What causes jams in semi autos?

**XD40coyote** · August 19th, 2008, 10:23 PM

But like any man made object, it can fail. Maybe it was the gun, maybe it was the ammo. Maybe the stars lined up and the moon turned red at the very moment it jammed. Who knows. Might never happen again.

You know I have this bad habit of blaming coyotes for anything stupid or rediculous happening to me, so maybe a coyote was running nearby when it happened LOL. Kind of like when a black cat crosses in front of you kinda thing... and yeah when I bought this gun an eyes rolling OMG Coyote event actually happened- someone goofed up with a fax machine and I ended up having a *wonderful* 14 day waiting period thanks to the MD State police and their antiquated system!

**BUCKMARK** · August 19th, 2008, 10:39 PM

If it only happens once in a blue moon clear the gun and keep rollin. Never worry until it happens more than once. I have had the XD and Glock both fail me over the years, but I never found out what caused the problems. Tap, rack search for threats.

Watch this video of Clint Smith from Thunder Ranch explain why autos jam...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug

**CommonHighrise** · August 19th, 2008, 11:35 PM

The answer to your base question is actually very simple. The reciprocating action of the slide on a semi-automatic firearm creates a kinetic energy potential that works counterintuitivley to the natural rotation of the planet and its magnetic feilds. This has been a serious flaw since the inception of the reciprocating action, but is most apparant in the handgun, especially those utilizing polymer frames. It may never be fully eliminated, despite science's best efforts in using high-end materials and coatings.

The only known cure for this problem is to utilize a large rotating assembly, prefferably made of ferrous metals, though alloys have a strong track record as well. This rotation, regardless of speed and alignment, works in unision with the Earth's magnetic spheres to produce a far lesser occurance of jams and other mechanical reliability issues. The rotating movement is undoubtedly far superior to its reciprocating counterpart.

**synergy** · August 19th, 2008, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by BUCKMARK

Watch this video of Clint Smith from Thunder Ranch explain why autos jam...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug

Clint explains how to handle it, but he doesn't cover what causes malfunctions in the first place.

What's shown in the video is good to practice, and be ready to do when necessary. While shooting casually though, it's a good idea to take note on what happened to cause the jam in the first place, so that potential issues can be addressed.

**soberbyker** · August 20th, 2008, 04:18 AM

Originally Posted by XD40coyote

But they cost 1.00 a round! But I plan to buy another 20 round box. However I have read XD's eat about everything, both expensive fancy and cheap and cruddy.

I do plan to clean the gun right before I start to carry, and everytime after a range session, so gunkyness won't be an issue there.

I'll offer my two cents on this statement and part of your OP.

You say this gun will be your carry gun. I think you definitely should shoot at least 100 rounds of your carry ammo thru the gun, no matter the cost, you need to be damn sure it will work when you need it to.

Another general rule of thumb is that your plinking ammo be around the same weight as your carry ammo to keep your accuracy in tune.

As P-11 Shooter mentioned at one of the Pittsburgh area group shoots they had ballistic gel, the Federal HST HP rounds did very well. In fact the guy who brought the gel, who works for Corbin, said that other than his Corbin product there were only two other rounds he would recommend, the Federal HST and another he didn't mention.

You can get a box of 50 rounds for about $20 plus shipping from here:
http://ammunitiontogo.com/

Bill

.

**tdyoung58** · August 20th, 2008, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by XD40coyote

All this negative commentary to me from 1 stovepipe out of 500+ rounds? No one has said a thing about the possibility of a bad round? Limp wristing could have been the cause, but why haven't I had this before, I know I have had to have limp wristed before and I saw limp wristing in action one day when I let another lady fire the .40, and it did not jam up.

Tell ya what, you come up here to PSA on Sunday and well shoot up a shitload of ammo so you get your confidence back in your Gun, lots of things can happen, from ammo to a hundered other things.

Buy some ammo and go shoot it up.