One asked which guns I might be talking about. Well the first time I experienced this was with a SIG 1911 using Hornady Critical Defense in .357 SIG. It had so much trouble that it did not feed at all and actually pushed the projectile deeper into the case. For one thing, I couldn't believe that the bullet wasn't crimped into a cannelure in the projectile...apparently there is none.
1911 feeding is a book unto itself. It could be the gun; it could be the mags. Since we have no way to replicate that as a group,
let's simply not go there. The most resent one, and the one which prompted me to start the thread, is in the RAMI using SIG Elite Performance V-Crown. I thought that since these had a jacket shaped much like the FMJ that it would be reliable, and they may well be, but feeding the first round from the mag made me doubt that reliable feeding would be a given.
The mouth of these bullets is opened wide to insure that the pedals expand properly. However these large openings also tend to clog easily with clothing AND have feed issues. Just looking at the ammo, I'm not surprised you're having problems.
Since ammo can't be returned,
that mandates you should take your barrel with you and drop a round in before purchasing. If the rounds won't rotate in the chamber, then it certainly won't chamber properly in the gun.
Sure this test only looks at one aspect, but physically fitting the chamber is a "biggie".Here, SIG is trying to gain access to law enforcement ammo sales (which in the USA alone must total into the billions), but there is no way for them to complete with the likes of Remington, Winchester, Federal, Speer, Hornady and a host of other better established U.S. brands with much deeper pockets for the
tons of research this market requires. (And here, you should be saying to yourself, "If the French can't find a good bullet in all of Europe, what does that tell me ?")
Oh, one more thing. I came to the FMJ for defense idea via an article I was linked to from an American Arms forum. The writer was testing .380 auto in ballistic gel and determined that the hollow points he tested neither expanded nor penetrated well enough for defensive purposes. His tests of FMJ had sufficient penetration (in his opinion) to cause significant damage, thus he suggested using FMJ in your .380 for defense so I thought that perhaps it might be a good idea in general...
380 Auto has
NOTHING in common with 9x19 Luger, except the 0.355" bullet diameter. 380 will never have the power, penetration, or ballistics of 9mm simply becasue the 380 does not fire from a "locked" chamber. All 380 pistols (that I know of) utilize a "blow back" design, which wastes a huge amount of energy.
So the bottom lines are these:? You've been trying to compare apples to oranges. That is to say, 1911's to RAMIs, and 380Auto to 9x19 Luger. It simply doesn't work that way. The comparisons aren't valid in any way, shape or form, and that's what's skewing your results.
? You need to take your barrel with you when you shop for ammo. Do the spin test. If the rounds won't spin in the chamber,
then walk away.
? You say you're trying to save money, but by pinching pennies on
off brand, third tier ammo, you're loosing dollars instead.
Stick with the brands that police officers actually carry, not the brands with flashy internet reviews. Most of those reviewers can be bought off with a couple of cases of free ammo.
Hope this helps.
