Whats wrong with this?

Question

Ok, so I recently bought a new Magnum Research Baby Eagle compact in 9mm about, say, 3 months ago. This very first time I shot it was about 3 weeks after that. I was using BLAZER Ammuniton and it shot great, no jams, no anything bad; I shot 100 rounds thru it. So the next time I take it out is about 1 month after that. I shot 78 rounds of Winchester White Box ammo. It had one jam, and two or three failures of the slide to go all the way forward. That happened within the first 40 rounds. After that it once again shot flawlessly.

So then today I take it out with some more Winchester White Box ammo and shoot 130 rounds through it. Within the first 50 rounds, it had one hard jam and about 2 flaiures of the slide to go all the way forward. After that it ONCE AGAIN shot flawlessly.

I am skeptical about using BLAZER 9mm ammunition because I heard it wasn't too good for your pistol. Something about being bad for the extractor or something? Is this the fault of my Baby Eagle or is it

the Winchester White Box ammunititon. I heard that Sellier & Bellot makes the metric ammunition for Winchester: including the 9mm. I've read on Magnum research's Page to not use Sellier & Bellot ammo because its "dirty." Could this be my problem? Would switching over to Remington ammunition help?

After cleaning it tonight, I noticed that I never ran a patch thru the chamber other than the boresnake. It turns out that it was pretty dirty. I'm hoping this my be the problem so I gave it a good cleaning. I also oiled the guiding rails a little bit more than usual.

Answer 1

The CCI ammo wont hurt your gun. My wife has a Baby Eagle .40 and shot CCI with no jams for the last three years. I will assume the compact is the plastic frame. The problem is most likely the magazine. I know its a new gun but this is not uncommon. Also make sure the chamber is spotless and dry. If there is any oil in the chamber it will get sticky and hang the bullets up. You can try a different bullet. If all that fails, take it to the shop.

Answer 2

Although I do not care too much for Blazer ammo, it does seem to work fine in most guns, a little dirty, yes (even the Blazer Brass ammo is a little dirty).
I had similar problems with my Kimber. I would run Win White box and it would shoot fine but when I went to Blazer Brass ammo, I started experiencing the same problems you have. My wife also had similar issues with her Glock and her Sigma .40.
I started to reload my own ammo, the first thing I did was increase the powder charge to make sure I was getting enough pressure to fully cycle the slides.

After upping the charge and having the same problems, I turned to a buffing pad and some fine polish. I polished the throats and ramps of all of the guns and have now no misfeeding issue with any ammo I have shot, especially in the Kimber. It was the pickiest when it came to feeding hollow points, they would catch right under the throat of the chamber causing a jam.

Now with everything slicker than "you know what", it will eat anything. I have even run a few boxes of various "XX" brands through it as fast as I can in an attempt to make it jam..it won't. The Glock had a rare hiccup, not anymore, and the Sigma, well it had more hiccups than the Glock but now it likes anything I feed it as well.

Total cost, about 5 bucks and about 10 minutes of time.
A felt bob and some rougue or very fine polish, add a drill or drill press, and your Baby will be just fine.

If you are squeamish about working on your own gun, a gunsmith can do it for you for a reasonable price, I am sure.

Answer 3

I'm inclined to agree with the first poster. Clean the gun and relube.

It may be that this pistol doesn't work well with the Winchester White Box.

I'd recommend getting two boxes of a variety of ammo, and running them through the pistol. You might find that some ammo is more reliable than other.

The only thing I've heard about Blazer ammo being a potential problem is that the aluminum casing is a little harder than brass.

I almost always use Blazers for every pistol I own, and have no problems with it.

Answer 4

It soulds like you're on the right track but do not put too much oil on the guide rods or they may attract a lot of dirt such as burned powder and lead fragments. Just keep the rods clean and LIGHTLY oiled. I have shot a number of rounds of Blazer ammo with no problems. For years I have heard all sorts of negative stuff about Blazer ammo and none of it has turned out to be true. I have no idea of where it is coming from but I have learned to just ignore it and enjoy the cheaper ammo. If you are doing as much shooting as you indicate, you ought to consider buying the equipment to reload your own ammo. It won't take long for you to pay for your reloading equipment with the savings from not having to buy store bought ammo. As an added bonus, you can select whatever powder and bullet combo that your gun likes best.

Answer 5

I agree with H, give it a good cleaning and try it again.

If you are still getting jams and misfeeds, go with a different brand of ammo to see if that solves the problem.

There is nothing wrong with Blazer Ammo. I use it extensively for auto-pistol use. Saves having to crawl around in the grass and gravel searching for fired brass.

Doc

Answer 6

'White Box' Winchester ammo is somewhat 'second rate', and the consistency of its' quality control leaves something to be desired. This is a major reason it is so cheap. Better quality ammo should give you a much lower malfunction rate.
As your 'Baby Eagle' is still almost brand new, and not broken in yet, you might also consider having a professional 'smith do a 'ramp, port & polish job' on it. THAT will cure ALL your problems.
I have done this to all my auto-loaders, except my P-08 Luger (an heirloom & collectors' weapon), and mine will chamber EMPTY cases from a full OR empty magazine.

Answer 7

Sound like your Baby Eagle might need a good, deep cleaning n lubing. Clean the magazines also.

Best.

H

Answer 8

You aren't using a high enough grain of bullet. The lower grain bullet doesn't have enough chamber pressure to force the slide back all the way.