2nd Range trip with new lube on my R51 Gen 2

[Ray R]

As I said I would do in my previous post, I cleaned and re-lubed my R51 using Rem Oil. I used  Cherry Balmz "Black Rifle" grease on the rails and rubbing flat surfaces on the slide, receiver and breech block. It worked well. The effort to rack the slide is somewhat lower and certainly smoother.  My only feed problems were with some of my old 147 grain LRN reloads. There were 3 failures to eject (stove piping) out of 75 rounds fired, while there were no failures of any kind using 50 commercial 115 grain FMJ ammo from two different manufacturers. Both my magazines worked with 7 rounds and one in the chamber. I did clean and lubricate my magazines before I used them and recommend to everyone that they clean and lubricate their magazines. I found out the hard way what happens when you don't on my .22 LR Ruger automatic. Lots of feeding problems when they were not cleaned and lubricated regularly.

The reason for the three failures appears to be related to the reloading process I used, judging from the inconsistent case ejections I observed with the reloads. The following explanation is somewhat technical but is applicable to any reloads that fill almost all the available case space with powder.

I used some old reloads that were made using a fixed volume powder dispenser. This feeds powder consistently, but I need to change the OAL by changing the bullet seating in order to fine tune the pressure curve. I find I get some variation of the bullet seating over time if I am not carful during the reloading process. Also, I had not sorted my pistol brass in the past. The loads I use for the 9 mm Luger fills the case to over 90% capacity. Any variation in the actual available case space can cause a significant change in the amount of pressure generated when fired. The pressure variation at this level of loading is not linear, but is geometric. A 1% change in volume will create a greater than 1% increase in pressure. The result can be seen in differences in the case ejection patterns. 

I have now installed a continuously adjustable volume powder dispenser. I can fine tune the pressure curve by adjusting the powder feeder. I have tested this feeder and it is more consistent than my current digital scale is. I need to add a more sensitive scale that is accurate to 0.02 grains. This will allow me to select a load to an accuracy of 0.5 grains and use a fixed OAL that optimizes reliable feeding in my R51. This will take some time, but I will post my results with the expectation that my 147 grain reloads will operate as reliably as the commercial ammo currently does.

None of the gun manufacturers seem to publicly support using reloaded ammo, but Remington did tell me that the R51 was designed to work with the commercial 9 mm Luger ammunition that is available. I had contacted Remington about getting a spring with a different power rating for the use of a 147 grain bullet, since changing the spring rate is a common practice for 1911 users when changing the weight of the bullet used.  9mm Luger ammo that I have found available comes with 115 grain, 124-125 grain and 147 grain bullets, so I should be OK using a 147 grain bullet. This bullet has demonstrated superior accuracy in 9mm pistols. That is why I like it.