and the slide travels about 5mm before the barrel 'hits' something very solid. At this point I can just see the left edge of the hole in the frame where the roll pin is inserted. Do you think the barrel is supposed to move out of the way somehow? At least now I know barrel in=problem, barrel out=smooth slide motion.

[MRC]

Is the pin inserted through the barrel lug correctly?

What I am talking about does it go through the hole that cams the barrel down.

[tracker]

As noted above the pin insertion was my initial thought about this issue. The only time I experienced a similar situation was when I didn't have the pin fully inserted correctly.

[ECR]

All good responses here thus far, as usual, and, of course, welcome to the forum JMH. So far, so good here.

J, do you have the means to take photographs of the inside of the slide, the lug on the bottom of the barrel and the frame where the barrel lug rides through? If you can, please post those for me here and I will examine that area with hopeful results.

Regards,

Eric C. Rohrbaugh

Oh, and PS: You don't need no stinkin' gunsmith with us around. lol. TTYS

[kevinqjhps]

It happens on ALL my guns when I fire more than 2-3 mags. Barely gets so hot it is like everything is welded, BUT with just a barrel in place I would get a BRIGHT light and a GOOD glass and look for 'the unusual.

If you only have only one gun, nothing to compare it to, send me your e-mail and i will tale a load of pice that may help. It is NOT a major problem, just a unusual one. Check and if you want pics just ask.


kevinqjhps



p.s. welcome!







 

[kevinqjhps]

Take a look at where the barrel rubs against the underside of the slide when you rack it, as seen below. You can see the rub marks on the top of the barrel. A lot of times this edge on the slide gets marred up causing too much material to grind against the top of the barrel. Have you greased up this point or put some oil on it to lessen the friction?

Great idea. ALWATS start with the simplest thing first.

[JMH]

Grease to the barrel and slide around ejection area definitely helped. Thank you offrdmania. But problem remains. I made a video that might help. If you want to see it, copy and paste this link in your browser: https://youtu.be/BnkcaDy62cw

Also, took photos and one of them might shed light on problem. Photos show the grease and hopefully this will not obscure view. Also, I compressed the photos to be small enough to meet the specification of this forum. I have them in much higher resolutions.

I have no explanation for what is happening. Everything seems in order to me. Your ideas much appreciated.