Firestar ejection problems

L

Lucky Devil

New member
I'm trying to determine if this is mechanical or ammo related. I've had many failures to eject using Wolf, Winclean and UMC; much fewer with magtech, and none with 150 rounds of defensive ammo (Speer GD 124gr +P). Are there any other factors that could be contributing, or do I just need to stick with the hot loaded ammo? Thanks for any and all advice!

LD
 
Hi, LD,

Doesn't sound like you are too lucky on this one. Failure to eject usually results from lack of ammo power. If there is no failure to extract, only to eject, and there is nothing wrong with the ejector, you might try reducing the tension of the recoil spring a little by "rolling" it on a belt sander. (Don't cut off coils, just trim the whole thing down a bit.) Do this by cut and try and don't let the spring get hot. If you have no home range, it could take a while, but don't ruin the spring or reduce it to where the gun won't feed. Be careful and you should be able to reach a point where all the rounds eject OK. BTW, I would avoid Wolf ammo; it does not have the best reputation. BTW, if you do wreck the spring, Gun Parts Corp has them for $4.10+S&H.

Jim
 
Thanks Jim. I think that perhaps I'm confusing failure to eject with failure to extract. The pistol is trying to load a new cartridge on top of a spent cartridge that's still in the chamber. With Magtech ammo, this occurs 2-3 times per 100rds, and that's as good as I can expect with 115 gr practice ammo. Is this something that I can resolve by adjusting the recoil spring, or do I need a gunsmith? Or perhaps a new pistol?
 
That makes it tougher. You might check for roughness in the chamber, but the case must be coming out partway to kick the slide back. You might check the extractor, also.

Jim
 
Firestar

Hey,Lucky Devil:

I agree with Jim-check and make sure your extractor isn't under-tensioned.

This problem also occurs quite a bit because of what's called "limp wristing". Make sure you have a tight grip on your pistol and your wrist locked tightly when you go to fire it-I've had to fight this problem myself with these compact pistols-especially Glocks.
 
In my earlier posts I really goofed. I must have been sleepy or something, but I had the Firestar confused with the little Starfire and worse, thought that it was blowback. Now that my head is on straight, thanks to an e-mail from Big G, I am, I hope, on track.

Power of the ammo is definitely a factor, as well as weight of the bullet. Check the extractor, though, as in a locked breech pistol it really does extract. The hotter ammo may have enough residual pressure to extract in spite of a defective extractor where the lighter loads will not.

When the case does not extract, can you manually extract it by pulling back the slide or is the case stuck? Does the extractor ride over the rim on extraction of a live round or an empty case? Does the extractor appear to have enough tension? These are just some thoughts in trying to diagnose the problem.

Jim
 
Hey Jim/JMB,
Thanks for your responses. Much appreciated. Jim, the only thing I do know is that the case is stuck. I have to pull back the slide, remove the mag and then tilt out/the spent case. The live round that's jammed into the chamber falls out of the mag well. As for extractor tension, etc., I'm afraid that I'm a bit clueless. Spoke yesterday to a range employee where I shoot...apparently he had a Firestar that did the same thing. He got tired of having to feed it only defensive loads in order to practice and finally sold it; a conclusion I'm coming to myself. Guess that means I have to buy something new. :D

Regards,

LD
 
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