FTEject

[CW3Retired]

Good afternoon gents (and any ladies present),

I recently purchased an R51 with high hopes; however, I was soon
less than enamored.  Nose dives, failures to eject and random
other problems plagued the pistol. 
I then followed the advice on this forum and modified the magazines. 
The next 400+ rounds of mixed brands, bullet types, etc, ran like the
proverbial singer sewing machine.  All is well in my world 

except...

Chamber a round and remove the magazine.
With the magazine removed, fire the chambered round. 
Every time I get a stovepipe FTEject.  Every time! 

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

Vic

[1911SHOOTER]

Good afternoon gents (and any ladies present),

I recently purchased an R51 with high hopes; however, I was soon
less than enamored.  Nose dives, failures to eject and random
other problems plagued the pistol. 
I then followed the advice on this forum and modified the magazines. 
The next 400+ rounds of mixed brands, bullet types, etc, ran like the
proverbial singer sewing machine.  All is well in my world 

except...

Chamber a round and remove the magazine.
With the magazine removed, fire the chambered round. 
Every time I get a stovepipe FTEject.  Every time! 

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

Vic

Vic,
     Why would you want to fire a round without the magazine in the gun?  Never mind, dumb question.
Does it do it with all types of ammo, or just one type?  Try it with a Plus P round? 
Blackie
 

[CW3Retired]

I had several brands of ammunition to include Remington and Hornady Critical Defense.  I had others also but it has been more than 10 minutes ago.

Next range session I will ensure I try +P ammo.

Vic

[Texas-Mark]

except...

Chamber a round and remove the magazine.
With the magazine removed, fire the chambered round. 
Every time I get a stovepipe FTEject.  Every time! 

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

Vic

That is fairly normal for many semi-autos as there is no next round or follower to help push the case up so it hits the ejector correctly. Without a mag, the case will start to drop into the mag well before it hits the ejector, and cause some sort of jam or it may just even fall through the mag well.

This why you also often see the last round (with a mag) eject in a different pattern than the rest of the rounds because the follower is slightly different than a round.

[paul7177]

Vic,

How much did you modify your magazines?

Paul

[CW3Retired]

Vic,

How much did you modify your magazines?

Paul

I just smoothed out the upper inside and shortened the follower by about 1/8th of an inch.

Vic

[DanOh]

What is this mag mod mentioned here?  I must have missed it somehow.  Anyone got a link??

[1911SHOOTER]

What is this mag mod mentioned here?  I must have missed it somehow.  Anyone got a link??

DanOh,
     Take the mag apart, and the follower has four legs on the bottom of it.  Take 3/16" off each leg.  I used a flat bastard file
so I could take off an even amount on the legs.  Don't guess, make a mark on the legs.
No need to mess with the spring or the floor plate. 
This is what I did to my magazines, and now, they work fine.  I have had no FTEs,  FTF or any problem with ammo.
I am fortunate, my R51 eats anything.  And I mean anything.   As they broke in, it became
easier to rack the slide with a full magazine.  Although that is not my thing.  I lock the slide back and slingshot it
forward with a full mag.   I carry cocked and locked.
Blackie