P64 - Mag stuck / possible damage?

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NJ_SW
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Joined: September 18th, 2014, 6:31 pm

P64 - Mag stuck / possible damage?

Post by NJ_SW »

Haven't had a chance to shoot my P64 yet but yesterday I hit the range with it.

Everything was going smooth until I handed my pop the P64 and a mag, being in his 60's with arthritis it can be a challenge for him to work the slide on any auto loader.

I'm shooting a revolver next to him and all of a sudden I hear "S**T! ****!!!!".

I take a look and it appears to be a double feed, well I tried to pull the slide back (it was locked open with about 2 inches of travel remaining) to see if I could clear it, nope.

OK, let's pop the mag out..oh boy, that mag was rock tight and wouldn't budge. while holding the heel mag release I pulled like hell on the mag floor plate / jerked on it for a couple minutes and no dice. What the hell!?!?

Since it's a heel mag release it's a bit awkward to try and keep it pressed back while working the slide. He managed to get the slide pulled back a bit while I pulled on the mag and it finally popped out.

The chambered round (which was spent, as always treated it as though it was live) was cracked. Bad ammo? who knows, it was Prvi Partizan 93gr. Fired 50 rounds after that happened and I'm still here.

My biggest worry is from yanking on that mag and using a great deal of pressure to (in vein) rip it out of the mag well, since the slide was partially blown black and held open I'm not sure if P64's are unable to eject mags in this condition or what the mag could have been caught on that would prevent it from dropping free. Maybe the slide? I don't know hopefully someone who is a bit more familiar with P64's can chime in on that.

I did a field strip when I got home, removed the grips and looked for any damage but just some scrapes/scratches typical for a surplus gun. No noticeable cracks or missing metal on the grip frame under the grips. Cleaned and re-assembled...seems to work fine (only dry fired so I have to wait until more ammo comes in to test it).



Curious on your input, anything else I should check for damage with the grips off? that's as far as I feel comfortable taking it down. I'm cautious (over cautious) but don't want a ka-boom. This is my CCW piece when I'm out of NJ for work and I love it :)

Positive note, it was pretty accurate at 25 yards.
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Curly1
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Re: P64 - Mag stuck / possible damage?

Post by Curly1 »

When I have had a double feed incident in a pistol sometimes the next round in the mag is partially out of the mag lips as it was trying to chamber.

The nose of the bullet hangs up on the frame when trying to remove the mag.

When it has happened to me and I finally get the mag out the round hanging up the mag is left in the mag well after finally being dislodged from the mag with force.

I would check the feed lips on the mag in question against another mag and see if there is any difference.

If not then another range test will let you know for sure.
Laugh Hard and Often.

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gemini1
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Re: P64 - Mag stuck / possible damage?

Post by gemini1 »

What could have happened was, the expanded spent case did not eject quick enough and got caught by the new cartridge being pushed by the slide to load. The the nose of new round may have been lodge between the feed ramp and the spent casing, while the rear casing was still on the mag's feed lips.
To clear that jam, IMO, I would have used a long nose plier to pull the spent casing while trying to keep the slide from sliding forward. Once the spent case is cleared, the new round would either chamber properly or get jammed again, but it would be easier to clear it.

Check your mag's feed lip. Compare it with your other good mag, and make sure the lips did not opened up or got out of shape/form (luck of better description), from being forced down with the stuck round.

This is why I sometimes wonder, why did they designed this gun with an internal slide stop, instead of the usual ones where you can engage the slide stop in cases like this?
robhic
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Re: P64 - Mag stuck / possible damage?

Post by robhic »

The one time I had this issue, I was able to eject the mag with a bit of luck, pushing the heel tab and pulling the finger-lip against the shelf (indoor range). Once the empty case fell out and the slide closed I took it off and made sure all was OK. I tidied up the rounds left in the mag, re-inserted it and all has been well since. No problems caused and no other issues in that pistol ever. IMO, I think you'll be OK.
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