Cold weather not cycling?

Gatehouse

Gatehouse

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I've noticed this happening several times with women first time shooters recently. (It's been cold lately)

Firearm is a Beretta 92

Shoots fine for me and most men (also first time shooters)

Gun goes bang, and the firearm does one of these:

Ejects case but doesn't pick up a new round fully. Action gets stuck open with tip of bullet stuck on the feed ramp.
Does not eject case or pick up new round
Empty case gets stuck partway out of the action

At first I thought they were sorta limp wristing it due to their gloves, but then a woman yesterday was bare handed and it happened to her.

Then they try out a 1911 and it doesn't seem to be an issue...So what's going on here?:runaway:
 
How um... dainty are the women?

I suppose if you had a pistol that, for whatever reason, cycled, but just barely (maybe a stiff spring, too much lube getting stiff in the cold?) and then it was fired in dainty hands that allow the entire gun to recoil excessively, absorbing just enough of the recoil that the slide needed to properly cycle... I guess it's possible. But I'd think it would be a pretty narrow balance of conditions to allow it.

A lighter oil might do the trick. You could also try a dry lube like Rem Teflon Dri-Lube. The slide on my Winchester 1300 gets stiff around -15, but the dri-lube fixed that. YMMV
 
What kind of ammo is this with? light reloads?
Whatever is happening the slide is not going far enough back to grab the next round. Could be a combination of light ammo, low temp/freezing lube and limp wrisitng.
 
Sounds like a limp wrist.

Cold weather issue has happened to me with a Sig X5; it functioned flawlessly and then one-day temperature dipped to about -5, and it would not cycle for the first 20 shots or so, after that if you kept shooting (warm) it was 100%. It turns out tolerance was so tight that grease was slowing down the slide. Interestingly enough I had Beretta 92 on the same trip, and it ran 100% (tolerance on Beretta is not even close to a Sig X-5). This leads to believe that this is limp wrist issue.

Is your 1911 same caliber or does it have a bit more power to cycle? My guess has a bit more power.
 
The 1911's were both .45ACP.

Pretty sure the ammo is all 9mm PMC

Beretta functions fine for me and for the guys, hundreds of women have shot this Beretta without issue, this is a new development. I thought about the lube thickening up but it's G96 and is supposed to function at much colder temps than this. I can see especially with gloves it would b easy to limp wrist.

Anyway, it's warmed up now and going to the range tomorrow or Wednesday, so we will see what transpires now that it's 0C instead of -15C
 
the only solution is to get out of the cold weather, take all the guns and babes down to Mexico soak up some sunshine will sipping on some margaritas and shoot alllll your ammo, then see if you have the same problem.
 
If the girls are seating there own mags there's your issue. Even with a full slap (my wife is a farm girl) but just can't seat a mag fully. Looks right, doesn't fall out but just doesn't work lol.
 
Foxer2373 said:
If the girls are seating there own mags there's your issue. Even with a full slap (my wife is a farm girl) but just can't seat a mag fully. Looks right, doesn't fall out but just doesn't work lol.
Click to expand...

Possible ..maybe eliminate that stage and load the mag for them for awhile and see if it's the problem..my sense it's a combination of ammo, limp wrist, etc step by step will answer the question
 
If they are picking up an unloaded pistol from the bench, as per most gun club rules, the slide would have already been locked open and they should not have any issues loading a full mag in an open slide handgun. If they are trying to seat a full mag into a closed slide handgun, just have them lock the slide back first next time.
 
Spandex Legs getting really cold Cycling in the winter. Plus all the snow/ice, just terrible. No thanks to cold weather cycling.
Sorry, what topic are we on?
 
Powder slows somewhat when cold. Thirty odd years ago shooting international rapidfire (yes, 22 shorts) we found that it was necessary to keep ammo inside a pocket, then hold tightly in hand to make sure it was warm enough to work. Probably the same thing happening with your Beretta. Check by trying different brands, not all powders react the same to low temperature. Also, no grease on a gun used in the cold, dry-slide or similar.

Dr. jim
 
IM_Lugger said:
What kind of ammo is this with? light reloads?
Whatever is happening the slide is not going far enough back to grab the next round. Could be a combination of light ammo, low temp/freezing lube and limp wrisitng.
Click to expand...

In my experience it's seldom just one factor. So I'm going with the idea that it's a little of all the things IM_Lugger listed that have added up enough to matter.

"Fix" any one or two of these things by a little bit and the girls will likely not have any issue at all.

You obviously shoot your own gun the most. Keep an eye on the strength of the arc of the ejected brass in different temperatures and I'll bet you see a difference.
 
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