LVE ammo issues.

[badgerjfr]

i Brought a bunch of LVE ammo. shot close to 200 rounds through my P-64 with no problems. then all of a sudden i had a bunch of failures to feed. one round actually was lined up but woudn't go all the way into the chamber.

my first thought was dirty ammo. i just got a lot of dirt and carbon and crap all over the inside of gun. gave the gun a good cleaning. back to the range, started having problems after 50 rounds. cleaned the gun again, and again after about 50 rounds i started having problems.

i did notice some metal shaving looking peices in a few spots during cleaning. gun seemed to be fine so i was assuming it was the bi-metal case. also was starting to think some casings were a slight larger than others possibly

two thoughts or questions: first, im sure this ammo isn't the best? im not too pleased with finding little metal shavings in my gun. so ill get something different right? and second, does anyone think my springs are starting to go? slide spring, magazine spring, etc.

so is my problem ammo, springs, or a good combo of both? and has any one else had similar problems and how did you fix it? Thanks

[Curly1]

LVE never heard of it who is the manufacturer?

Have you ever shot any thing else?

[badgerjfr]

LVE is the manufacturer. its a russian made bullet. thought i would try them out because they're cheap.

the only other round i have shot is the Blazer. they seem to have a lot more kick but i didn't have any failures. but also even with the cheap russian stuff i didn't start having problems untill about 200 rounds or so in one day. just seems like every time to the range after that i have problems alomost right away. makes me think its the gun. not sure though. im thinking about just ordering some springs, and different ammo just play around at the range for a day.

[Curly1]

Aaaah yes I have seen other posts as to this brand and they weren't good.

I would try something else and go from there.

[badgerjfr]

ok Curley, that will be step one. but since you seem to know a little about everything what would be a tell tale sign that the springs in the magazine is going bad? or recoil spring? also was thinking of ordering new recoils springs from wolff. what would be the benefit of having a stronger or weaker spring? any thoughts?

[Curly1]

Well most folks here will tell you a stronger recoil spring will dampen down the recoil and there are others who say the stock spring recoil is no big deal.

I got mine with the 22lb recoil spring and the 17lb hammer spring already installed.

The recoil is still "snappy" even with the heavier spring and Marschals custom grips.

Now I will say that the DA with the 17lb spring is workable compared to the standared hammer spring, which I had a chance to try out at Gander. However once you get through the double action pull the single action pull with that spring is like a hair trigger.

Have you examined any of the casings from the LVE ammo to see if there is any gouging or shaving of metal after extraction?

Do the failures happen on a certain round count in the mag or at random?

If you are happy with the recoil and DA spring performance I wouldn't change them at this point untill you have tried the other options.

I would disassemble the mags and clean them also.

I would also recommend viewng some of Juniustaylors excellent disassembly/fix vids posted on the forum if you need any visual help or just want to brush up on the inner workings of the P64.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Gary

[Curly1]

On another note most of the P64's appear to be in unissued or have had very few rounds put through them so unless yours is a beater I don't think at this point springs are an issue.

I have pieces that are 65 - 90 years old that I think have the original springs in them and they work fine.

Not looking to start a debate here but IMO springs just don't loose their tension or wear out by just sitting around as long as they are stored in a condition that does not promote corrosion.

[PA-Joe]

The chamber made need a good cleaning to remove teh varnish that the cases are coated with.

[badgerjfr]

ok, i did take apart the magazines, they were extreamly dirty. cleaned them, lubed up, re-assembled. had problems after that. as for round count it seemed random. once it was last round, never happened maually jacking first round in. basically round 2-5 most failures occured. didn't examine the casing too well, but like i said noticed some metal shavings within the gun. and i don't mind the DA trigger and even with the factory spring SA is still a hair trigger. as for recoil i don't think its that bad.

one thing i have not done is spent alot of time cleaning the chamber. what do you guys recomend for this procedure. is small wire brush too aggressive? or 2000grip wet/dry sand paper(hand work only) or 0000 steel wool? i figure if there is a good coat of varnish. its not gonna come off easy.

i did't realize these cases were coated, but that would make sense why it was shooting good at fisrt and now im having problems. what i learned today.. Don't buy this ammo.

[Curly1]

For cleaning the chamber I use a 45 acp sized brush and what I use to clean my bores, REM Action cleaner, or what ever you use.

Chuck it up in a drill and use it on low RPM's also.

[Cooper]

For whatever its worth, I had one FTF with an LVE round.

[Curly1]

For whatever its worth, I had one FTF with an LVE round.

Out of how many rounds?

[Cooper]

Good question on how many rounds. It was my third shot out of a total of 50.

[badgerjfr]

i think ive had about 5 or 6 out of 300. so the ratio is right but all mine happened on the last 100. maybe there's a few rounds that sneak through their "quallity control" that are a tad fatter than their supposed to be. hmmm. anyway.

i'll fire up the drill tonight and hopefully get to the range soon and let you know how its doing. thanks for all the help.

[badgerjfr]

Using the drill was awesome. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I consider myself pretty quick and a good problem solver. I can not believe I never thought about using a drill to get a good cleaning in the barrel. It worked so awesome, I tried it on a couple shotguns just to check the results. Works good there too. AWESOME! Thanks Curly.