The continuing mag problem

[Charlie Xray]

Even after replacing my springs with AGP extra power versions, I had a jam in the next 200 rounds (total about 300 rounds through this XD now). Same kind as before; the round was nosed into the forward lip edge of the magazine and had not even reached the feed ramp.

The bullet was a 230 gr LRN. You could clearly see the mark on the top of the bullet where the ejecting empty rammed into it forcing it nose down in the mag. Even with the extra power spring, it could not reposition the round for feeding before the slide returned to battery.

The mag lip just barely caught the LNR and peeled back a little curl of lead. That gave me an idea. I stripped all my mags down and beveled the inside edge of the forward lip of my mags and polished them. Now there is nothing to catch the lead, and unless it noses in lower, it should now make the ramp into the chamber, perhaps not as smoothly as originally intended by SA, but make it never the less.

I am quite sure that the XD45 lives on the ragged edge of reliability because of this design flaw. Most work fine, but we may never know how close to FTF we are coming. As for me, mine will never see anything but hardball for serious use.

CX

[jpusk]

I'm really skeptical that this is a design flaw. I've run twenty different mags (stocked up in anticipation), fast and slow, loaded with three rounds and loaded full, and had no problems feeding anything, including big HPs my 1911s couldn't handle.

Are the extra power springs in the gun or the mag? It sounds like you may have an ejection or extraction problem. Since you had a problem before, I'm speculating you didn't put the extra power spring in the magazine, but if you did, maybe it's pushing up "too hard?".

It sounds like your problem has been discussed before...can you post a link to that thread, maybe you've already heard all this.

[rgeliske]

My first inclination would be that you are shooting reloads and the OAL is off. My second would be that you need to check that you are using the correct return spring for the load you're shooting. I have shot thousands of LRN bullets through my XDs and XD(M) without a problem. Though I have created problems due to the above issues. The only rounds the XD45 will not load are LSWC. LRN and LRNFP shoot great.

[agalindo]

Do you have the problem with all your mags or just one? Keep track of your mags and which one you have the FTF with. If it's just one then more than likely the mag lips are closed to much causing the bullet to present low in the mag, you will need to open up the lips a bit. Use a know working mag as a reference.

[TG13]

pull the follower, and remove all the sharp edges on the bottom of the follower.. then, check if the follower freely slides inside the magazine.. if it sticks, check the edges of the follower again..

once you do that, then try it again..

[john5]

I would suggest you shoot factory ammo and see what happens. As others mentioned it very well could be your reloads.

[thelongone13]

Originally Posted by TG13

pull the follower, and remove all the sharp edges on the bottom of the follower.. then, check if the follower freely slides inside the magazine.. if it sticks, check the edges of the follower again..

once you do that, then try it again..

That sounds about right to me, And is it just one magazine? If that's the case, then junk the mag and buy a new one.

[sloopy70]

You could send the gun and mags to springfield and let them figure it out

[Tally XD]

Originally Posted by Charlie Xray

Even after replacing my springs with AGP extra power versions, I had a jam in the next 200 rounds (total about 300 rounds through this XD now). Same kind as before; the round was nosed into the forward lip edge of the magazine and had not even reached the feed ramp.

The bullet was a 230 gr LRN. You could clearly see the mark on the top of the bullet where the ejecting empty rammed into it forcing it nose down in the mag. Even with the extra power spring, it could not reposition the round for feeding before the slide returned to battery.

The mag lip just barely caught the LNR and peeled back a little curl of lead. That gave me an idea. I stripped all my mags down and beveled the inside edge of the forward lip of my mags and polished them. Now there is nothing to catch the lead, and unless it noses in lower, it should now make the ramp into the chamber, perhaps not as smoothly as originally intended by SA, but make it never the less.

I am quite sure that the XD45 lives on the ragged edge of reliability because of this design flaw. Most work fine, but we may never know how close to FTF we are coming. As for me, mine will never see anything but hardball for serious use.

CX

It is obvious that modern auto pistols are not really designed to use a bullet design that is over 200 years old. LRN was designed for revolvers that do not rely on a feed mechanism to chamber a round. Stop using LRN.

[Charlie Xray]

Originally Posted by jpusk

I'm really skeptical that this is a design flaw. I've run twenty different mags (stocked up in anticipation), fast and slow, loaded with three rounds and loaded full, and had no problems feeding anything, including big HPs my 1911s couldn't handle.

Are the extra power springs in the gun or the mag? It sounds like you may have an ejection or extraction problem. Since you had a problem before, I'm speculating you didn't put the extra power spring in the magazine, but if you did, maybe it's pushing up "too hard?".

It sounds like your problem has been discussed before...can you post a link to that thread, maybe you've already heard all this.

It was the mag springs that were replaced not the recoil springs. Yes, this issue has been discussed at length on several threads. This one here takes you to page four where the problem is graphically depicted. You can pick it up from page one for the whole story. It is well worth the reading time if you have an XD45.

The XD was originally designed around the 9mm and then the .40 followed and then the .45. The system works well with the first two but the larger diameter of the .45 allows the extracting empty to drop slightly below the breech face during extraction where it comes in contact with the bullet of the next round in the mag and does so rather violently. So violently that it forces the top round in the mag nose down and sometimes (not always) the mag spring cannot reposition the round for feeding before the slide returns to battery. If the top round doesn't get high enough to at least hit the feed ramp, then it noses into the forward lip of the magazine and is jammed there. In 40 years of shooting 1911s I have never seen a jam like this in that system. It seems to be unique to the XD45 because of the problem described above and depicted in the diagram in the link above. It is in effect a design flaw that can only be corrected by making the slide taller and the corresponding changes to the barrel link system to keep the extracting case from going below the breech face. Easy fix, but SA has to do it. I am hoping the XD45M will address this. Replacing the mag springs with heavier ones is only a bandaid, but it seems to work most of the time as many have testified in the linked thread and elsewhere on this forum.

I love the XD but have not developed a level of trust I need to carry it yet. I have had to tune all my 1911s, sometimes to 600 rounds before I got them completely reliable. I am only to 300 rounds on my XD and I am giving to give it the same benefit of the doubt, breakin time, and tuning where I can so I can get confident enough in the system to carry it.

This problem BTW is why the XD45 won't feed SWC.

CX