Other than installing Wolff 10%+ magazine springs in my mags, what should I look for in a P.38 that fails to eject after about 4 rounds? The extractor looks fine, no nicks or abrasions. There was substantiall brassing on the underside of the spring housing on the top of the slide, but it could have been caused by the partially extracted cartridges.
The symptoms after only one session- the gun is a new acquisition:
a)The first four rounds eject as they should with both mags. The mags are dated 1958 and 1963. The later mag was still wrapped in brown fiber paper when acquired. They may need a bit of polishing of the inside, which I am doing today.
b)After four rounds the expended shells either get caught by the slide in it's return trip or are still partially chambered (about 1/5th still in the chamber) and the new cartridge jams up under the un-ejected shell.
In studying the gun I notice no ejector as in a 1911, so I assume the new cartridge is suppossed to push the extracted shell out of the way. If not fully extracted this could cause the problem, or weak magazine springs may not push hard enough.
My wartime Luger P.08 had a similar problem which was corrected by new magazine springs. It is now exceedingly reliable (for a Luger), missing one extraction per ammo box approximately. Previously it had exactly the same symptoms. I have ordered new, stronger, mag springs and recoil springs, but not the extractor plunger spring...
I shot two boxes of Olympic 9mm Luger (124 gr, I think) which I had to get rid off because they are crappy and don't extract with my Luger at all. However, I did shoot a box of Remington UMC 115 gr 9mm Luger to make sure it was not the Olympic ammo causing the problem. The Remington behaved exactly as the Olympic. I was shooting the Luger for comparison, using ammo from the same box. I was also shooting .45 ACP with my 1911, so I'm pretty sure I was not 'limp-wristing' the P.38, probably a little of the opposite after shooting the 45.
Gunrunner:
Looks like a great site that may have some answers. I put it in my bookmarks and will visit and read after I'm done with this post. Thanks!
only thing i can suggest is check to see if the ejector is in place, and not broken. looking at Numrichs exploded drawing there is an ejector coming out of the bottom of the frame. :right:
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MOE! LARRY! THE CHEESE!
Life Member the Elmer Fudd Hunt Club
The ejector is present, and appears undamaged. It is, however, the most sensitive part when re-assembling the pistol. It is easily damaged by forgetting to push it down when re-inserting the slide. Perhaps mine is slightly bent... I will pursue that direction and see where it leads. Thanks!
I joined back in March and tried to post some questions (since answered and resolved) on my "new" Lee-Enfield No 4 MK 1. It took a long time for the forum to let me post. I'm glad that's over with and I'm allowed in (I like the company in here). Thanks for the welcome.
Ok, update... Replaced the extractor and extractor spring and plunger (Numrich, +- $15.00). Problem solved. Shooting a bit to the left, so drifted the front sight a bit. Testing again tomorrow.
:right:
