As regular readers know, I recently completed project Gaston– an 80 percent Glock compatible pistol frame. Today was the day that I finally got to take it out to turn some money into noise.
I got to put a single magazine through it. Accuracy was fine. Here is the target from 10 yards, rapid fire.
![](https://areaocho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220111_135450-768x1024.jpg)
The problem was reliability. Out of 16 rounds, there was one stove pipe, three failures to feed, one round with a dented primer but no PEW!, and one where the fire control group didn’t reset.
I didn’t even get a chance to troubleshoot before the RSO came over and forced me to stop shooting because my ammo was steel cased.
I am wondering if the problems were caused by too heavy of a recoil spring. The slide is a lightweight one, and perhaps changing out the standard 15 pound spring with a 13 pound one will work.
In the meantime, I need to buy some brass cased ammo and save the steel cased stuff for the outdoor range. More on this later.
8 Comments
Will · January 12, 2022 at 7:52 am
Could have been that cheap-ass Russian ammo.
Divemedic · January 12, 2022 at 8:01 am
It was made in USA Winchester steel case.
It's just Boris · January 12, 2022 at 8:40 am
Some might just be break-in. Combining parts from many manufacturers, and some hand-finishing, sometimes results in needing some in-service burnishing.
I would try the lighter spring, and see if things don’t improve after another 2-3 magazines.
joe · January 12, 2022 at 7:00 pm
i’ve read that several places…on a lot of these types of builds, they need a few mags through them to get everything working the way it should…a break in period…
Jason · January 12, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Run 50 – 100 rounds of 124 grain JHP rounds and see if reliability improves. My P80 G17 needed some breaking in before it was running reliably.
T Town · January 12, 2022 at 12:39 pm
If not already done, polish the feed ramp and chamber. A lighter spring may also be required. Some guns just don’t seem to like steel casings.
Jonathan · January 12, 2022 at 3:30 pm
I’ve run into issues like that before. Parts from different manufacturers aren’t always as compatible as they claim…
I’ve suggest dry firing, including full slide movement a bunch of times, then look for wear points and witness marks to see if you can find a tight spot.
DBM · January 12, 2022 at 8:32 pm
I wouldn’t rule out the ammo being the main culprit. The USA Winchester steel ammo will consistently cause issues in any of my guns that use a double stack mag.
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