Glock 43 Failure to Feed

[Pappy35]

Greetings all. New guy first post.

I have had my G43 for a couple of years now. Great CCW piece for my needs. Recently, I've noticed that I'm getting multiple failure to feed events with hollow points. Specifically, as the slide strips the round off the magazine, it seems to nose-dive and get caught up on the bottom of the ramp rather than get deflected up and into battery.

So far, I've returned the mags to stock (they were running Pierce +1's) and tried 4 different name-brand JHP's to see if the bullet geometry has any effect (it didn't). It feeds FMJs perfectly. This is a new issue though I haven't fired the gun for a year and not put anywhere near as many of my carry loads through it as I should. The gun has at least a thousand rounds of FMJs though.

I'm planning to talk to Glock about this but I thought I'd post the question here to say hi and see if any of you have any ideas. I did search and didn't see anything directly relevant.

[psalms144.1]

Stock mags shouldn't behave that way, obviously. Anything +"X" I'd avoid like the plague on the G43. Might be time for some new mags or at least mag springs - Glock might hook you up with those gratis. Best of luck with them - let us know how it works out!

[JBP55]

See if the rounds are riding against the ejector at an angle. If so that is an easy fix with a file.

[L-2]

Diagnosing problems on the internet is sometimes impossible. Seeing a gun and its mags in person can more easily disclose the problem immediately.

-lubricate the gun as Glock specifies;
-replace the recoil spring assembly. It's unknown from the post how many rounds/cycles the RSA has from the original post and sometimes a new RSA is defective;
-try chambering a round from slide lock using the slide-stop to avoid any drag on the slide. Some folks ride the slide too much making the slide speed too slow;
-use new mags as the original mags have now been disassembled and reassembled a couple of times. Sometimes a mag spring is put in backwards, upside down, or the spring was previously stretched (and maybe inadvertently ruined) by the owner;
-with the Glock 43, I've noticed the top round in the 6 round mag has to be absolutely loaded to the rear of the mag or a failure to feed occurs;
-some folks are testing using their own handloaded ammo which becomes questionable on the internet as the ammo may not be close enough to factory-loaded ammo in even just one specification. It doesn't matter if the handloaded ammo works/has been working in other 9mm guns as the subject is a specific Glock 43.

If possible, obtain/borrow another G43 to substitute and narrow down the problem to the mag, gun, ammo, or the shooter.

[Jason M]

I’ll second the above recommendations for a new RSA and mag springs. If the gun used to work fine this is the first thing I would try.

[baddean]

Pappy,
Like L-2 said internet diagnoses is difficult, so I have a couple of questions.
Is this happening when you perform an administrative load, meaning when you first load the gun and chamber a round, or does it occur while actually shooting?
This is important because the malfunction could be caused by different things.
Does it occur with all of your magazines or certain ones?
Since they are nose-diving is it possible that the follower/s aren't rising correctly/straight in the mag?
L-2 mentioned the top round in a six round mag has to be all of the way against the back of the mag to chamber correctly. He (may I assume gender here?) also mentioned loading administratively using the slide lock instead of racking the slide. My Kahr PM9 requires these same techniques.
Just some thoughts

[willie]

If crud has altered extractor range of motion or affected its ease of movement, then this might cause the issue.

[steve]

It was either here or another forum where someone who puts a lot of rounds through a Glock 43 started changing the recoil spring every 500 rounds so they didn't have feeding issues.

[Pappy35]

Thanks for all the replies. Answers, in no particular order:

• The gun probably has about 500-600 rounds total with all original parts except for the Pierce +1's.
• The issue happens almost 90% of the time with the first round in the mag using either the slide release or slingshot. It also happens mid-mag while shooting but, say, only 10-20% of the time once loaded. No where near reliable enough for self-defence use as-is.
• I don't reload or use reman ammo. Only Blazer/Winchester/Hornady/Federal ammo.
• I can't say if this is new or pre-existing as most of the ammo I've run through it has been FMJ. My shooting went idle for a long time and the gun sat in its place, fully loaded, with 7 rounds in each mag for all that time so I could see that the mag springs may have relaxed. I put about 50 self defence rounds through it when new and don't recall having any trouble. So, good when new, several hundred through it, then sat idle for a year or more with fully loaded mags, now 50-60 more rounds with constant FTF. 100% reliable with FMJ's.
• I only have the two original mags. The FTF happens with both of them with, or without, the Pierce base plates installed.
• I've run out of JHP so I can't test anything at the moment until my new order comes in.
• I have two new OEM mags coming in today.
• Didn't think to tear the slide down to check for sludge in the extractor. I'll check that tonight when I get home.

I called Glock today and it sounds like I might just return it and let them check it out if this keeps happening with the new mags. He did ask if I had the -02 mags but I don't have it here so I couldn't answer. I know internet diagnosis is difficult (or impossible in some cases). I posted this to query the hive-mind and document the fix once i have it.

I just bought a 43X and will be swapping slides when my new ammo gets here just to see if that makes any difference before I send it back.

PS - The 43X is sweet! I traded in my G19 for it.

[Joe Mac]

I have thousands of rounds through a pair of G43s. Here is what I have learned:

The only malfunctions I have had (two or three) have been nose-dive failures to feed with Gold Dot, as you describe. These have only occurred under the following conditions:
- The gun is very dirty (my trainer/spare that goes years between cleanings, never my carry gun)
- Using the factory pinky-extension flooplate.

I suspect the issue is simply a blunt jhp hitting a caked feedramp, with a dirty breech face likely contributing. The pinky-extension mag MIGHT be a contributor, levering the bullet nose down just enough for this to occur, or it may just be coincidence that the odd feeding hangup has occurred with these mags.

I think I've changed the RSA just once in each gun. The trainer is probably due for another new spring.. I agree that this could be an issue, too.