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Fisheadgib
Senior MemberPosts: 5,797 Senior Member
AR45 range report
Fisheadgib
Senior MemberPosts: 5,797 Senior Member
Well as I had mentioned in Alpha's thread, I really liked the looks of the FM pistol upper in .45acp that he linked and I ordered one. It came in and looked as good in hand as the picture and appeared well made. I got a Spartan Glock based lower, Kaw Valley Precision .45 buffer and spring kit, Stoner lower parts kit, and capped it with an SB brace. I was excited to shoot it and got my Glock 21 magazines in on Saturday. I had a box of Winchester 230 ball sitting around and on Sunday I made time to take it to the range. My excitement turned to frustration as it wouldn't run more than two or three rounds at a time without jamming. I tried all three brand new Glock mags that I bought and they all did the same thing, the tip of the bullet hung up on the edge of the chamber and jammed the gun. I thought maybe the edge of the chamber may have been a little too crisp and sharp from being freshly machined but the more I shot, the worse it got. I initially tried two rounds, then four, then a full mag of 13 rounds and they ran. The next mag would only run one shot at a time, and the next mag would only run one or two at a time and after a few attempts the one mag that originally worked fine was jamming after one or two shots. I called FM products this morning and the customer service guy I spoke with told me not to run white box Winchester and it should be fine. When I told him that I wanted to know why and that I wanted it to be able to run anything in it, he said that white box Winchester just didn't work and offered a refund for the upper. Now in their support, I had talked to a tech guy at FM previously about which buffer to use and they were extremely knowledgeable and helpful and this guy offered no technical reasoning and said a refund is the only solution he can offer. I'm currently awaiting a call from one of their tech guys to find a solution.
Replies
the main problem was spring tension, you need some high powered mag springs to force the rounds up at the right angle out of the mag.
AKA: Former Founding Member
AKA: Former Founding Member
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and politician
But as mentioned try different ammo.
Use the KISS principle and dont change alot of things at one time.
what i learned about 1911s is that LOA and bullet shape can play a big difference on feeding. when the 1911 came out they were made to shoot FMJs. Then HPs came out and you had to throat the older 1911s. even tho its not a 1911, i still think that LOA can play a part.
but the easiest thing would be to try some different ammo and see what happens.
- Don Burt
George Carlin
you are missing the point.
the idea is to TS the issue. Right now you have NO idea whats going on.
I dont care if you own thousands of 1911s, Every gun is different. Even if they are off the same assembly line.
do what you want.
good luck
- Don Burt
for the 26 rounders I tried the Wolff extra power 9mm springs which improved feeding then ordered some Springs for the Thompson 30 round mags. Those took some modification and with a spacer they are now very reliable 24 round mags.
like you said, you have more than one problem, I agree on the buffer, spring.
AKA: Former Founding Member
He's merely saying that nobody knows, because nobody has "properly" evaluated it. IIRC, you do refrigeration work for a living. As such, you have likely run into a case that doesn't do what it's supposed to and the reason isn't obvious. He's basically talking about a diagnostic tree. "Does it do "X"? If so, proceed to check "Y". If not, check "W".
Nobody said you weren't capable of figuring it out.
George Carlin
I’ll measure my buffer and see how long it is. I was thinking like you at first but the high power mag springs made the most difference with the 26 round mags. I would think if it locks the trigger back by hand when cocked it should when firing too.
AKA: Former Founding Member
The 26 rounders mags with the Thompson stick mag springs really shine but the still will only run 24 rounds but they do it reliably. The ECHO trigger makes it super fun. I can have 8 or more pieces of brass in the air before the first one hits the ground, it is a super fast trigger. At rapid fire I get good accuracy out to 50 yards which is plenty for .45acp.
if you get the ECHO trigger buy plenty of mags, you will be changing them quickly!
i hope the buffer shave does well for you but if it is locking 50% of the time then I really don’t think that is your problem. I know I sound like a broken record but the harder I pushed up the rounds in the mags the more reliable it fed. My first attempt on the 26 rounders was to use Glock 33 round 9mm extra power springs with that I got 21-22 rounds to feed reliably. The Thompson’s got me another two rounds
this was out of all 10 mags.
be aware there are good and bad 26 round mags. The first couple I bought were junk. I found a place that sells drop free 26 rounders, those I like.
https://www.newfrontierarmory.com/shop/kci-glock-45-26-round-magazine/
AKA: Former Founding Member
And I finally figured out how to post pics with my tablet.
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and politician
it looks very fuzzy
would that stop it cycling correctly?
very nice
hope you get it sussed out
always was a cool cartridge
I never seem to have any luck with marine diesel
should have stayed with coal/steam
the druid blackmagic
think of your worst enemy
got that image in your head?
good
now, go and buy the sod a boat.
that'll learn 'em.
AKA: Former Founding Member
Hope you get that gun running right. Should be fun and handy around the ranch also