Double Feed Jam Ruger p345

[Esau]

I get double feed jams on my Ruger kp345pr every hundred rounds or so. To duplicate the jam, put a loaded magazine in the pistol, pull the slide back, engage the slide stop, lay a bullet on top of the round in the magazine and gently nudge it a little bit into the barrel, then release the slide stop. Clear it by pulling the slide back, engage the slide stop, pull the bullet out and release the slide stop.

Ruger Manual

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/PDF/InstructionManuals/51.pdf

Ruger Overview

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=6645&return=Y

[leftiye]

So you have a cartridge jumping out of the magazine? Loose magazine lips?

[35remington]

Is this jam occurring with any number of rounds in the magazine or just when a couple are left?

If the cartridges are jumping out of the magazine when there's only a couple left in it, then I suspect you're using the 8 shot Ruger magazines that are common to your gun and my Ruger P97, and you've got Wimp Magazine Spring Disease.

Let me guess - smooth follower, short skirt in the rear rather than full length as in a seven shot 1911 magazine (these are, in effect, 1911 magazines as they're the same dimensions). Feedlips have a crimp near the back. Rounds launch themselves out of the magazine or pop out before they're supposed to and cause double feeding, with the loose round pushed forward into the chamber by the one below it.

Cause: most likely, weak springs from trying to cram 8 shots into a flush fit magazine where only seven shots can reasonably go.

I can tell you stories about this. My current upgrades are switching the guts of the mags to seven shot format, which uses a seven shot spring, which is longer because the magazine has more room for it, and much more powerful than the wimp springs in the P97/P345 eight shot magazines.

Another possibility is to use the Wolff 10% extra power springs to improve magazine retention ability (stronger spring holds the round more firmly in place as the slide smacks the recoil abutment of the frame) and prevent rounds from being launched due to inertial forces. The eight shot in a seven shot space format is inherently suspect; throw a marginal magazine spring, which get made all the time, into the equation and jams are likely.

Push the follower into the magazine with your thumb. Easy to do? Now, how about shoving the follower into the magazine, rocking it backwards so the follower is now vertical rather than horizontal?

Sorta like this?

This is a McCormick magazine, but it has the same follower and spring type and suffers from the same disease:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johnnyrem/DSC02140.jpg

Notice how easy this is to do?

This isn't good; there's a reason why this is happening to you, and this is it, I suspect.

[Esau]

Sounds like it is worth a try 35Remington, but I don't know where to find the spring.

[35remington]

Look at Midway's catalog. They offer a Wolff extra power spring for P90/97/345 in the eight shot format. However, you're still stuck with the crappy McCormick type follower, which doesn't exactly promote reliability itself with its tendency to tilt and nosedive. The eighth shot is a huge liability with the follower that you must use in this magazine. That eighth shot compromises everything, and it's not worth it.

I have the stronger springs, but I also went to the seven shot format, substituting the 7 round magazine shell (with no problematic crimp that doesn't work right with stronger springs) and anti tilt follower.

This is probably the best way to go.

[Esau]

I hate to admit it, but I went to the range, bought a box of factory 45 FMJ and they fed flawlessly through the gun. Furthermore, they fed easier into the magazine and finally, they significantly improved my accuracy. Now if they just didn't cost so much...