Ruger LC9s Magazine Problem

[WMSproject]

I have carried a LC9 for a while and now a LC9s for the last few months. I decided to get a 9 round magazine to give me two more rounds than the 7 round factory mag. At the range both the 7 and 9 round magazines performed flawlessly with 115 grain FMJ ammo. After the range test and a hundred rounds or so, I loaded up both the 7 and 9 round mag with Hornady Critical Defense 115 grain ammo. I put the 9 round magazine in the pistol and racked the slide. Instant jam. The first round always took a nose dive down toward the feed ramp and refused to go in the chamber. Bumping the slide only resulted in driving the bullet deeper into the case. I tried this several time with different rounds and always the same. I took the magazine apart, cleaned and lubed it... Still not working.

It will cycle just fine if I only load 7 rounds but will jam if I load 8 or 9 rounds.

It cycles FMJ just fine but not Hornady Critical Defense.

I called Ruger this morning. They are sending me a new replacement 9 round magazine and a prepaid envelope for me to return them my current 9 round mag. I will try it as soon as I get it and report back.

 

[WMSproject]

I have a followup on this issue. I received a brand new replacement 9 round magazine from Ruger Customer Service. It still jams on the first two rounds. When loaded with only 7 rounds it works fine.

This is my theory, please comment if you will.

In the following example, I use my normal factory carry ammunition, Hornady Critical Defense 115 grain.

Contrary to belief, 9mm cases are slightly tapered with the case rim being slightly wider than the neck. The Case rim is 9.96mm and the mouth of the case is 9.65mm resulting in a .31mm difference. When 9 rounds of ammunition are stacked, the space between the case mouths add up to 8 * .31mm = 2.48mm. When 8 rounds are stacked, the space between the case mouths add up to 7 * .31mm = 2.174mm. When 7 rounds (Standard Factory Mags) are stacked, the space between the case mouths add up to 6 * .31mm = 1.86mm. The problem is this... The follower in the 9 round mag has the same angle as the 7 round mag and does not take into account the additional .62 mm space between the rounds. When the slide tries to push the first two rounds out of the magazine they tends to nose dive at such an angle that it goes straight down toward the feed ramp. There is enough bullet material present in round tip FMJ ammunition to catch on the feed ramp and feed on into the chamber. There is, however not enough bullet material present in many different hollow point carry ammunition. This causes the first two rounds of hollow point ammo to jam at the bottom of the feed ramp.

I would propose to Ruger that they issue a recall on all 9mm extended magazine followers and replace them with a new follower with a greater angle that will compensate for the additional .62mm gap between case mouths when loaded to max capacity.

A temporary solution for those who wish to carry two additional rounds instead of the 7 round mags is to load your magazine with 7 hollow points and then load the last two round of FMJ.

I have not done any tests with heavier grain ammunition than the very common 115 grain.

 

[sheep dog]

Well...I considered an lc9s. But guess I will wait and see if they fix this issue...assuming its not your pistol alone? Any others having the issue when u reached out to ruger?

 

[WMSproject]

I don't have an issue with the pistol so much as the design of the extended factory magazine. I would recommend the pistol but let's say you get one and start carrying it. You get in a shootout and empty your standard 7 round mag and reach for the 9 rounder that you have shot FMJ at the range with many times. Who carries FMJ in their backup mag? Nobody... You put your precious carry ammo in it. You rack the slide and the first round jams... You clear the round and try again... The second round jams... You have to try three times to get a round to finally chamber...

 

[WMSproject]

I have sent a message to Ruger Customer Service and I'm waiting on a callback.

 

[WMSproject]

After reviewing a lot of info on feed issues, I see that this is the exact same problem that a lot of 1911 pistols have with not handling certain hollow point ammo very well. The round ball ammo tends to hit the feed ramp and slide up it a lot easier than fancy hollow point ammo with flat surfaces. I'm probably going to switch carry ammo and see what happens. This sucks because I really like the Critical Defense ammo. I guess I'll just use it in the Beretta or maybe get rid of it all together.

 

[sheep dog]

Yeah, I like critical defense for small ccw

 

[WMSproject]

I got an email back from Ruger today. They suggested that I try some different ammunition in my pistol. I know that FMJ ammo cycles just fine so I looked for some good quality hollow points with a similar bullet profile to Fmj instead of the sharp angled bullet used in Hornady Critical Defense. I found some Federal Premium 124 grain HST JHP Personal Defense ammo at Academy. It cost $29 a box of 20 but it does cycle just fine in the pistol when I'm racking the slide. I will need to do a range test, of course. The Hornady failed every time and it seems that this one works and does not jam.

 

[WMSproject]

From left to right:
Hornady
Federal
FMJ

 

[WMSproject]

My evaluation has determined that if you carry more than 7 rounds, do not use Hornady Critical Defense. The flat sides on the bullets will cause feeding issues. Ruger suggests using a different ammo as well, although they do not endorse any particular brand.

I'm going with Federal Premium 124 grain HST JHP Personal Defense for now.