Steyr M9A1

Shootr2016

Shootr2016

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Hi all
Just purchased an M9A1 from a fellow CGN'r and brought it out to the range today. Former owner said it had a very low round count. (About 50 rounds) This is consistent with its condition. I fired about 150 rounds and had about 6 FTE. I was shooting some blazer brass 115g plus some of my 115g cast bullet reloads. There were some FTE with both so I cannot relate it to the ammo. I was reading that they had some issues with the original extractors and the manufacterer was replacing the old extractors. I also read that all you have to do is put a couple hundred rounds through it to break it in. Does anyone know how to determine if the extractor has been changed?
By the way the gun is great. Feels good in the hand. The sights are a bit strange at first but you get used to them fast. Seems the faster you shoot it the more accurate it gets.
Any info on the FTE problem is appreciated.
Thanks
Ron
 
From your description, you are most likely limp wristing your gun. Allow some other shooter to fire it and see what happens and try firming up your hold. This is a pretty regular problem with lighter guns. The problem is, the slide is heavier than the frame so you are allowing the gun to move before the slide can move fast enough/far enough to do it's job.

Scott
 
I thought that limp wristing may have been part of the problem and for the first couple that may have been the case. After that I was paying attention with a firm grip and trying to rule it out. This is my first poly pistol ( swore I would never buy one) and I have previously read about the potential for the limp wristing.
As for the roll pin under the rear sight, mine does not have the roll pin. That puts the gun in the pre roll pin generation but it is not the original crappy ones with mixed parts. I was told by previous owner that it was third gen.
After taking down the pistol last night I noticed that the bullet hugs the far left hand side of the feed ramp. You can clearly see the clean spot on the ramp.
At this point I will just clean and lube it until the next time out. I will feed it with the same amount of ammo and see if it gets better before doing anything drastic. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Thanks
Ron
 
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Both the ammo used is 115 grain. My experience with various 9mm pistols is 124 grain ammo is more consistent in function. Your experience may vary.
 
I can see how 115g ammo and 124g ammo would hit the paper differently but cannot understand how it would affect function. Can you elaborate? I have shot thousands of rounds from my CZ and have never once had a FTF or an FTE. Always shot 115g and never anything else and not sure why. Purposefully did not clean it to see where the malfunctions would occur and ended up cleaning it first. No joke.
 
Lungorthin said:
The updated extractor is indicated by a roll pin under the rear sight
Earlier versions with the old extractor have a clean slide with no pin
Click to expand...

There were only a limited run of Canadian handguns, long before that update. To my knowledge, no Canadian M9A1s have the rollpin. In any case, the rollpin affects the trigger not the extractor.

OP: The original extractor will be flat along the side, and a new extractor will have a raised rectangular portion. This is meant as a loaded chamber indicator. When a round is in the chamber, you would be able to run a finger along the slide and feel the raised extractor.

If you have an old one, O'Dell engineering used to the the warranty center for Steyr, they gave me my new extractor back in the day. If all else fails try writing an email to Steyr in Austria (NOT USA), they sent me a set of trap sights for my L9A1.

Left is old, right is new.

VwkUS2u.jpg
 
Hi Shootr2016!. The Steyr M9 and L9 are great pistols pistols. I own them both and really like them.

As Jarvy pointed out, many years ago there were some extractor issue that were corrected with the release of a newly designed extractor. These extractors were available as a free replacement. The newer design has been use for many years now. If your pistol has the old design, get a new extractor.

The Steyr pistols seem to work better with higher quality ammunition. I have NOT used reloaded ammunition in either my M9 or L9 pistols. I also do NOT use the cheaper "white box" or bulk ammo. Get some good quality factory ammo and see if your pistol improves.

All pistols need about a 500 round break in period for reliable operation. I would not worry too much about it until you are pass the 500 round mark.

Let us know your progress.

Cheers!

B
 
Shootr2016 said:
I can see how 115g ammo and 124g ammo would hit the paper differently but cannot understand how it would affect function. Can you elaborate? I have shot thousands of rounds from my CZ and have never once had a FTF or an FTE. Always shot 115g and never anything else and not sure why. Purposefully did not clean it to see where the malfunctions would occur and ended up cleaning it first. No joke.
Click to expand...

Am not knowledgeable enough to explain the difference. What I posted was my experience in using different ammunition in over 15 different 9mm pistols I own or owned.
If I had a failure of any sort, it was almost always with 115 grain ammunition.
 
Jarvy said:
There were only a limited run of Canadian handguns, long before that update. To my knowledge, no Canadian M9A1s have the rollpin. In any case, the rollpin affects the trigger not the extractor.

OP: The original extractor will be flat along the side, and a new extractor will have a raised rectangular portion. This is meant as a loaded chamber indicator. When a round is in the chamber, you would be able to run a finger along the slide and feel the raised extractor.

If you have an old one, O'Dell engineering used to the the warranty center for Steyr, they gave me my new extractor back in the day. If all else fails try writing an email to Steyr in Austria (NOT USA), they sent me a set of trap sights for my L9A1.

Left is old, right is new.
Click to expand...

Ah ok, thanks for the clarification.
 
View attachment 156192View attachment 156191Thanks to all that responded. All the input is appreciated and will contribute to the resolve of the problem. I have included some pics of the pistol. As you can see there is no roll pin and according to Jarvy's info it also has the old extractor. I will keep shooting it until I surpass the 500 mark and will try to get a replacement extractor from Steyr. I will also try some high end ammo as recommended. There are a couple other questions if anyone may have the answers.
1- any comments on the pics of the feed ramp? I would think that the wear mark would be in the middle of the ramp.
2- could this be a mag issue? I have three mags and will try others next time round.
3- after the new extractor is installed does it change the flight pattern of the brass.
Will keep posted as things progress.
Thanks
Ron
 
There were some FTE with both...
Click to expand...
I had one back in 2005, hateddddd that thing. #Jamomatic Oh and erratic ejection really hones your reflexes once you get tired of brass bouncing off your face.

Even if they fixed those issues I'd still never go back .
 
Thanks again for the input and history lesson.
Fortunately I was aware of the potential problems prior to purchase and I do have others to shoot while I sort them out. I just thought that I may luck out and get a good one. Iam currently trying to get a new extractor from Steyr. Will keep posted.
 
There has to be like this one Steyr pistol that keep getting passed round like a cheap whore... and every single owner have the same issue. Sell it, rinse and repeat.
 
I have one of the newer L9-A1 (with the newer extractor) and I absolutely love it, including the trapezoidal sights, even more than my Shadow 2.

I shot it for an entire season of IPSC without a single malfunction, and the only thing I want to change is to add some dead weight inside the base plate of the magazines in order for them to consistently fall free of the pistol during matches... the main reason I bought the Shadow 2.

Is there a 'new version' L40-A1? Are they available anywhere?

Pax
 
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