TIFU Got a 9mm round stuck in the chamber of a .40

[OzymandiasX]

Went to put a few rounds downrange today with a few handguns. Unloaded the hollow points from my 9mm to load cheap plinking ammo. When reloading a mag for my Sig P320 .40 I wasn't paying attention and apparently picked up a few of the 9mm sitting on the table and got them mixed in.

Long story short, there is now a live 9mm round in the chamber of my .40 Sig. It wouldn't fire and the slide won't pull back more than about 1/4", so I can't eject the round or take the slide off.

Any tips on what to do here? (Other than to pay more attention next time. You're preaching to the choir. lol) I guess I may have to bring it to a gunsmith.

 

[AndyG]

P320? You could try dropping it

Are you able slip something flat and firm (ie thick zip tie) through that 1/4” opening to rest up against the primer of the lodged round? Can clear a bore obstruction with a wooden dowel and rubber mallet after dropping magazine, but that seems a particularly risky proposition, banging a live round into the breach of a P320. Not advice. Just spitballing.

 

[MetalVendor]

TIFU?

 

[Danny Abear]

I would lay the pistol flat on a table, pointed away from you and use a wooden dowel and hammer to knock the loaded round back into the breach

 

[Jstudz220]

Considering it’s a 320 I wouldn’t attempt to do anything to it myself. Bring it to a gunsmith and let them blow their fingers off.

 

[sksshooter]

have had to help a friend correct this same issue. initially attempted to force the slide back by placing it against a wooden work bench away from ourselves of course and forcing the slide back. that did not work. ended up using a rubber mallet to the front of the slide again with it gun pointed in a safe direction. once the slide was locked back it was pretty simple task of inserting a rod and tapping the round out, in our case i had some plastic punches but as danny stated above a wooden dowel will work just as well

 

[Paintball]

TIFU?

Think I F'd Up

 

[Xeon64]

I would stick a screw driver in that 1/4 opening and pry it open. I would not attempt banging on anythign with a live round. I had my glock get jammed with a round that blew out the brass and that was how I got it open.

 

[OzymandiasX]

P320? You could try dropping it

rofl! Good idea! I tried throwing it at the floor a few times, but no dice. I got mine factory fixed by Sig so I'll have to try another method.

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried a dowel down the barrel (held with locking pliers so as to keep my fingers away from the bangy end) as well as some gentle rubber mallet-ing to the slide, but no luck dislodging this thing. I think I'll bring it to a gunsmith to be safe.

 

[Jstudz220]

Rolf? All these acronyms these days make me feel old and I’m only 32

 

[Emperor]

rofl! But I got mine fixed by Sig, so that won't work here.

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried a dowel down the barrel (held with locking pliers so as to keep my fingers away from the bangy end) as well as some gentle rubber mallet-ing to the slide, but no luck dislodging this thing. I think I'll bring it to a gunsmith to be safe.

He's going to do the same thing!

I think you are going to end up with some scratches on the slide at the least, so I would probably try the screwdriver on the slide. If you can force that slide back, you could disassemble the gun, right? If the rim of the casing of the cartridge is visible, get a thin flat head and try to back it out. Either way, you are better off if you can get that barrel out. You will be able to see the feed ramp then too, right? If it messes up the barrel, get a new one.

If you have a flak jacket and a welders helmet, you should probably wear that too!

 

[sksshooter]

i would NOT try hammering the round out of the barrel with the slide forward. the only real risk to driving the round back out of the chamber is if you slam the primer into the firing pin that could or could not be stuck in the forward position. the fact remains that the slide must come back to the locked position. put some ass into that rubber mallet and get that slide locked back. once that is done you are free to beat on the projectile end of that round all you want. This isn't black powder over compressing it etc isn't going to se the round off.

 

[Magdump]

P320? You could try dropping it

FTW!!!

 

[Magdump]

There’s always a way. Im not familiar with the 320. If it appears the extractor is the death grip, start there. Good pair of dykes or needle nose pliers to grip and lift it, or if there’s a pin exposed to remove it. The case rim may be a little thinner on the 9mm case and allow the extractor to close and act like a pipe wrench so piling the slide back might be causing it to tighten the grip, idk. The key is likely figuring out exactly where the tight spot is. I can’t imagine that being anything else but the extractor

 

[J. W. Harris]

I would strongly suggest that you take it to a gunsmith, or if you DIY, do so with extreme caution. My gunsmith, with 60+ years experience, drilled a neat 9 mm hole in his hand trying to do the same thing. Good luck, and God bless!

 

[OzymandiasX]

I took it to a gunsmith yesterday and he was able to fix it in about 5 minutes. Turns out the round wasn't live, but the casing had stretched out and deformed inside the chamber. He had the proper tools and it still took him some elbow grease to get it dislodged.

Life lesson learned.

 

[340six]

Glad it worked out safe and easy

 

[JBP55]

Great news.

 

[Magdump]

Awesome news. So it did indeed fire. Makes perfect sense. Glad you got it straight. Give that gunsmith a free plug here if he did you right.

 

[Cheesy Lasagna]

Awesome news. So it did indeed fire. Makes perfect sense. Glad you got it straight. Give that gunsmith a free plug here if he did you right.

Agreed. If you can, please let us know the gunsmith who’s responsible for the repair. Always good to know a reputable smith.