Colt Commander 9mm - Jamming!!!

[marcas]

I recently purchased a Colt, Series 70, Commander, 9mm. The gun was purchased out of an estate. It shows very little signs of shooting, just some what I would call "handling wear". When I went to test fire the gun, I found it jammed each time. I was using standard Winchester ball (plinker) ammo. The gun would fire but leave the spent case in the chamber. I tried several clips and this happened consistently.

My dad was with me and told me to try a handful of Hydra-Shocks that he found in his truck. I loaded up a clip and managed to fire 3 rounds in a row before the gun jammed in the same manner as before. Now, the extractor as best I can tell is not worn and very sharp. Again, the gun shows very little signs of ever being fired.

I've been told to replace the extractor or the mainspring. Any comments on those suggestions? If you agree, where should I look to purchase these? The only other information I can give you is that the gun was bone dry when I got it. Some of the oil used by the previous owner was hard as a rock under the grip panels. I've cleaned the gun and lubricated it with Break Free. This has not made any difference with the jamming problem. (I did not do a complete disassembly of the gun to clean it. I don't know how to do that. I did remove the slide from the frame, etc... I did not remove the extractor, firing pin, hammer, trigger, etc...)

I love the gun. I had one years ago and like an idiot I sold it. It was in perfect condition and I think I sold it for about $400. Needless to say I spent almost double that on this current gun. Let me know your thoughts!

[Hunter]

Did you try more than one magazine? Could also be a weak extractor of loose ejector. You test the extractor by taking the slide off and fit a case under the extractor and it should hold the case in place even with a little shacking. If it does not add a little tension. There is complete instructions in the technical section on the forum. Be sure the ejector is tight to the frame. Welcome to the forum and I am about sure there is nothing seriously wrong with your Colt just needs a little adjusting.

[clughog]

Marcus, I bought a "new" blue Colt Combat Commander 9mm made in 1978 a few months ago and had a similar problem. I had just a couple of instances where it didn't eject properly, and mine only did it with the original magazine but not with the other magazines I had with me. Since I lubed the gun and the magazine really good, I've had maybe two stovepipes but nothing I couldn't live with...and the more I shoot it, the fewer problems I have. Mine is strictly a range gun, not a carry gun.

[Hawkmoon]

I bought a well(?)-used Colt 9mm Commander awhile ago and experienced the same problem. Retensioning the extractor didn't seem to help. I finally sent the complete side and barrel to Wichaka, who determined that some moron had installed a .45 extractor in the 9mm slide (yes, they are different).

First thing you should check is extractor tension. It may be sharp, but it may not be grabbing the rims of the cases firmly enough.

The other thing I did was to replace both the recoil spring and the mainspring with new Wolff springs of the stock rating for a 9mm Commander. In my case, I did so because the pistol had obviously been reworked. It had Pachmayr grips and a Millet rear sight, and it was obvious that the frame tang had been ground to fit a beavertail grip safety even though the gun had a standard Commander grip safety when I got it. So I figured everything was suspect.

My reasoning was that if the springs were too soft, the timing would be wrong and the slide would move back too fast/early. This could cause the extractor to be yanking on the case while it is still slightly expanded, causing stiction against the wall of the bore.

Dunno what exactly fixed it, but now it runs really sweet. Perversely, I like it so much that I don't shoot it a lot, because it is clearly a high-mileage pistol already and I don't want to shoot it out.

[middle age fat man]

My Colt 9mm prefers hotter loads. Try to find some nato spec 124 grain hard ball. Then try some of the new springfield magazines.