[ScottW]

Took the M9 to the range yesterday. Shot about 200 rounds of WWB and a couple mags of the Win 147gr JHP, also from Wally World. Recoil is practically non-existant and I got used to the sights pretty quickly.

However, I had quite a few malfunctions. I believe much of it can be blamed on the extractor. I did the standard take-down & clean/lube as per the tutorial prior to my range trip but I did not specifically do anything to the extractor beforehand.

There were a number of times where the slide would not return fully forward following a shot. Sometimes I was able to re-rack and get it into battery, sometimes not. Judging by the marks on the cases, this was from the extractor whacking into the case and not grabbing over it properly. Here's a pic of what I'm trying to describe:

You'll notice my multiple attempts at loading these rounds. They are both unfired. The one on the right was clearly struck by the firing pin but probably wasn't seated quite well enough for a solid strike.

It is veeeerrrry difficult to move the extractor with finger presssure. I'm sure that if I get the extractor functioning properly it will cure most of the problems I had. Is there anything to be done besides removing and cleaning it?

Another problem I had... the slide would be fully forward with one in the chamber, but pulling the trigger fails to fire a shot, and it feels like it wasn't cocked from the previous cycle. Racking the slide in this situation ejects an unfired cartridge, loads a new round, and it always goes bang on the next trigger pull. I'm pretty sure I wasn't limp-wristing. I should mention that I had about one problem per magazine with the bulk WWB (either failure to go into battery or FTF) but zero malfunctions in 28 rounds of the 147gr JHP. Have people had trouble with WWB in the M9?

BTW, serial number of my M9 is 35,xxx

The M9 is a nice shooter when it fires, and I'm anxious to get these issues resolved. Your help is appreciated!

 

[Matches]

Sounds like you got my M9.


Matches

 

[bigtaco]

cleaning your extractor will go a long way, promise. many people have extractor problems before they clean them up. there's a GREAT tutorial on extractor removal that makes it so easy it's part of my routine cleaning.

there is a sticky concerning trigger reset also. but again, disassemble and thoroughly clean/lightly lube up the pistol (paying close attention to the sear area) following cort's disassembly tutorial in the maintenance section of this site. usually a good cleaning clears up all the problems.

most of us here use wwb without incident. some of us notice that blaser brass is more accurate.

good luck and good shooting.

 

[madecov]

If you feel confidant, you can polish the extractor plunger and the claw.
Polish the large beceled surface, and the matching surface of the claw.

This should help it move more freely also.

 

[ScottW]

Okay, I removed the extractor. It was very clean in there and pretty dry too. I did polish the mating surfaces of the extractor claw and plunger using a Dremel & felt wheel with a little jeweler's rouge, put a light amount BreakFree CLP on things and reassembled. It moves a little easier now. Still quite a bit of resistance but hopefully I got it good enough. The fit of the plunger within its channel in the slide seems pretty darn tight, and there's a wee bit of finish wear on the side of the pluger where it has rubbed against the opening of the channel. The slide's finish in general cannot exactly be described as low-friction, and I don't think that's helping things either.

I also did a number of things mentioned in the trigger reset thread sticky:

I removed the firing pin and cleaned out some old dried up orange colored lube remnants from within the firing pin channel. I then removed the guide pin & spring from inside the firing pin itself, polished the guide pin lightly with the Dremel, smoothed out a couple rough edges on the little weight thingy, and lubed stuff with a little bit of BreakFree. Upon reassembly, it seemed that the firing pin slid a little more smoothly.

I removed the action carrier and it was pretty clean. I applied lube to the interface points between the trigger bar, sear, sear lever, drop safety, etc. I did the push-down test on the sear and it moves down a little over 1mm I'd say, before it contacts the sear lever. It does not pop back up from that position by itself unless I put pressure on the trigger. Is this a problem, and how would this be corrected? (springs all appear to be in good shape) If I push the sear further down to where it drops below and to the rear of the sear lever, it always pops up on its own.

Also in the trigger reset thread, bigtaco wrote it's not good if you get a discernible click sound when you pull the trigger with the slide removed. I get a click. With the action carrier removed, it appears this is from the trigger bar hitting a ridge on the underside of the sear. Interestingly, the click doesn't happen if I apply slight sideways pressure on the trigger (towards the right side of the gun) while it's being pulled. Is this click a big deal, is there a fix for it, and if so, what needs to be done?

Sorry for asking so many questions at once! My range is 20 miles from where I live, so I want to take care of as many issues as possible so I'm making the most of my trips out there. I want to get this baby working as reliably as many of yours are. If anything I've written is unclear, I can post pics to clarify. I appreciate the help.

 

[bigtaco]

deluxe should be getting some tutorials i did that cover those questions much more in depth. i thought about editing that sticky but decided it would be too long for that type of format.

about your extractor, it should be stiff but move. the rounds should slide under the extractor. the photos indicate that the round is getting in front of the extractor as the slide goes into battery. this is not something i've ever seen a steyr do, but my inclination is to think the magazine lips are out of whack. mr. apathy would probably know more about this problem though. if you really want to loosen up the extractor you can flip the extractor pin so that the bevels are opposite. i did it to see what would happen and my answer was nothing. it still extracted every round it was fed just fine. if yours really is too stiff, that will definitely loosen it, but it's not the correct fix. but, if the round is in front of the extractor, you could have a jello extractor and have the same problem.

the sear should pop up when the trigger is held to the rear. that it doesn't when the trigger is forward is inconsequential.

the trigger bar click is indeed from the trigger bar hitting the underside of the sear and this can cause reset issues. it can also have no effect what so ever. i wouldn't mess with it unless you have reset issues. it's an easy fix if you do. but you didn't say you had reset issues.

the tutorials will explain all this stuff more thoroughly, they're easy fixes but hard to explain without pictures and lots of verbage.

 

[ScottW]

Thanks bigtaco. My M9 had multiple issues and I believe trigger reset is one of them. To save typing, I'll quote one of my own posts:

"Another problem I had... the slide would be fully forward with one in the chamber, but pulling the trigger fails to fire a shot, and it feels like it wasn't cocked from the previous cycle. Racking the slide in this situation ejects an unfired cartridge, loads a new round, and it always goes bang on the next trigger pull."

If the trigger bar hitting the bottom of the sear is responsible for this problem and can be easily fixed, then I anxiously await your tutorial!