45acp cases denting on ejection

[razerface]

USP 45 Tact.....denting cases on ejection. Small dent,, approx .100 long crease,, about 1/4 inch from open end of case.

I fired 100 shells today, all of them have it. I can't seem to find a mark on the slide where they are hitting. Should I find contact area and chamfer slide area,,,replace spring? Ejector doesn't look replaceable.Anyone else have this?

[softmentor]

Just a wild stab, any chance it could be the magazine?

[Shakey]

Were you firing light loads, or have you installed a heavier than stock recoil spring?

[SIGtrarian]

Just a wild stab, any chance it could be the magazine?Doubtful, probably skimming the the very edge of the left side ofthe ejection port, at the top. I wouldn't chamfer anything. My USP40f does the same thing.

[razerface]

Did it exactly the same with 3 different mags.

Firing 230gr fmj Winchester,Federal, and Fiocchi (sp?)factory loads. No light recoil loads.

I have never changed the springs, but bought gun used. Maybe I won't clean gun and shoot more till I can see where they hit. I assume top,rear corner of ejection port.

Want to fix as I will reload my empties. I have to relieve my 1911's ejection ports sometimes,,,,

[razerface]

Doubtful, probably skimming the the very edge of the left side ofthe ejection port, at the top. I wouldn't chamfer anything. My USP40f does the same thing.


doesn't look like a scrape,,it is dented.

[razerface]

Were you firing light loads, or have you installed a heavier than stock recoil spring?


you think a heavier or lighter spring would cause this? I think I want to replace the springs before I chisel on the slide,,,,

Thinking about it, I don't think all the cases were landing close together, sorta erratic but not extremely erratic ejection.

[orfeo]

My USP Compact 45 does this too. . . maybe about half of my ejected casings get that dent on their first firing. I don't think it is a problem, and I sure wouldn't go to filing on my slide over it. Gun runs perfectly, and I also reload all my own ammo, using those same slightly dented casings over and over with absolutely no issues of any kind.

I run 230 gr Montana Gold FMJs at 870 fps on top of 6.2 gr Unique and Winchester WLP large pistol primers out of used Remington UMC brass with my USPc 45. :)

[razerface]

My USP Compact 45 does this too. . . maybe about half of my ejected casings get that dent on their first firing.

are you telling me they don't get another dent on the 2nd firing?

[jayjaytuner]

maybe too heavy of spring

[orfeo]

are you telling me they don't get another dent on the 2nd firing?

Ha ha ha, I guess I had that coming! :)

What I mean to say is that about half of my once-fired brass has ejection dents. About 80%of my six and seven-times-fired 45 caliber brass has ejection dents. After resizing and reloading however, the finished ammo barely shows the dents. They are detectable if you are specifically looking for them, but could be mistaken for a random scratch if you didn't know better.

The 45 is a very forgiving, low pressure handgun round. Those little dents are inconsequential. Most often the case-mouths will split before anything else when the brass is too fatigued.

If you file your slide to relieve the ejection port, it may or may not correct the "problem", but it will most certainly harm the resale value of the firearm. You will also be removing the HE finish wherever you file it, and then it will rust quite readily unless you have the slide refinished. It's your gun, and you are free to tinker if that's your bag, but you asked for opinions and mine is that you don't need to worry about those perfectly normal little ejection dents.

I also have a CZ 75 SP-01, and it's just born for tinkering. There are lots of aftermarket parts and enhancements available for it, and in fact, if you don't do at least SOME tinkering, it will not unleash much of it's potential. Less than ten dollars and 5 minutes worth of smoothing/polishing/spring-changing made it 1000% better. I911s are the same way and even moreso. HKs are a totally different state-of-mind. . . while there may be some few established upgrades, they are definitely not tinkerers guns. For the most part, they don't really need it, they don't really benefit by it, and there are little or no products or support for tinkering. HKs are expensive, and are at the top of their value in their original configuration. Many on here and elsewhere have tried to improve upon the design of their HK. In the end, they end up with a gun which has been seriously compromised in one way or another, and still does not do what (for example) a 1911 does as well as a 1911 does it. When you buy a 1911 (for example), you are buying a basic platform upon which you build-up your gun according to your tastes and your budget. Not so with an HK. The HK is intended to be optimized already when you receive it. You are not buying a basic platform upon which to build-up your gun, but a finished product, as-is. It is a totally different mentality. :)

[Kochaholic]

You think a heavier or lighter spring would cause this? I think I want to replace the springs before I chisel on the slide,,,,

Definitely, especially heavier springs. Please don't chisel on your slide. Replace the springs. If it is not the springs, nothing is wasted, you now have spare springs.

I have never changed the springs, but bought gun used.
With a used gun, you should not assume anything.

First thing to do is to change the springs. Be sure your ammo is not under powered. Confirm this with good factory ammo.

If the above does not solve the problem, the problem lies with the extractor and/or it's spring. Easiest way to remedy this is replacement. Make sure you clean and lube the extractor crevice.

I am assuming (should never do that) that you have confirmed beyond a doubt that this is happening upon extraction and not on feeding (which would explain the lack of brass extraction marks) If not, run a lot of loaded ammo through it without firing to confirm. Hope you get it straitened out.

[razerface]

Ha ha ha, I guess I had that coming! :)



I wasn't being a smartbutt :) I have fired nothing but new factory loaded rounds thru this gun. Thought maybe a fire formed case sealed better on 2nd firing and sealed better,,making it eject different,,,ect. I guess that would mean they were crimped too small in a 45 though.

Does yours take out the first dent from pressure and put in a new dent after being reloaded and fired?

[razerface]

You think a heavier or lighter spring would cause this? I think I want to replace the springs before I chisel on the slide,,,,

Definitely, especially heavier springs. Please don't chisel on your slide. Replace the springs. If it is not the springs, nothing is wasted, you now have spare springs.


First thing to do is to change the springs. Be sure your ammo is not under powered. Confirm this with good factory ammo.


I notice lots of people advise to use wolf springs. Are they heavier? I am thinking of buying a stock HK spring to get a baseline with.

Maybe chisel is a strong word? :) I am used to relieving my 1911 so they don't mark cases. I would like to investigate all other causes, but I will cut the slide if I have to. It will drive me crazy to dent all my cases.

If the above does not solve the problem, the problem lies with the extractor and/or it's spring. Easiest way to remedy this is replacement. Make sure you clean and lube the extractor crevice.

I did notice a couple of empties have deep extractor marks on rim. Will check and clean that.

I am assuming (should never do that) that you have confirmed beyond a doubt that this is happening upon extraction and not on feeding (which would explain the lack of brass extraction marks) If not, run a lot of loaded ammo through it without firing to confirm.

Yes I did. I hand cycled 3 mags worth thru without a mark.

[orfeo]

I wasn't being a smartbutt :) I have fired nothing but new factory loaded rounds thru this gun. Thought maybe a fire formed case sealed better on 2nd firing and sealed better,,making it eject different,,,ect. I guess that would mean they were crimped too small in a 45 though.

Does yours take out the first dent from pressure and put in a new dent after being reloaded and fired?

I wish I could easily post a picture for you, but yes, about half of the brass gets a new dent upon re-firing and ejecting. The previous dents are minimized by the resizing/reloading process moreso than by pressure from the actual re-firing. The re-firing further minimizes them to some small extent, I would think as well.

Don't know if you did a good search on this, but I do remember this topic coming up several times in the past. . . These dents are quite common. :)

As for the springs, the recoil spring is rather oversprung to begin with (like i think jayjaytuner said). If anything, a slightly softer recoil spring will improve ejection since most American target ammo is cooler than hot. In fact, especially when these guns are NIB there are sometimes issues caused by stiff recoil springs with cool ammo. Chances are, if the gun and mags you bought does not show much wear, it probably has the original HK recoil spring in it, and it is probably not even fully broken-in yet, hence is still pretty damn stiff. If your gun is a fullsize USP Tactical 45, you can buy a recoil spring from Wolff in several different weights. If it is a USP Compact Tactical 45, then you are limited to buying from HK. Personally, I like the characteristics of a well-worn recoil spring the best.

The main reason you hear about Wolff springs on here is related to the mag-springs. The Wolff +10% mag-springs are helpful in resolving issues on the guns that need it. They are thicker and heavier, and a side effect is that they make the mags MUCH harder to laod up.

If you do file your slide, I will be very interested to see how it works out for you! Good luck with it either way. :)