[50YARDSTARE]

Failure to extract and lots of it

Hey

Took my HC PF-9 to the range yesterday to break it in. 100 rounds of Federal Red Box Walmart 115g in my gun bag. Everything was great the first 35-45 rounds - then a FTE. Next mag was 2-3 FTE. Things escalated and soon it was up to 3-4 FTE every magazine. Interesting note - it seemed to FTE mainly towards the last half of the magazines. Didn't seem to matter which mag I used. It simply was leaving the brass in the chamber - not stuck - just drop the mag and shake the brass out.
Per Forum recommendations I had cleaned the gun, lightly greased the rails, etc. prior to heading out for the break in.
We switched the person shooting - no difference. Is it possible that the leaf spring on the extractor "broke in" that fast and now has inadequate pressure? The spring screw remained tight. Is it more likely that it got dirty under the extractor and lost its "depth"? The gun got nasty dirty fast! One other note - on a few of the FTE's there was a zing in the lip of the casing. It looks like the extractor tried, but couldn't keep its grip. Should I keep blastin away to continue the break in (and keep cussin the FTE's) or jump on the bandwagon and call Kel-tec in regard to acquiring a new extractor kit? I'd consider filing the extractor for additional depth if that what it will take. I know what I'm thinking about this issue - but what do you other PF-9 owners think? All answers/opinions will be appreciated !

 

[Toney_D]

Check your extractor screw, check your ejector for being broken.

 

[50YARDSTARE]

Yep

Check your extractor screw, check your ejector for being broken.

Yep the extractor spring screw remained tight the entire 1/2 break in period
(not the pocket clip screws tho - they shook out about 2 turns - apparently my loctite didn't do it's thing)

The ejector seems to be hanging in there - lucky that I have a second unfired PF-9 to compare it to. Doesn't look bent at all.

Oh another thing I forgot - the extraction process still works slickly with snap caps, not quite the same as firing it, but it is capable of smooth ejection. I did notice that the extractor grooves in the snap caps are noticeably deeper than the grooves in the Federal ammo.

thanks for the ideas though - I appreciate any and all suggestions

 

[PF9Newbie]

Sounds like it got pretty dirty after the first 30-40 rounds, and cases were then sticking in a dirty chamber. It may be that a little polishing of the chamber would help here. The extractor does collect a lot of powder residue and dirt, which does reduce its grip a bit. So the combination of dirty/rough chamber and dirty extractor could well make for the FTextract problems.

At this point, I would simply polish out the chamber a little. Also when cleaning, be sure to get all the residue etc out from the area behind the extractor claw-use a small brush back there. Then when at the range, clean a bit after every 50 rounds-just a quick brush down of the chamber and extractor areas especially to help keep the gun running efficiently.

Only if these minor F&B efforts fail during the break, would I then go into more extensive FTE measures such as adding a second spring to the extractor, or tuning the extractor itself (although both of these measures are pretty simple to do)

Jim R

 

[Jamie]

Is this Failure To Eject or Failure To Extract?

 

[brett_f]

Based on the description it is failure to extract. +1 to what Jim said. He knows his stuff. Polish the chamber up nice, and if it continues you can easily add a second spring. Some have actually tuned their extractor. I went with the second spring. I originally used the factory screw, but it turned out to be just slightly too short. I switched it out for one that is 1/16" longer and it works perfectly.

400 flawless rounds (approx) since adding the spring.

-Brett

 

[50YARDSTARE]

Thanks for the replies

yes it did get quite dirty fast - I'm hoping that is the real issue. Sorry I failed to specify - it was failure to extract, and the "seat" area under the extractor was pretty dirty. I wonder about the dirty chamber however, as the brass easily fell/shook out after magazine removal. I have no issues with polishing it though. Of course while I have the flitz and jewelers rouge out might as well do the feed ramp, the chamber, back of the transfer bar, etc. LOL
BTW I also found during the semi-break in that the upper grip and the inside knuckle on my thumb may not get along so well.
Hope I can get back to the range soon.......

 

[Mattias44]

Another +1 for PF9Newbie's advice. I'm betting on dirty/rough chamber walls. These really arent "combat" handguns and they are a little sensitive to prolonged ranges sessions and building up gunk. I think a lot of the FTE issues on this forum could probably be fixed with a mirror polish on the chamber walls (like you'll find on some more expensive guns), but I digress. Good luck with this and let us know what happens the next time you shoot.

 

[PF9Newbie]

yes it did get quite dirty fast - I'm hoping that is the real issue. Sorry I failed to specify - it was failure to extract, and the "seat" area under the extractor was pretty dirty. I wonder about the dirty chamber however, as the brass easily fell/shook out after magazine removal. I have no issues with polishing it though. Of course while I have the flitz and jewelers rouge out might as well do the feed ramp, the chamber, back of the transfer bar, etc. LOL
BTW I also found during the semi-break in that the upper grip and the inside knuckle on my thumb may not get along so well.
Hope I can get back to the range soon.......

At the moment of extraction, the chamber and case are quite hot and the case is at max expansion in the chamber, which causes the residue and any rough spots to "cling" to the case. Later, when manually removing the case, it is cooled down, and has "shrunk" back to its nominal dimensions, so it would then come out of the chamber much easier.

Jim R

 

[50YARDSTARE]

At the moment of extraction, the chamber and case are quite hot and the case is at max expansion in the chamber, which causes the residue and any rough spots to "cling" to the case. Later, when manually removing the case, it is cooled down, and has "shrunk" back to its nominal dimensions, so it would then come out of the chamber much easier.

Jim R

Makes perfect sense Jim - Thks

 

[Mikelecka]

keep barrel clean and dry. lube whole stripped pistol the blow it out with air, wipe down. LP or CLP.

do not polish anything but ramp. you may have worst problems, it may have to go back .

 

[dracer]

take the slide off and see if the extractor will hold a shell in place if not try the two springs or file the extractor a little to make it hold a shell

 

[Jamie]

If you REALLY want to know the problem, (and fix), do ONE thing at a time. I know it's more work, doing three different things may solve the problem, (and that's the main thing), but polishing the chamber might be all you need, make sure it's smooth inside and there are no sharp edges at the opening. Maybe just fitting the extractor will do it, maybe a double spring, it would be nice to know IMO.