# Should I polish the feed ramp on my G17?



## joepeat (Jul 8, 2015)

1500+ rounds fired with a few FTFs using different brands of FMJ ammo. so maybe a feed ramp polishing job is in order. I thought I read on this forum some time ago that plain automobile rubbing compound works well. What's better? Any other advice?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

joepeat said:


> 1500+ rounds fired with a few FTFs using different brands of FMJ ammo. so maybe a feed ramp polishing job is in order. I thought I read on this forum some time ago that plain automobile rubbing compound works well. What's better? Any other advice?


400 to 600 to 1500 wet or dry sandpaper. Just roll up little strips and polish till it's mirror smooth.


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

If it were me, I would contact Glock. If you start messing with the gun and then still have issues, they might not fix the gun for free


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Shipwreck said:


> If it were me, I would contact Glock. If you start messing with the gun and then still have issues, they might not fix the gun for free


I've got 5 Glocks, four new and one used. I've never had issues with any one of them straight out of the box. I would guess that the problem is something other than the feed ramp? That is unless the feed ramp and chamber have some really rough machining. If that were the case the problem would be more than a few out of 1500+, especially after the gun got dirty. It could be a defective recoil spring assembly, rough extractor claw or bolt face. It may be just grit/metal shavings inside the extractor channel or pocket in the slide where it resides. He could just order a new recoil spring assembly first and try that. They're not that expensive, and it's never a bad idea to have a spare or two. It could also be an issue with a magazine, but I would assume "joepeat" tried different ones. Not knowing how many FTF's he had out of 1500+ or the frequency it may be just a few weak rounds here and there.

However polishing a feed ramp is relatively simple as long as it's done by hand using finger pressure only and not removing any metal. Using 400 to 600 to 1500 "wet or dry" (I even go to 2000) by hand you'll be polishing until "kingdom come" before you could do any appreciable damage to the feed ramp. Any type of power tool such as a Dremel should never be used. They do tend to remove metal, quickly. Once the metal is gone it ain't comin' back. Taking your time and once a mirror like finish is achieved that's when to stop. It should only take about 15 minutes or so.

Of course depending on one's skills, some problems can indeed be resolved without sending the gun back to the factory. Waiting 'till who knows when to get it back? As for me I would give the gun a thorough cleaning taking apart the slide and examining all of the parts for roughness or burrs, making sure the channels both extractor and striker are free of grit and upon re-assembly making sure that all parts move and function freely. Again depending on one's skills minor burrs or flaws can be easily fixed, saving a trip back to the factory.


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## RobertS (Jan 7, 2016)

I brush mine after every range trip and if it's really crusty, rub it with a cloth soaked in a decent carbon cleaner.

Since I'm shooting Remington UMC, a particularly dirty ammo, I usually have to rub it down after every session.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

joepeat said:


> 1500+ rounds fired with a few FTFs using different brands of FMJ ammo. so maybe a feed ramp polishing job is in order. I thought I read on this forum some time ago that plain automobile rubbing compound works well. What's better? Any other advice?


How severe are the failures? 
Is the round feeding almost all the way?


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Is the gun going into battery/round chambered (slide all the way forward)?... or is the slide sticking out past the frame?


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## joepeat (Jul 8, 2015)

What happens is that the case rim hangs up at the junction of the feed ramp and chamber. The slide doesn't go into battery. In other words the bullet is in the chamber and the case isn't. There were five FTFs altogether, four with Remington UMC 115gr FMJ, and one with Magtech 115gr FMJ. On one of the UMC rounds it actually went partially into the chamber but peeled back part of the case and the round was stuck there requiring great force to extract. (I have a new-found confidence in MIM extractors.) I wish I would've kept that round to post a picture but the range officer threw it away.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

If the bullet is getting into the chamber, unless you find a sharp burr on the edge of the ramp/chamber junction, then in my opinion, it's not a feed-ramp problem.

Not to sound too much like a Glock fanboi here, but I've been seeing a lot of crappy factory ammo in the last year or two. Not all damaged ammo is/was damaged by the pistol. Dented/burred cases, damaged rims, rolled/collapsed case mouths; all of these things can interfere with chambering, and I've seen rounds that have come straight out of the box with these defects. Make sure you are visually checking your ammo BEFORE you load it into the mags, and if you have a problem with a round during firing, extract and save it to check specs on later.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

IMO I would first eliminate if it's a magazine issue. 

Is the feed issue occurring with all your magazines? I'm assuming you have multiple mags.

Eliminating the possibility of a bad or sticking mag.,creating a bad angle that might be causing the damage to the brass before it hits the feed ramp


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## joepeat (Jul 8, 2015)

DJ Niner said:


> If the bullet is getting into the chamber, unless you find a sharp burr on the edge of the ramp/chamber junction, then in my opinion, it's not a feed-ramp problem.
> 
> Not to sound too much like a Glock fanboi here, but I've been seeing a lot of crappy factory ammo in the last year or two. Not all damaged ammo is/was damaged by the pistol. Dented/burred cases, damaged rims, rolled/collapsed case mouths; all of these things can interfere with chambering, and I've seen rounds that have come straight out of the box with these defects. Make sure you are visually checking your ammo BEFORE you load it into the mags, and if you have a problem with a round during firing, extract and save it to check specs on later.


DJ, I think you may be on to something because I don't see how the spring force from the RSA could've had enough force to curl back the case rim. I bought the gun new and the first 600 rounds were WWB with no problems whatsoever. I stopped using the WWB after I bought a value pack from Walmart that had a roll crimp. But even those ran okay. Also, I recently read on the Internet some problems with UMC ammo being seated too deep in the case.


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## joepeat (Jul 8, 2015)

I went back and carefully checked my records and here are my findings. The first *740* rounds through the NiB gun were as follows:

600 WWB 115gr
100 American Eagle 124gr
40 assorted JHP rounds
----
740

All fed with no problems. So I'm concluding that the five FTFs I had since then were ammo related.


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

This is something I found in a box of Winchester white box ammo a while back. Found it before loading into magazine.


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## joepeat (Jul 8, 2015)

Rusty, thanks for sharing. And thanks to all others who offered opinions and advice. Both are always welcome.


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## shift1 (Dec 31, 2013)

I recently had a problem with federal 9mm 115 gr. From Walmart and sent it back to federal. They contacted me for details and I told them this one box was causing FTF and FTE in 4 different guns. I had no cases rolled over and the rounds looked pretty good.They sent me a check for $20.00 They didn't give me a reason as to why ? He said they appreciated me contacting them. As for your feed ramp? I personally after I know the gun runs pretty well ,have all the internals polished including the ramp and then get the goodies from NDZ performance and make the glock mine. I have seen a huge difference in the way the gun runs!


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

shift1 said:


> I recently had a problem with federal 9mm 115 gr. From Walmart and sent it back to federal. They contacted me for details and I told them this one box was causing FTF and FTE in 4 different guns. I had no cases rolled over and the rounds looked pretty good.They sent me a check for $20.00 They didn't give me a reason as to why ? He said they appreciated me contacting them. As for your feed ramp? I personally after I know the gun runs pretty well ,have all the internals polished including the ramp and then get the goodies from NDZ performance and make the glock mine. I have seen a huge difference in the way the gun runs!


Good job, they're pushing the production rate of ammo to the extreme creating a quality issue.

DJNiner nailed it in the above post, many times we have to look at the AMMO as the culprit


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

I quit buying that red box Federal ammo at Walmart. I used to have occasional jams in my Berttas. It was maddening. Once every 300-450 rounds, but just enough to make me doubt the pistols. Others at the Beretta Forum claimed the same problem with that brand.

I quit using it, and new any problems again...


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