Ejection Problems - Norinco "Hi-Power"

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pengfire

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GunNutz
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I've been trying to figure out why I'm getting jams when I shoot my "Hi-Power" clone so here we go. No nasty comments about it being a Norinco. Quality aside, I view it as a challenge now... The gun is essentially a S&W 59 knock-off internally but has a few different external trappings.

After each round is fired, the spent case usually sticks between the slide and the next round in the magazine. Hot loads, standard or mild.

Cartridges cycle by hand with no problem, with or without a magazine and with different magazines.

A single round will often eject without a problem (but not always).

Tried cutting the recoil spring back some (lowering the strength) but had a spare on hand first! No change.

Reduced the trigger pull by taking a little off the hammer spring. No change, just lets the slide cycle a bit easier.

Rounded off the firing pin and checked the protrusion. Fired a couple of primer-only cartridges and the crater is perfect.

One thing I noticed about the spent brass is that the primers look funny. Not nicely cratered or flattened, more like how the ice on a pond looks after some fresh water is poured on. Not symmetrical either (no flow into the firing pin hole). This one probably needs some pictures.

There may also be some parallel free play between the extractor and the breech face. It seems to hold well laterally but I think the head of the case could be pushed away from the breech by the extractor before it's actually caught on the extractor tip.

Your two cents, Amigos?
 
Just a thought, but my Norc's really don't line the Winclean (or any make) with the truncated nose bullet. FMJ "hardball" feeds just fine. Might this be a FTF issue masking as a FTE problem?
 
"...a S&W 59 knock-off..." That's not a High Power. However, like Juster says, quit cutting springs until you change ammo.
 
Have you considered that the chamber is too deep? Your remark about the splash effect on the primers makes me think (a dangerous thing) that the headspace is letting the cartridge advance too far forward into the chamber. This leaves the primer loose against the breech face. You already observed that as a problem, but the extractor is not supposed to have any effect at the moment of ignition, just feeding and extrication.
 
All, thanks for the replies.

Juster - Yes, I have tried four factory brands and three different handloads. Have tried three separate mags from two manufacturers. I have done this with both OEM and the reduced springs (now assembled with all original components, no change).

Skeetgunner - Good thought but I've used all ball ammo, no TC, SWC, etc.

Maple leaf - Sounds like one part of my problem. I'll check the headspace. Got a super long no-go gauge?

Any other ideas on the extraction end?
 
Check how smoothly it goes in and out of battery, Norincos have a long history of difficulty with fine fit and finish. A little cosmetic roughness hurts nothing, except in the areas that control lock-up. It takes only a small amount of surface roughness to delay the slide enough to cause stove piping.

Stove piping generally is an indication of problems in the initial opening of the action; spring weight or rate will seldom make any significant difference in this, if you lighten your spring too much, you will not get the required forward snap to bring the barrel properly back into battery reliably. The best instrument is your finger tip. Dissamble the pistol and check around the link, slide interior and barrel shoulder for slight roughness. If found it must -very carefully- be lapped smooth, this is not a job for a Dremel.
 
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Maple leaf and oldbadger - from your two comments about chambering and headspace and I've done some more checking and here's what I found:

The gun looks to be locked up well when in battery. Both the cartridge head and barrel contact the breech at their designated locations. But, upon closer examination with the slide (and recoil spring) off, there exists about 0.017" forward play before the barrel lugs actually solidly engage the locking grooves. Excess headspace and God-knows-where the barrel is by the time the slide starts to move. Might this be contributing to the two aforementioned problems? (Norinco "lightning" quality - never the same twice).

Do you think that silver-soldering an extra sliver of breech face thickness can rescue this puppy or would that put too much headspacing responsibility on the cartridge alone?
 
Silver solder is soft, and I think of it as an adhesive not a building material. You might get it right at first, but the cumulative effect of even a few shots will deform your good work.

Any chance of getting a new barrel through the dealer?
 
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