Rounds Get Seated Too Far in Repeated Battery

[DntTreadOnMe]

I own a very nice SA XD 45 4" compact that I would not part with. I do however have a question and wonder if others have the same issue. Now and then, when the pistol is not in use, and I store it in my safe unloaded. I then of course reload the weapon, using the same round that was in the launch tube as the last time. Over time, this rnd's projectile has become seated way too far, I suppose as a result of the slide slamming shut on it too many times?

To the point that I may not use this round again. I mean I understand that the bullet should just begin to engage the lands & grooves and all, but I think this is a bit much. Anyone else experiencing this issue? The rounds are Federal Premium hp's.

[rheaj]

I have an XD40, in which I carry Hornady TAP rounds on a regular basis. For a while I typically slapped a mag in it and racked the slide before heading out, and every night, I unloaded it, put that chambered round back in the mag and locked the gun up for the night. I work at a college, and so only carry after work, and I have young kids in the house.

Anyway, after a while of doing this, sure enough, that round I kept loading had a "sunken" projectile. I imagine that any round of ammunition, if repeatedly slammed up the ramp, would end up doing this after some time.

So now what I do is this. When I take my gun out of the safe, I lock the slide back and place a round directly into the barrel. I release the slide and then slap in a full mag. This, in addition to giving me one more round of firepower, prevents the round from being battered all the time.

[rheaj]

Oh yeah, the other thing I noticed was that the repeatedly battered round got deformed. The projectile actually got a bit misshapen, and out of round. They are pretty soft after all. Hit them into the ramp the same way a few times, and it'll be a bit flat on one side.

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by DntTreadOnMe

I own a very nice SA XD 45 4" compact that I would not part with. I do however have a question and wonder if others have the same issue. Now and then, when the pistol is not in use, and I store it in my safe unloaded. I then of course reload the weapon, using the same round that was in the launch tube as the last time. Over time, this rnd's projectile has become seated way too far, I suppose as a result of the slide slamming shut on it too many times?
To the point that I may not use this round again. I mean I understand that the bullet should just begin to engage the lands & grooves and all, but I think this is a bit much. Anyone else experiencing this issue? The rounds are Federal Premium hp's.

The technical term for this is "set back". To prevent this, you could unload your magazine and rotate the rounds on a regular basis. Many people train with their defensive ammuniton together with target ammuniton. I strongly advise anyone using a firearm for personal protection train with the ammunition that they use for the purpose.

If you still have cartridges with bullets that are "set back", I would advise against using them. They may have excessive pressure in the cartridge case and could cause damage to your firearm.



gf

[Glock Fan]

Originally Posted by rheaj

I have an XD40, in which I carry Hornady TAP rounds on a regular basis. For a while I typically slapped a mag in it and racked the slide before heading out, and every night, I unloaded it, put that chambered round back in the mag and locked the gun up for the night. I work at a college, and so only carry after work, and I have young kids in the house.

Anyway, after a while of doing this, sure enough, that round I kept loading had a "sunken" projectile. I imagine that any round of ammunition, if repeatedly slammed up the ramp, would end up doing this after some time.

So now what I do is this. When I take my gun out of the safe, I lock the slide back and place a round directly into the barrel. I release the slide and then slap in a full mag. This, in addition to giving me one more round of firepower, prevents the round from being battered all the time.

I strongly recommend against doing this. It is unsafe for a couple of reasons I can think of off the top of my head. First reason being the rare possibility of a "slam fire". Though highly unlikely, it could occur, at which point the resulting ND could cause death or serious injury. Second reason would be possible damage to the firearm. Most semi-auto pistols are designed to load from the magazine. There is a portion of the slide that pushes the cartridge off of the magazine and into battery. In the process, it hits the extractor at a very specific angle. By placing a round in the barrel as you described, you are putting excessive strain and wear on the extractor. As a result, you may chip your extractor which would eventually cause a malfunction of your firearm. Springfield has an excellent warranty, but this may not be covered by the warranty. Even if it does, you will be without your firearm while it's sent away for repair.

Please PM me if you would like further information. Good luck, and be safe!



gf

[rheaj]

Glock Fan,

Many thanks for your post. It didn't take me long in research to confirm that what I was doing is simply a bad idea. I retract my advice and will myself stop this practice!

Again, thanks for setting me straight (and in a nice polite way too!).

Take care

[DntTreadOnMe]

Thank Glock Fan for that advice. That's exactly how I was loading my SA XD 45; dropping a round into the barrel, slamming the slide shut then slapping the mag in. Guess I will have to modify that now. Thanks for the replies to my original post.