Grinding sound when chambering a new round

B

Brundo

Inactive
Hi All,

I'm new here and to owning handguns. I recently picked up a shield 45 and I noticed that when chambering a new round an audible grinding noise is heard. I inspected the rounds and there are scrape marks on each round. I also looked inside the gun and there is a long brass colored scrape. I'm thinking that the tension spring in my mags is tight. Has anyone had similar issues before? Will it fix itself?
 
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Does it make the same sound when you release the slide from slide lock with out any ammo or magazine in the gun????? Rack the slide with a magazine or ammo and see if it makes the same sound
 
brass skid marks

Call the manufacturer and ask your questions.There can be several issues that would cause a scraping sound and leave brass marks.
 
“I also looked inside the gun and there is a long brass colored scrap.”

“Scrape” or actual shard of brass? If there’s a brass rub mark on the bottom inside of the slide where it passes over the next round in the magazine, that’s not very unusual. It may be finished a little rough or, the finish may be a little rough.

Chances are it will wear in. Put a tiny dab of grease on it and see if it solves the problem. If it’s really rough, a few passes with a stone or 600 grit emery cloth should fix it.
 
"Does it make the same sound when you release the slide from slide lock with out any ammo or magazine in the gun????? Rack the slide with a magazine or ammo and see if it makes the same sound"

When I rack the slide with an empty mag in the gun, it doesn't make any noise - it is very smooth.

"“Scrape” or actual shard of brass? If there’s a brass rub mark on the bottom inside of the slide where it passes over the next round in the magazine,"

It's just a scrape. There are no shards of brass.
 
Likely normal... You have to remember...

You are pushing a round/cartridge out of a magazine that made out of thin sheet metal with possibly sharpish corners. That is also under pressure from underneath from the mag spring and other rounds.

Also, it must ride up a metal feed ramp, and the nose of the bullet will also be impacting the top of the chamber as it is rotated into the chamber. The rear of the case is also sliding up the breech face of the slide...

Some scratching of the bullet and case is normal, as well as brass rub marks. Remember, the top round in the mag is pressing against the underside of the slide, as it must be able to rise higher to be picked up for feeding into the chamber. As the slide moves rearward, it rubs against the top round. This leads to marks on the underside of the slide and on the round.


Make sure that when loading, that you pull the slide back fully and let it go... Just like a slingshot. Another method to ensure you do not ride the slide is to pull the slide back fully, and keep pulling back and letting your finger and thumb slip off the rear of the slide. Not prefered, but it will get you into the idea of what it should be like when properly released from full rearward position.
 
Thanks for the info. I understand that there is a lot of pressure with in a gun from numerous points. The grinding seemed a bit excessive that is all.
 
Does it do the same thing with all magazines loaded?

I have a Shield 9mm and six 8 round magazines, I have never noticed a grinding or scrape noise when racking the slide and loading a round into the barrel.
After I ramp the slide and load a round into the barrel, then remove the mag and expel the chambered round...
there are no marks whatsoever on the expelled round.
You say,
I inspected the rounds and there are scrape marks on each round.
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That's not right!
What ammo are you using?

I just chambered a round in my Shield 9mm and Sig Sauer P320 9mm and then expelled them, the bullet's outer casing is perfectly smooth as a baby's you know what,
with absolutely no markings from being loaded and un-loaded.

You can also load your magazines and then just push out the rounds with your thumb, you should never see any markings on the cases...if you do I'd check your magazine for bent guides at the top.
Do you see markings when ammo comes out of your mag's?

If either of my gun's scratched or scraped the ammo's outer casing I would be highly concerned.
I do not agree with Marine6680.
What you are describing does not sound right to me...It only takes but a few minutes to call S&W and ask your question.
Let us know what they say...
You could also provide us with some pictures showing what you are seeing.

Lastly, when I am at the indoor range and I have to squeegee up the spent rounds on the floor they are all different calibers and may look burnt but I never see scratched or damaged brass casings.
What would be the use of scratched, scraped or damaged casing's for reloading?


Mackie244 / Bud
 
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Grease the rails. Put oil on the spring. Work the action with dummy cartridges at night.

Was the scratch mark on the cartridge case? If so, look into the chamber and see if it's smooth.
 
Does it do the same thing with all magazines loaded?...What ammo are you using?...Do you see markings when ammo comes out of your mag's?...What would be the use of scratched, scraped or damaged casing's for reloading?
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Grease the rails. Put oil on the spring. Work the action with dummy cartridges at night. Was the scratch mark on the cartridge case? If so, look into the chamber and see if it's smooth.
Click to expand...

If I racked the slide while the magazine was unloaded it did not make any unusual noise. However when I loaded a full mag and then racket the slide I noticed a little scraping. There were no markings on the round from the chamber, but on the second round there was a single scrape up the center of the casing. I figured the scraping isn't coming from the chamber but from the round being pushed into the underside of the slide. I inspected that and saw a brass colored scrape. I figured it was the tension spring in the mag. I use Winchester white box at the range and Federal hydro shock for my SD round (I'll be switching to HST though). There aren't any markings when I pull the ammo straight from the mag. I have no use for scratched and spent shells yet I just noticed it on the spent shells I picked up.

All this being said, I have been attempting to loosen up the spring in my mags by filling the mags with ammo and letting them sit for the past few days. So far this has worked. The scrapes on the rounds are less prominent (almost non existent on some rounds) now and I no longer hear a grinding noise when cambering a round. The exception to this is when I load my fully loaded 7 round mag into the gun - there is still a bit of scraping of the 2nd round in the mag. I really do think it was just the newness of the mags and their springs.
 
Scraping then is from the feed rib of the slide. Here's what the feed rib does as it moves backward and then forward:

As it travels back, the feed rib is in contact with the top cartridge. Its movement can push the cartridge slightly down, compressing the magazine spring further. Then when the slide reaches full rearward travel, the compressed recoil spring beings pushing the slide and with it, the feed rib forward. The feed rib then comes into contact with the rear portion of the cartridge and pushes it from the magazine up to the feed ramp and then the slide's bolt face takes over.

So, next question. Is the grinding happening when the slide is traveling to the back?
 
Grinding sound is probably the compression of the magazine spring with follower scraping against the interior body of the magazine.

Load with one less (dummy round) than full capacity and tell us if you still get the sound.
 
Disassemble the magazine and clean it. Check the follower out for any burrs. Reassemble magazine. Get a brass or dowel rod and push down on the follower. Smooth depression?

I think it's just the magazine spring is super strong and the grinding sound is the compression of the magazine spring against the magazine (or the follower) as the slide travels rearward. Does it do the same with other factory magazines?
 
WHat gary said, but I will throw out a variant. Have you disassembled the magazine to clean previously? Is it possible the magazine spring was not inserted correctly? flipped front to back or to to bottom. Some need to be oriented correctly. Might have come that way from factory.
 
Go out and run 200 rounds through it and see what happens. It all sounds normal to me and you just need a little break in.
 
Does it do the same with other factory magazines
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I only have the two mags that came with the gun. The 6 round mag doesn't make the noise, but the 7 does.
I'll check the mag springs, but I'm going out tomorrow. So, I'll see what happens then.
 
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