[Ohio_Rusty]

My P3AT is locked up solid with a live round in the chamber and won't cycle. The slide will not come back. I have always had good luck using the Remington Golden Sabre's 102 gr. round. I watched the Youtube video's recently of the bullet testing of the .380's. and Fiocchi came out as one of the best. I had a box of the Fiocchi 90 gr JHP .380 bullets I had never tried. I loaded one one of those Fiocchi rounds in my P3AT and it loaded into the chamber. When I went to pull back the slide to unload the round, the slide won't come back at all. It is locked up solid with that live Fiocchi round in the chamber. I emailed KelTec the above information about the gun being locked up and I'm waiting to hear back from them. It is odd that the Fiocchi did this yet the Remingtons cycle flawlessly ...... I'm truly puzzled .... I'll go back to the Remingtons when this fiasco gets cleared up.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[TxCajun]

NOTE: LIABILITY DISCLAIMER!!! TAKE THIS ADVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Yea, that sucks! But it is not particularly uncommon with any gun and usually results from a wacky casing the swells or contorts and lodges between the slide and barrel. There is likely nothing wrong with your gun. The easiest and maybe safest way to resolve it is to remove the mag and examine the gun to make sure that the chamber is fully closed/locked up. Then take the gun somewhere where it can be fired and fire the round. Usually the empty casing ejects and the problem is solved. If not, at least you know you have an empty casing lodged in the chamber.

There are a couple other ways to resolve this and they all require some brute force, of sorts. Pulling on a slide does not generate sufficient blunt force overcome the jammed round. You need to secure the slide in a stationary position and apply some pushing force to the grip. This, of course, should not cause the gun to fire so long as you don't touch the trigger but EXTRA DILIGENT SAFETY CONCERNS ARE APPROPRIATE. I would even wrap duct tape around the trigger guard before doing either method.

Assuming you are right handed, the first approach is to grasp the slide with a death grip in your left hand. Then form a "U" with your right thumb and remaining 4 fingers and jam your right hand into the grip. Obviously keep the muzzle in a safe direction and keep all parts of your left hand clear of the muzzle, just in case.

Another method with larger guns is to wedge the rear sites against a benchtop edge and push down hard with the right hand on the grip. Of course that doesn't work with P3 sites but you can carefully get the thin, top edge of the slide, just under the front site, on the edge of a bench, where the barrel can clear the bench's edge, and push down hard. Make sure your feet are not in the line of fire! I was able to do that with a P11 years ago.

The brute force methods are akin to clearing a jammed pump shotgun by holding the slide and smacking the butt on the ground. If it were me, I might just take a little drive out to the country and pop off the round. If you are uncomfortable with any of this, my advice is to call a local gunsmith. Good luck and be safe!

 

[jpshaw]

My Dad had a saying; "Don't force it, just use a bigger hammer." The KT does have some resistance when that chamber block starts to disengage from the slide even empty so an oversize case could be a problem. So I would keep trying TxCajun's method with a bigger Cajun.

 

[TSiWRX]

Assuming you are right handed, the first approach is to grasp the slide with a death grip in your left hand. Then form a "U" with your right thumb and remaining 4 fingers and jam your right hand into the grip. Obviously keep the muzzle in a safe direction and keep all parts of your left hand clear of the muzzle, just in case.

With mortaring, when contact is made between the web of the hand striking the grip of the weapon and the weapon itself, close your hand around the grip to prevent the gun from flying downrange.

If the gun takes-flight, do not try to reach out to grab at it - let it fall.

 

[Flacy]

This same thing happened to me at the range a few days ago. For me it was with LeHigh Xtreme Penetrator, an ammo I liked to carry because of its extreme penetration (12" to 18") and wide wound channels. I have gone back to Precision One XTP (and carry the P+ version) because it too penetrates to FBI-approved depth and also generates wide wound channels. But I digress. I think what may have caused my jam was a either a light load or (for some reason) a slow powder burn, or perhaps one of those things in combination with the fact that my slide has always been hard to rack. Having retrieved the case I noticed more residue inside the case than normal. So, I am thinking that some of it had to do with a slow burn or light load. Anyway, the way I got my P-3AT back is by using a wide-blade flat-head screwdriver. After I waited long enough to know I would not incur a delayed discharge, I eyeballed the business end of the barrel with a strong flashlight. No bullet was at the end of the case, which had expanded and jammed into the chamber. The slide was slightly backwards and pretty much immovable. So, I placed the flat-head between the top of the back of the chamber and the opposing section of the slide and twisted. This motion freed the casing enough so that I could finally force the slide to move. Today I did a fluff and buff to create less resistance for the slide and look forward to shooting it again in a couple of days. Please make sure you are dealing with an expended round. After you get your cartridge out you may want to remove the barrel and recoil spring and rack the slide without them. This will allow you to determine if you too are experienced excessive resistance. I hope this helps.

 

[Flacy]

Followup To Failure To Eject Fix

Just want everyone to know that my "fluff & buff" apparently did not buff enough. I went to the range today and the same problem occurred, and this time with different ammo. Shame on me for pointing the finger at LeHigh. So, today I sent my little pocket rocket back to Kel-Tec. I am sure they will fix it.

Respective to shipping, I have shipped pistols to Ruger, Glock and Taurus in the past and always used FedEx because I could send the pistol 2nd Day for only about $20. Today FedEx made me ship Priority Next Day and charged $55, the same as UPS. I guess the previous FedEx clerks didn't know the rules. If anyone knows a cheaper way to ship, holler.

I'll post an update when I get my P3AT back and take it to the range.

 

[TxCajun]

Your local FFL can ship it cheap thru the US mail. You could call and ask if he will ship it for you.

 

[TxCajun]

My P3AT is locked up solid with a live round in the chamber and won't cycle.

Sure would be nice to hear how this worked out.

 

[Ohio_Rusty]

I got the Fiocchi bullet unstuck !!!

Thanks for everyone's advice about getting the bullet out. I found a 4x4 piece of hardwood and kept tapping the front of the slide above the barrel against the wood a little harder each time. I could see the bullet backing out until it finally ejected on it's own ... Whew !! That was a bit scary. The copper bullet was the issue. It was too big in diameter for the inside of the chamber. You can see on the bullet the ring on the copper where it had wedged itself. I reloaded with 102 gr. Golden Sabre's and it cycles perfectly every round. Live and learn.

I also included a couple of pics of how I carry my spare mags. It is a simple cell phone case with elastic sides. No one is the wiser that there are loaded mags in the case and not a cell phone. Easy to open and extract a mag to reload.
Thanks again to everyone for their help.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[haugrdr]

Ohio Rusty, I merged your two threads together into one for you.

 

[TxCajun]

The copper bullet was the issue. It was too big in diameter for the inside of the chamber. You can see on the bullet the ring on the copper where it had wedged itself.

Wow! What's up with that ammo? What brand/round was it?
And thanks for filling us in.

 

[Ohio_Rusty]

It was the 50 round Fiocchi blue box.. The side label says: .380 auto 380APHP

90 GRS. JHP. There is no stamped lot number.

Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[jpshaw]

I found a 4x4 piece of hardwood

My Dad was right. Just needed a bigger hammer.

 

[Flacy]

Your local FFL can ship it cheap thru the US mail. You could call and ask if he will ship it for you.

Thanks, I'll check this option out. A couple of $55 shipments and I might as well buy a new P3AT.

 

[TxCajun]

Yea, an FFL is allowed to use us mail which is probably less than $10. Especially if you bought the gun from a local shop, they should send it for you. IIRC, in that case, Kel-tec would return ship back to the FFL after repairs.

 

[jpshaw]

Or we assuming it was the barrel with this shipping info? I would first check the OAL on that round with another round of a different make.

 

[michael t]

My dealer does the shipping as part of his service if you bought from him or a regular costumer

I had a similar problem once with few years back Corbon DPX in my PPK/s . Round would chamber from force of slide . Fire but case wouldn't eject Had to pop out with a rod down barrel .This happened 3 times. . I removed the slide and started dropping rounds in barrel Of the 22 I had left only 5 chambered like should . I contacted Corbon . They sent me another box and paid for shipping of bad box . I have shot and carried Corbon for well over 10 years and was the first time a problem.
I always pick a mag full from box at random and shoot it . Then reload from same box. . This how I found this problem . Other wise I would have been up the creek if had needed my PPK/s
Might start considering this with your carry ammo.


I also use the cell phone cases . I have one case that holds a speed loader for my J frame S&W 38spl. I am slow with speed strips . But speed loader quicker . Case holds and no one notices .

 

[cluznar]

Fiocchi is pretty good ammo, I use it a lot in my P-32 and never a problem. I would let Fiocchi know about it, but I would still shoot Fiocchi. :rayof:

 

[TSiWRX]

I always pick a mag full from box at random and shoot it . Then reload from same box.

Might start considering this with your carry ammo.

+1.

There's always a chance for production mistakes, no matter how highly regarded that make/brand or how trustworthy said model of ammo has been in one's gun in the past. There's always that undeniable chance.

I usually bring at least two different makes of ammo with me for training classes.

And it's very smart to check, particularly with defensive ammo.