[cfdblade]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum and would appreciate any advice concerning my FNS9 jamming problem.
I will try to give as much info as I can and hopefully someone could possibly help me resolve the intermittent failure to feed problem.
When I run the gun hard(i.e. fast firing) I have no problems with the gun jamming, however when I run the gun at a slower pace(I.e. 1 round fired every 1 to 2 seconds or so the gun will intermittently fail to feed the round. when this occurs it is usually at about the 5th to 8th round of the magazine. Problem is very intermittent. The gun can run perfectly for one to two hundred rounds and then start failing to feed. I have tried different grips, to rule out it being me. I have tried different brands of ammo and I do not believe the ammo is the problem. I regularly clean and inspect the gun. When the failure to feed initially began occurring I spoke with a few more experienced gun owners than myself. They suggested weak wrist, weak ammo, weak return spring, possible feed ramp problem. I polished the feed ramp just in case it might be the source, but this didn't change anything. The one thing that is consistent when the failure to feed occurs is that the firing pin is protruding as if it did not fully reset when the slide is forced backward by the previous round discharging and is preventing the rear of the next round to rise up parallel to the barrel. If anyone has any knowledge about the fix for this problem I would greatly appreciate it. I really love shooting this gun(except for the occasional failure to feed) as it just feels perfect in my hand. However at this point I do not trust it to be my carry gun and may look at a sig p320 or a walther ppq.

Dave

 

[WaltSherrill]

... however when I run the gun at a slower pace (I.e. 1 round fired every 1 to 2 seconds or so the gun will intermittently fail to feed the round.,. The one thing that is consistent when the failure to feed occurs is that the firing pin is protruding as if it did not fully reset when the slide is forced backward by the previous round discharging and is preventing the rear of the next round to rise up parallel to the barrel. If anyone has any knowledge about the fix for this problem I would greatly appreciate it. I really love shooting this gun (except for the occasional failure to feed) as it just feels perfect in my hand.

Have you talked with FNH customer service? That should be your first step. You might be giving up too soon -- and it's certainly too soon to be talking about another gun, as the same sort of thing can happen with ANY gun!) I don't understand why the problem would happen with slow fire but not rapid fire... That is counter-intuitive!

If you have contacted FNH and they offer no solutions (other than sending the gun back to them for inspection and repair), you can follow some of the links found in the FNS section of the forum or look on YouTube to learn how to disassemble the slide.

Take the slide apart and clean the striker assembly and the internal parts of the slide. If the gunsmith doesn't have problems with it, then you've got a clue that YOU are doing something without realizing it. (That doesn't seem likely, but when you eliminate all of the other possiblities...)

Sounds as though some junk is causing the striker to remain extended through the opening in the breech face. You might be able to clear this up with a squirt of something like CLP into the breech face, or squirts of compressed air, but disassembly makes the most sense. If you're not comfortable doing that, a trip to a nearby gunsmith might be in order -- that'll cost a bit more than sending it back to FNH (unless they pay the freight -- they might) but you'll have it back more quickly. (That said, the "junk" ought to be there whether you're firing rapidly or slowly, and the striker should reset regardless.)

If you take it to a local gunsmith, take a box of ammo with you -- he can use the ammo when evaluating the problem...

 

[Deadctr]

Since it runs well when fast firing, I'm going to go with the tried and true limp wristing. When you fire fast, you don't have time to think so hard about what you are doing. When you give yourself time to think, it's easy to fall to default limp wristing. Keep a tight grip.

I did that with mine, exact issues.

 

[0119]

Anybody can develop a limp wrist problem, even after decades of shooting seriously. It has happened to me when using compact 1911's recently. I refused to accept it but its hard to deny the facts. Age, carpel tunnel, in my case Cubital Tunnel nerve damage. Only shows up using the compact 1911's. But, it can happen to anybody.

 

[WaltSherrill]

For those of you who suspect limp wristing:

How does limp-wristing cause a striker to STICK OUT ( through the breech face) long enough or far enough to interfere with the next round be lifted and chambered properly? The striker should have been partially pre-tensioned by that point (done as the slide starts to recoil), and if the slide has gone back far enough to start to strip the next round, something else seems to be out of whack in the process.

At that point in the firing cycle, the striker return spring (part #12 as seen on the Midwestgunworks site) should already have forced forcing the striker assembly back OUT of the breech face and slide movement should have begun tensioning the striker spring!

While I can appreciate that limp-wristing will cause the frame to be a less-solid base against which the slide can react, that striker ought to be out of the way before the next round can be caught against the extended striker -- as those relationships are based on slide position, and by the time the next round has moved back far enough to pick up the next round, the striker should be out of the way!

I'm not saying limp-wristing can't be causing the problem as hypothesized, but if it also were happening (at least once in a while) during rapid fire, I'd be a bit less skeptical. I wonder if the striker return spring might be flawed.

 

[cfdblade]

Thanks very much for the info. It might be limp wristing but I can't see how that would cause the striker to protrude intermittently. I looked at the MGM site diagram. I have taken the striker assembly apart many times and I do not recall the striker spring stop pin or the indicator stop pin being there. I will recheck the gun tomorrow and advise what I find. Thanks for the info again.

 

[cfdblade]

Finally getting back about the FTF issue. I took the gun to a gun shop where I know a couple of the sales people one of which daily carries a fns40, I asked what they thought and thats when we discovered the striker pin was not fully retracting back into the breach wall after the firing operation. We compared the 40 to my 9 and his striker pin when dry fired clearly protruded through the breach wall and instantly retracted, so I'm thinking the two missing parts are the culprit of my intermittent FTF. Does anyone know of another place besides Midwest Gunworks to buy FNS parts. I have searched and am unable to locate another supplier. I also contacted FN and they have not returned my call from two weeks ago, not impressed by their customer service. Thanks for your help.

 

[Digitalis]

If the gun was purchased new, get back on the phone with FNH. If they let it out without a couple pieces then they'll make it right for you.

Either way, call FN again.

 

[0119]

Does anyone know of another place besides Midwest Gunworks to buy FNS parts. I have searched and am unable to locate another supplier. I also contacted FN and they have not returned my call from two weeks ago, not impressed by their customer service. Thanks for your help.

MGW is the sole provider and they will tell you they cannot get parts from FN without difficulty. Unhappy with that I was able to get parts I wanted straight from FN but they cabitzed about it and it took a couple of days for them to get it figured out. I paid out the ying yang for them too. Great guns suffering from poor management! Recipe for failure.....