[voodoo17]

First time to the range with my P99QA was a disaster.  Gun allowed me to shoot 13 total rounds.  Longest string was 3 rounds.  Would jam about one quarter inch out of battery and was a real bugger to yank the slide and clear the jam.  I am waiting for an e-mail reply from S&W now.  Makes me wonder if I should have bought the 9mm instead of the 40.

 

[P99]

Very unususal for a P99, what kind of ammo where you using?
Did you clean the gun before going to the range? Does the recoil spring look ok?

 

[voodoo17]

Yes, I did use "Gun Blaster" from Shooters Choice then a squirt down with CLP.  The ammo was Federal 155gr premium that I had purchased from Kiesler Police Supply. The recoil spring seems ok also. This is by far the most comfortable handgun I have ever used. I hope I can get this squared away. When I came home from the range I tried each round that failed to chamber by dropping them into the barrel, in case they had a bulge, etc. but every thing went ok also.

 

[WaltherP99man]

Sounds like ammo problem to me. Kiesler's buys up a lot of surplus ammo and if this was one of their bargain ammo deals that could be the problem. For the most part they are a pretty good dealer, but they could have bought a bad lot.

Try some different ammo like UMC(Remington) or Winchester USA in the full power 180gr loadings and see if the problem goes away.

 

[cocojo]

My personal opinion is that the 9mm is a better bullet design and functioning round than the forty. Reliablilty should a first and formost in a handgun and caliber second. The nine is a much better design because it's not square, it is tappered and like a wedge. It just plain ole feeds and works better and functions better than the 40. The power factor between the two round is minimal so why give up better feeding and reliabilty. 40 guys don't get angry, it's just my opinion.
The only problem I have had with my nine is had so far three failures to fire in about 2500 rounds, which had nothing to do with feeding problems.

 

[WaltherP99man]

cocojo, I tend to agree with you. The .40 was an answer in search of a question. Post Miami shootout the FBI wanted a more potent caliber, but still wanted high capacity so they went to the 10MM. Some of the shooters couldn't handle the full power loads, or large guns, so they went to the 10MM lite which evolved into the 40S&W which fit in the 9mm package.

In other words a hardware solution to a software problem

Not a bash of the .40 intended by me either, just stating my opinion about the lack of need.

 

[Johnny Rad]

Sorry to hear about the "disaster." What is the date code of you P99 QA? It's a long shot, but I understand the early 40's had teething problems. I think the QA is a newer pistol than that, but it might have "missed" the upgraded doodad or tweak. I vote call S&W to send it back. Good luck.

 

[Rodman]

hey man, just wanted to let yo uknow i had the same problem with some ammo that i bought from Kieslers. i had just bought me walther p99 and went to the range and the gun malfunctioned every other round. it was failing to eject the round, and i found out it was the ammo because it was 100grain 9mm i bought that must not have had enough of a powder charge to cycle the slide. i thought it waas the gun of course, luckily i had 2 boxes of white box winchester and put all 200 rounds through it without one malfunction. i know have close to 600 rounds through it with zero malfunctions, most likely its the ammo. i love my p99 wouldnt trade it for anything. hope that helps.

 

[voodoo17]

Called the 1-800 number for S&W and the FED-EX label is on its way. Also received an e-mail reply and there was a strange statement about a one year warranty on the gun. One year, awful weak isn't it? Did send the lot number of the ammo to Federal but no reply from them. I do like their 45acp 230gr. HiShok's for my Sig and 155gr Premium was where I chose to start a breakin for the P99. Will wait and see how this plays out. I am partial to 45acp and did not want another 9mm, since I sold a Sig P228 and bought the P99 in 40S&W.

 

[oscar]

I have a different problem. My p99 in 9mm wont digest the new corbon 115 grain + p ammo. It jams everytime as the slide wont return to battery. It seems the bullet profile of the new corbon rounds, which is not so rounded and has a tapered cone shape, prevents the round from seating well into the chamber, thus barring the slide from returning to battery. My gun works well with the older corbon rounds and other ammo with more rounded profile. Also after firing several +p rounds, the slide to frame fit of my gun seems to have loosened. Any feedback would be highly appreciated.

 

[WaltherP99man]

Quote[/b] (oscar @ Sep. 26 2002,1:10)]It seems the bullet profile of the new corbon rounds, which is not so rounded and has a tapered cone shape, prevents the round from seating well into the chamber, thus barring the slide from returning to battery.

Try this.

Take the barrel out of the pistol and hold it vertically with the chamber end up and drop a round directly into the chamber. Note how deep the round goes in. Then for comparison drop a round that has been feed reliable into the chamber and see if it sits deeper in the chamber.

If that is the case then you are correct and the new round may be headspacing differently into the chamber.

Usually the shape of the bullet will only affect feeding into the chamber, as the odd shape will catch on the feed ramp or rim of the chamber. It you have a set of calipers check the overall lenght and the diameter around the case head for both rounds to see if the Corbon is out of spec.

That's all I can think of based on your description.

 

[oscar]

WaltherP99man

Thanks for the reply. I did that already. And yes, the new corbon round doesnt go as deep as the other rounds.
Well I have no recourse but stay away from these rounds. Does the p99 9mm cycle well with Federal Hydrashock 124 grains or Remington Golden Saber 124 grains? How about the 147 grain Winchester SXT?
Again your valuable input would be greatly appreciated.

oscar

 

[WaltherP99man]

oscar, I'm not suggesting you stay away from the Corbon. Only that you may have gotten a bad batch that did not have the bullet seating depth correct. This can happen. If you have different lots from them all with the same problem then I would stay away.

To answer your other question. The 124gr Golden Sabers are my carry round. The Hydra Shocks should be good too. I wouldn't suggest the 147 SXT.

For those who are fans of 147 grains, don't get me wrong I like that weight, just not the specific round mentioned. 147gr Hydra Shocks or Ranger RA9T(also from Winchester, but a much better round) are both very good rounds in longer barreled guns like my HiPower. I just think you loose too much velocity on the shorter barrel of the P99.

 

[oscar]

waltherp99man,

I presume the Golden Saber 124 grain rounds cycle reliably in your P99 which is why you use them as your carry ammo, am I correct?
Earlier today I went to a local gun store to get some Golden Saber 124 grainers. However I didn't proceed on buying because I thought the round was too long and therefore may not cycle well in my gun.
Would a particular round like the Golden Saber cycle well in one p99 and fare poorly in another P99?
Or is it just safer to just try it first before buying plenty of supply?
Thanks.

Oscar

 

[WaltherP99man]

Quote[/b] (oscar @ Sep. 29 2002,8:53)]waltherp99man,

Would a particular round like the Golden Saber cycle well in one p99 and fare poorly in another P99?
Or is it just safer to just try it first before buying plenty of supply?
Thanks.

Oscar

To answer your first question yes, even with modern CNC machining there are slight differences in every gun so what works for one may not work for another. This applies to both accuracy and reliability.

You should always test any ammo you intend to bet your life on for function and accuracy. I put 200 rds of Golden Saber through mine without any failures before it became my "approved" carry round.

 

[oscar]

I would love to have some 200 golden sabers to test my gun for reliability.
However, since I am in Manila where one round of 124 grain Golden Saber is about $1.20, I would prefer to seek others advice!
We shooters here envy you guys in the US where ammo is very cheap.
Local FMJ ammo here costs about .30 cents per round and thats about the cheapest factory ammo you can get for practice.
Well, maybe 10 Golden Sabers for practice wouldn't hurt. I suppose if they cycle flawlessly 10x, that might already be a gauge for their reliability.

 

[WaltherP99man]

My apologies for the faulty assumption. I sometimes forget how big the internet is. Yes Oscar in that case test them in a limited fashion as best you can.

 

[oscar]

No problem. Thanks for your inputs.
I am trying to organize some Walther p99 folks here in Manila so we could possibly do some importing of parts, accessories, etc. for our guns. Walther support here is non-existent.
We hope you could help us in the future for our sourcing requirements.
Thanks again.

 

[bluesoftail]

My P99 .40 didn't like "Sellier & Bellot" ammo at first. I polished the ramp, and chamber face. Between that, and putting rounds through it, that it would eat, the S&B problem has gone away. They are great guns.

 

[ROYGUN]

Hey Oscar! Corbon seems to use the Sierra 115jhp which has a funky ogive on the bullet. I've had problems with the same bullet in 357SIG in my Glock. I've got almost 25,000 rnds. through my p-99 9mm. without any problems. I install a new recoil spring every 5000 rnds. My gun is used for training a lot and I just do ordinary cleaning.......I do not use the Sierra bullet because of feeding problems. It just nosedives. Find a bullet profile that works and stick with it.