FEG PA-63 FTFs

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DarthNul

New member
I've got a FEG PA-63 that shoots great for about 40-45 rounds after cleaning. If I continue shooting, it tends to FTF fairly regularly. The cartridge doesn't quite straighten out enough to go smoothly into the chamber and the slide stops just short of going into battery.

Sometimes a slight forward nudge to the slide does the trick, but pulling the slide back just a 1/16" or so and letting it go works better.

This happens with a new Wolff slide springs, either standard or extra-power. The steel portion of the feed ramp has been polished, as well as the chamber. I have also tried loading rounds to varying overall lengths from 0.955 to 0.975.

The cartridge OAL changes didn't help with this problem but the longer rounds did seem to help with another problem I had where the slide would stay locked back even after a magazine reload and sling-shot.

I've done a bunch of pistol shooting but not so much with blow-back guns. This FEG and my CZ-82 do seem to build up more carbon in and around the chamber compared to locked breach designs.

I ordered some new magazine springs thinking that might help hoist the rear end of the round up quicker than the old (possibly original) mag springs.

Anything else I should check?
 
Two places to check would be a rough surface on the breech face, preventing the round from riding up smoothly, or a sharp corner on the extractor keeping the round from slipping under it.

Jim
 
Thanks Jim, I'll check that out. I have noticed that the extractor scratches in my Makarov brass are definitely deeper than any of the other calibers I shoot. I haven't kept track of which gun (CZ or FEG) the brass has been used in though...
 
There's not much you can do on the carbon build up on blow backs, since they start leaking as soon as the cartridge starts coming out of the chamber. Did you have a look at the spent cartridges, and see if they were blackened anywhere?

Anyhow, also check that the extractor works free. The extractor plunger and spring can get dirty and hamper the extractor from popping over the rim. These have more pressure to overcome than others, due to the camming/toggling action of the in-line plunger on the extractor. You may have to remove the extractor, plunger, and spring to clean out the hole well.
 
I'd spray some carb cleaner in there to flush out and build-up or debris, then lubricate it well with a silicone spray.

It sounds more dirt related than an actual gun defect
 
I removed the extractor and smoothed out the angle on the bottom that guides the head of the case. I also checked out the face of the breach: There were some visible but faint tool marks but nothing rough. I put new springs in all three magazines and headed to the range.

I brought along three different ammo load: Berry's round nose plated over titegroup with a 0.955 OAL, The same berry's bullet over Accurate #5 with a 0.975 OAL, and 95 grain Hornady XTPs over Unique with a 0.957 OAL. The XTPs are a little shorter than Hornady recommends but that's the only way they'll fit into the magazine.

This time it didn't take 40+ rounds for the problem to show up. It happened right off the bat with the round-nose ammo. I think the mag lips are a bit rough on the undersides and the extra tension of the new mag springs made it even harder to move the round forward and out of the mag. I'll have to smooth those out. I expect that will just get me back to where I started with 40 or so good rounds before things get weird.

The XTPs shot flawlessly even though they were the last ones to go into the pistol. They were loaded in newly cut-down, nickle plated 9mm Luger cases so they may have been a little slipperier than the others. Those cases also hadn't been fire-formed to 9x18 diameter so they may also have been a bit skinnier that the other cases. OK, I just measured the case mouths of my leftover ammo. The XTPs are 0.385-0.386, The round nose are 0.388. Both are under the 0.390 max (according to my Lee reloading manual).

Just to clarify, the gun has always started out clean every time it goes to the range. It gets detail cleaned every 3rd or 4th outing so there has never been a buildup of gunk on, under or behind anything.

There was some good news though... I didn't have a single instance of the slide staying locked back after a full mag was inserted.
 
Have you looked at or changed the recoil spring? That could be a possibility too, if it is getting a little weak.

If the magazines are rough, I'd try smoothing those first. However, the recoil spring should have enough pep in it to shove the slide forward to strip ammo with a magazine being slightly rough, or I would think. If you had a new spring to compare to the one in it now, it would be the berries.
 
The recoil spring is only a year old. It's a Wolff extra-power 15# spring. The only other one I have at the moment for that gun is the one that came with it when I bought it about 3 years ago.

This has been a "project" gun for me. nearly all of the springs have been replaced since I acquired it.

I plan to smooth out the mag lips and give them a dab of molybdenum disulphide fortified paint.

I measured PPU and Silver bear factory ammo case mouths and they're all about .002 smaller than my round-nosed hand loads, so I'll run 50 or so handloads through a taper crimp die to take them down .002-.003. If I can find a felt bob I'll do a little more polishing of the chamber and re-test. That ought to take a week or so.
 
One other thing you might try, though you may have thought to do it already, is to remove the recoil spring, re-assemble the slide onto the frame, as see if it feels like it may be tight anywhere in the ways.

There's not much more that I can think of to keep a slide from closing all the way after firing so many rounds. If the barrel heats up, of course it expands inwardly and outwardly, so you can lose some clearance in the chamber, but if it is to spec, it should be okay. Generally, barrel bushings are open enough that it shouldn't cause it interference there. Since the recoil spring is heavier, its not that. Also, you have it well cleaned, I can't see that doing it either.
 
I agree. It seems like the ammo hangs up just before it straightens out enough to enter the chamber completely. Sometimes it takes appreciable force to get the round to straighten out. It's a lot easier if I pull the slide back a fraction of an inch and relieve the pressure on the round, then the slide goes into battery easily. I think it may just be an unusually tight chamber. Maybe a little bit of chamfering at the mouth wouldn't hurt?
 
It might. The inside of the chamber and ramp should be as slick and smooth as possible. If they're finished smooth enough, the bullet and case should just slide right on in, especially round nosed. Generally, they'll hang from going in at too steep of an angle, which is caused by the lips on the magazine, but you've tried others. What's odd is you feeling that it must be forced closed, especially if the cartridge is already in the chamber. That almost still sounds like it could be the extractor catching, and not slipping over the rim easily, and you're having to force it to.

On any of these cartridges that stuck, did you extract them to see if anything was damaging the bullet, like it hitting the edge of anything, and leaving a mark? Any marks on the rim at all? I can not think of anything else, without actually seeing it actually feed, and see what it does, to diagnose it.

Edit:

When the cartridge is almost into the chamber, the rear of the cartridge is slightly cocked on the breech face of the slide, with the bottom end away from it, and the top making contact. If the extractor cut, (the flat of the hook), is too close to the breech face, then it can bind when the cartridge tries to raise/slide on up the face, and the extractors hook tries fit itself into the rim recess. It might be that.
 
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Thanks! The next time it happens I'll check the case head to extractor contact situation. I did check to see how easily I could slide a case under the extractor with the slide removed from the frame and it wasn't tight at all. The extractor doesn't have much tension compared to my 1911. It uses the other end of the decocker detent spring for tension. Snapping the extractor over a case rim requires very little force.

I usually take my CZ-82 out along with the FEG and I haven't really kept track of which brass comes out of which gun. When I pick up the Mak brass I'm mostly worrying about getting it all and not mixing it up with the 9x19 (purple sharpie markers help with that). I'll make a point next time of keeping the FEG cases separate for examination.
 
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