P.38 jamming issue

[Ecclectic Collector]

I have a P.38 with a jamming issue. The gun is a pats gun made up of a frame/barrel from one gun but with a mismatched slide.

When I got the gun it was caked with this reddish gunk. I cleaned up the action and fired it, but was getting FTF just about every round.

Comparing it to another P.38 I saw that the loaded chamber indicator was excessively long. Also the ejection is weak (drops Remington Yellow box FMJ ammo at my feet). There is still gunk on the main spring gumming it up. My next step would be to dip the action in solvent to remove the remaining gunk.

Any other ideas what I need to do to get this old gal running again?

[Flash]

dip the action in solvent to remove the remaining gunk.

Any other ideas what I need to do to get this old gal running again?

You've already pretty much answered your own question.

But please, field strip it per the manual. Do a detail clean, and reassemble it according to the manual.

Bet that will make you both happy.

Flash

[Hammerdown]

Do a full take down of the pistol clean and oil,watch out for solvents on the grips it can do bad things to some p38 grips and try winchester white box ammo 115 or 124gr fmj the remington ammo in some p38 just won't work reliably. Thats a good start to get her running again.

[harold63]

Do a full take down of the pistol clean and oil,watch out for solvents on the grips it can do bad things to some p38 grips and try winchester white box ammo 115 or 124gr fmj the remington ammo in some p38 just won't work reliably. Thats a good start to get her running again.

Agreed. That reddish gunk (rust and corrosion, packing grease, maybe) is likely to be in every nook and cranny, and soaking it with oil will not help. You gotta get the rust out, create smooth contact surfaces, again, and then lube. If you do a detailed strip, sure everything goes back together, correctly. Clean and lube the mags, even, if even a hint of corrosion is in them. If that doesn't work, then check for ejector spring issues. Also, is the recoil spring original? A replaced spring that is too stiff may cause some issues. Feed ramp should be smooth and shiny, as well.

After cleaning well and relubing, you can put a spent cartridge in the chamber and let the slide close on it. A quick hand rack should spit the cartridge out, easily. If it doesn't you may consider starting with the ejector and E spring. JMHO

[gold cup abuser]

Got a used P1 and it was still caked in cosmoline and it was missing the loaded chamber indicator.

Did a full detail strip and thorough cleaning, got some mags from cdnn sports and took it to the range. It ran and ran well with ball ammo, even wolf lol.

Get all of that junk off of the pistol and clean and reclean the barrel. Focus on the chamber area.

Also check the extractor to see if it moves with some ease, or if its showing signs of not moving under GENTLE pressure. A small jewelers flat blade screw driver under the extractor will work.

If not, then spray that area down with some PB Blaster or Kroll to loosen it up. If that does not work then you may have to remove the extractor. I think it is held in place by the hammer drop safety.


Hit up either Sarco or CDNN sports as they have a spares kit that includes eveything but the barrel and frame. Last time I saw pricing it was in the 90 dollar range.

Also take a look at the ejector to make sure its not broken. That might be an issue as well.

Good luck.

[Guns N'at]

I have a P.38 with a jamming issue. The gun is a pats gun made up of a frame/barrel from one gun but with a mismatched slide.

When I got the gun it was caked with this reddish gunk. I cleaned up the action and fired it, but was getting FTF just about every round.

Comparing it to another P.38 I saw that the loaded chamber indicator was excessively long. Also the ejection is weak (drops Remington Yellow box FMJ ammo at my feet). There is still gunk on the main spring gumming it up. My next step would be to dip the action in solvent to remove the remaining gunk.

Any other ideas what I need to do to get this old gal running again?

Ironic you mention UMC/Rem ammo... This stuff listed by name is explicitly mentioned many times not to be used in P38/P1's at the the p38forum.com. Seems WWB (Winchester White Box) is the ammo of choice for the non reloaders over there.

I reload 100% of my ammo for all cals other than rimfire, so can't speak first hand of using the ammo you have, but have seen enough chronograph reports, pictures of rounds with way too short OAL's (over all length), to know that QC with this ammo is extremely hit-or-miss. FWIW, my properly cleaned and lubed P1 functions 100% with any ammo I have used, to include my own cast, cast bullets and JHP's, given that there is enough energy to work the slide. My Beretta M9 will function just fine on powder-puff ammo that will choke the P1 every time.

Your idea of a good dip (Kerosene will do just fine), and a really good detailed cleaning is a great first step, as is lubing the hi-friction parts (rails, locking block, where the frame and lower part of the barrel contact), etc. Never hurts to at least put new recoil springs in a used SA either, and Wolff has replacement for this pistol. Might try different mags/new mag springs too, to dial in what might be a potential problem. Lastly, I wonder if your gun is a Russian capture that was dipped in a bluing solution, then coated with a preservative? An "X" over S/N and other places is used many times to mark these Russian capture pistols. Good luck.

[mp517prct]

Exactly, P.38/P.1 + Remington/UMC = Jam-o-matic

[harold63]

Exactly, P.38/P.1 + Remington/UMC = Jam-o-matic

This ammo makes a bunch of jam o matics. I started to throw a new Bersa away some time ago because of this ammo. Thankfully, we went back the next day with some WWB.

If you have a stiff spring or are breaking in a new gun, stay away from this stuff unless the gun is already forgiving. I am only speaking of the UMC. SMO