Gun in question is my wife's new Walther PPS M2 single stack 9mm. She's been taking a ladies intro to handguns course and NRA women's pistol program at the local range, and the training has been outstanding overall. I can't complain about the instructors or range officers for the most part.
Except...... She was at the range the other night and a fired case stuck tight in the chamber and failed to extract. It was a one-off deal. This was the only malfunction in ~500 rounds. The range officer inspected it and, per my wife, "worked the slide really hard six or seven times" to try and exctract the case. It didn't work so then they disassembled the gun and tapped the case out with a dowel.
She's fired the gun probably another 150-200 rounds without a problem but I can't help but be a little annoyed. Personally I'd have disassembled and tapped it out straightaway.
For those of you wiser than I am about pistol extractors, would you worry that this caused any damage? Is there anything I should look for to indicate damage? Thanks.
Extractors should be good for thousands of rounds, The brass rim was more likely to be damamged before the extractor. I'm with you though, if it doesn't extract, remove the barrel and tap out with a dowel, then closely inspect the chamber and clean the chamber well.
Thanks and for the record it was an aluminum case. Which is why this is partially my fault as I hadn't noticed that the manual suggests not using aluminum due to possible sticky extraction. Don't know if that changes your answer or not.
Likely the same answer, mine the same, disassemble and remove. Aluminum cases can be trouble as they seem to have lower pressures and the slide moves with less velocity. If the firearm is high quality fit it takes that little bit of energy to avoid ammunition issues. My Coonan is a prime example as the slide travels further to eject the long cases and an under pressure round will let it trap the case before it clears. It is less trouble now that the break in period has been done. I just try to avoid aluminum, they always seem a bit off, maybe the brass retain the pressures in the chamber better?
Thats how I would have handled it, then inspected the extractor for damage or dirt. So, I'd be teaching the wife to handle her own failures herself. They should know that anyway IMO..
And as already stated, I also believe the alum case may have been the problem. I shoot alot of CCI aluminum in my CZ's and JR Carbine. And although Ive yet to have a problem with CCI Blazer, I did have an issue with wally world red box federal and independence, splitting pieces out of the case. So I just dont buy either of those brands anymore. But the CCI blazer seems fine.
I dont carry metal case for PD or EDC. Brass only.
Whoa there folks, I thought she was going thru a handgun course, the proper procedure when encountering a failure to eject is to inspect, rack, rack, rack, until the round ejects in order to keep firing. Then if that fails then disassemble the firearm after removing the magazine etc. I see no problem with the procedure other than the instructor/range master came into the scene to assist the shooter. Granted the shooter should have known the proper procedure. Further I don't see where the extractor could have been damaged in racking the slide after the failure to extract. JMHO
Whoa there folks, I thought she was going thru a handgun course, the proper procedure when encountering a failure to eject is to inspect, rack, rack, rack, until the round ejects in order to keep firing.
That's a good point, but I should have been more clear. This is an NRA / Winchester basic "marksmanship qualification program" and it's been a really great series of basic shooting "courses of fire" for the Missus. It's not a combat technique class but is an awesome course for fundamental skills and firearm familiarity.
My point being... In a marksmanship program I'd have expected the range officer to clear the jam in a practical way to minimize the potential for damange to the gun, rather than the method of clearing the jam in a fight.
Regardless I'm not to worried about it, but was just curious about the potential for damage. I realize six or seven vigorous racks is probably not going to hurt anything but it seemed a little ham-fisted to me.
No there won't be any damage, it's aluminum vs. hardened steel.
I've had this happen, at the range, I just lock the slide back and tap a cleaning rod into the case to get it out. I've been known to use tons of steel case or cheap factory reloads in my range beater/training guns like my P94. Once in a while, after many 100's of rounds a spent steel case may get stuck in the chamber and the extractor will tear a piece of the rim off.
The best way to ensure the best reliability is to find a good brass case ammo the gun runs fine with and stick to it. When you use "range ammo" or aluminum/steel case stuff, you're risk of stoppages increases. As for me, when a case of Tula 9mm is $140 vs. $250+ for brass, and I'm shooting a range banger 9mm, I'll risk a few jams to save $100+ per 1,000 rounds. I look at it as added training
This reminds me of the eternal "does steel case ruin extractors" debate........the steel used for those cases is very, very soft and mild, almost as soft as brass.
The PPS is built exceptionally well and is not a picky eater. Enjoy it with confidence.
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