[Tancred]

Hey Folks,

I've had my S9 a little over a month now. In that time I've gone through 800 rounds with 2 FTF. But yesterday I had 2 FTE. On the first one I was able to clear the round easy. I then topped off the mag again and racked the slide. The very next round was also a FTE. I popped out the mag an noticed the rounds in the mag were all jumbled up. It took using a pin to pry out the top round, the rest then all fell out of the mag. After this I fired about another 100 rounds without problems. I've been using Blazer Aluminum almost exclusively. So what's the problem here? And should I be concerned? Any advice appreciated.

Tancred

 

[rckrzy1]

ever clean your mags ?

 

[ShelbyV8]

Make sure your mags are clean. After loading, slap the back of the mag against your palm then slam the base of the mag against your palm. This aligns the rounds in the magazines.

 

[Tancred]

Well, I cleaned the mag good and yesterday the same thing happened again. The mag appears to be weak. The follower doesn't seem able to keep the rounds in proper alignment. I'm not sure what to do about it.

Tancred

 

[bigtaco]

you said THE mag, singular. do you have multiple mags and is it happening with all mags, or just one?


did you tap your mags as shelbyv8 suggested?

what ammo? you say blaser alum. ALMOST exclusively. if you're throwiung umc in it, THAT could be the problem.

 

[Tancred]

Yes, I have one mag. And the last failure occured with Blazer Brass. This time the spent round extracted, but the next round failed to chamber. Perhaps that's the problem and the rounds in the mag are getting jumbled up because of the top round's failure to completely leave the mag?

Tancred

 

[Wulf]

Hiya Tancred

Sounds like a mag spring. Get another mag, perhaps an S40 mag this time around. Tweak the lips to hold the 9mm bullets instead of the 40SW bullets and increase your capacity to 12 +1 rounds in your S9. Far as replacement mag springs go for the S9 mags, check with SAI on their availability. Of course, one option is to purchase a new factory Steyr S9 mag. <shrug> Wolff has +10% power mag springs that work great, but you'll need a little spring tweaking to make it just right. Too, there is the chance that the ammo is contributing to the FTE's. Regardless, I'd get another mag for your S9. G'luck.

Wulf

 

[Tancred]

Thanks Wulf,

I've been meaning to order another mag, I'll do it sooner rather than later.

Tancred

 

[madecov]

FTE (fail to extract) is a common occurance with Steyr's. I think it's a bad spec on the extractor plunger spring. I had mine fixed by Steyr right at about 1k rounds.
The home remedy is to get a 1911 safety plunger spring and cut it so it is slightly smaller than the Steyr extractor spring. Place the trimmed spring inside the steyr spring and re assemble.

I think this is the only weakness on the Steyr pistols. I wish they would figure out a better longer lasting spring.