# 96a1 and flat nosed ammo



## donk123 (Jun 6, 2013)

purchased a beretta 96a1 last week. did field strip and cleaning. waiting for a good range day. have read/heard of possible problems with flat nosed or hollow points rounds. either feed jams or slide not returning fully into battery. haven't bought rounds yet. would like to hear opinions ahead of time. sounds disappointing given the beretta reputation if true.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Some pistols need a well-polished feed ramp, in order to successfully feed HPs and flat-nosed bullets. Some pistols also require magazine-feed-lip tweaking.
Try yours out, and report back with the results.

Other feed jams, especially not returning to battery and not fully ejecting, are sometimes due to faulty shooter technique.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

+1 to what Steve said. I have a 96FS Centurion, and I've shot plenty of flat-nosed rounds thru it. Never a problem or issue., and it's stock as a rock. 

Make sure that you have a proper grip, locked wrist and elbow when you shoot them, to rule out any possible issues. Unless you have experience with polishing feed ramps and tweaking magazine feed lips, I'd be very careful. It's real easy to go too far and make matters worse.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

I don't know where you heard that, not true. Your 96A1 will eat any properly loaded ammo you throw at it.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Beretta 92/96 models are considered "direct feed" firearms... notice how high the round sits when a full mag is inserted (slide locked back).

Now notice how short the feed ramp is compared to other firearms... the round almost goes directly into the chamber of the barrel with very little angular movement. I've honestly never had any feeding issues out of my well used 92G (going on 7 or 8 years now).


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Here's a pick of some barrel's and their feed ramps... (from left to right) a Sig P226, Beretta 92G and the CZ 75BD. Notice how small the ramp is on the Beretta (middle one)... it's almost non-existent. 








Another...








How it looks in the Beretta...


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

TAPnRACK said:


> Here's a pick of some barrel's and their feed ramps... (from left to right) a Sig P226, Beretta 92G and the CZ 75BD. Notice how small the ramp is on the Beretta (middle one)... it's almost non-existent.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very good pics and explanation. :smt038


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## OGCJason (Nov 4, 2013)

Definitely. Two thumbs up!


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## rex (Jan 27, 2012)

Those pics should ease your mind.Now,if you had a longer trip up a ramp like the CZ or the 1911s,yeah they can be finicky with wide gaping hollow points or semi wadcutters,but your average HP or truncated cones usually don't pose a problem.The 1911s were known for this because they were designed for FMJ but some HPs would work.In order to be reliable they discovered a few decades ago the barrels needed to be throated so the edge of the other HPs and shoulder of SWCs wouldn't catch.Basically every service pistol designed for decades has been designed to feed HPs,and TCs will work.SWCs not always.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

Three thumbs up! Great visual, and explanation. Once, I had a bad magazine and my .40 rounds would nose dive in the magazine before making it into the chamber on my 96FS. Fixed the issue w/ the magazine and no problems since w/ the mag..


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## donk123 (Jun 6, 2013)

when i load a magazine,the top round is angled up. when i flick that round out with my finger,the second round sits flat with no upward tilt. when i insert a full magazine and lock the slide back to look in, the round is sitting flat with no upward tilt. am new to beretta, own s&w,walther,ruger & glock. don't know if this is normal for a beretta, but it is not for the others i own. called the dealer i ordered from and talked to a beretta armorer and explained what i was seeing. he told me for a beretta this is normal. don't know if i buy that. thought i'd throw this issue out there. i feel it is a magazine issue, but i'll have to run some rounds through it first.


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## donk123 (Jun 6, 2013)

just curious, if i do have a magazine issue, what did you do to fix yours. i think i have the same nose diving into the magazine going on?


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## rex (Jan 27, 2012)

Don't worry how the mag behaves out of the gun yet,wait until you shoot it.While that round is poking up now,things are different in the gun while shooting it.If that top round chambers,it's good.Once that round is chambered,the bottom of the slide is holding the rest of the rounds down at a different angle than the lips are.When the slide clears the next round on extraction/ejection the next round pops up to be stripped out for feeding.You can't duplicate this and the effect of recoil by hand.Shoot the mags you have,if there's an issue Beretta will replace the mags for you.I have 8 factory 92 mags and never had a problem with any,some have been cycled a lot and dropped on the ground in matches,but they still work fine.


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## donk123 (Jun 6, 2013)

hope you are right,rex. will be trying it out in 2 days. will give feedback then.


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## donk123 (Jun 6, 2013)

you are right,rex. took it out yesterday and put 300 smooth rounds through it. no issues at all. i did load up the mags and let them sit for about a week and that seemed to fix my little finger flick test. all the rounds came up witha nice upward angle. guess i overreacted. now i just have to get used to handling a beautiful piece. what a bummer!


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## steepcliff (Nov 27, 2013)

Steve is correct in my humble opinion. After shooting and having jams etc. Check for marks from the ammo on the ramp and at the top of ramp/////get out a dremel motor and a polishing wheel with some compound and go a little at a time. After shooting several boxes..........sooner or later your problem will be gone. I had the same issue with my px4 sub-compact. Now I can shoot anything threw it , with accuracy.


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## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

donk123 said:


> you are right,rex. took it out yesterday and put 300 smooth rounds through it. no issues at all. i did load up the mags and let them sit for about a week and that seemed to fix my little finger flick test. all the rounds came up witha nice upward angle. guess i overreacted. now i just have to get used to handling a beautiful piece. what a bummer!


Glad it ran well for you. That is about what I come to expect with Beretta...that is why I buy them. Happy shooting!


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## cs9314 (Jun 1, 2015)

I know the original thread is now two yeas old, but....I've got a 96A1 went thru Beretta's "Certified Used Firearm" program. Frame and barrel s/n's match but not the slide (indicating to me there was something wrong with the original slide, otherwise why would have Beretta replaced it?), and wonder if it's related to all the FTF's I am getting. There's no "Y" stamped after any of the s/n's on the frame/slide nor barrel so wondering what's up with that too. But, the real problem is the FTF's. LOTS OF THEM. Initially ran each of the 5 magazines (12 round and 11 round, all factory mags) loaded with both FMJ and JHP's w/o any problems. Next time out, get at least 1 FTF from every magazine, regardless of ammo brand/type/weight (and this is ALL the same ammo I used before that worked OK), and that is rare. Usually get 4 or more FTF's per magazine, from EVERY magazine so not just a mag problem. Gun was thoroughly striped, cleaned and carefully reassembled. NO, it's not a user issue of "limp wrist" here, have no problems from any of my other 12 semi's I own, just this one. 
Anyone have an idea? Beretta's customer service website is useless, waiting for them to call me back.


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

You say FTF's, what exactly are the rounds doing. Are the rounds nose diving, stove piping, failure to extract? If it were me I'd go the simplest deduction route. 1. Replace the Recoil Spring 2. I'd order 96 Wolff + 10% extra power magazine springs or order at least one and replace it in one of your magazines to see how it works.. 3. Possible extractor and spring replacement. Last idea is to order a Mec-Gar 13 round magazine for the 96 and see it that will work. If these recommendations don't do the trick I'd send the pistol to Beretta. I assume you are running a cleaned and lubed pistol as well. As mentioned in my earlier post I did have some nose diving issues with a couple of Beretta 96 factory mags which was cured by the magazine spring upgrade.


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