[flyandscuba]

Many people have expressed that the feed reliability is diminished when utilizing a full magazine (10 rounds) with the +1 extension installed.

I occassionally had this difficulty when utilizing the .40 S&W barrel and hollow point ammunition. I felt that it was less of an issue when utilizing the .357 Sig barrel because the necked cartridge case allowed easier feeding. Therefore, I dedicated my P-40 to a P-357 for carry use. (I still like the ballistics and recoil of the .357 Sig better)

However, after taking delivery of a stock of the Cor-bon Pow'Rball ammunition in .40 S&W (intended for use in my Steyr M-40), I decided to revisit the feed problems with the KT P-40.

I reinstalled the .40 S&W barrel in my P-40 and decided to conduct a test at the range today. I loaded the magazine with the +1 extension completely, chambered a round -- then removed the magazine an filled the void from the chambered cartridge and reinserted the magazine. This would be my "normal" concealed carry configuration (10 +1 rounds).

I went through this process and fired one round. The cycling of the spent case and picking up of the fresh round from a full +1 magazine is where I had feeding problems before. It was never an issue with only 9 rounds in the magazine.

I performed this evolution 10 times with Cor-bon 135 gr hollow point ammunition. Two times out of the ten, I had a failure to feed -- with the top round in the full +1 magazine nosing down into the bottom of the feed ramp. So, a 20% failure rate -- 80% reliability.

I then fired 10 evolutions of the Cor-bon 135 gr Pow'Rball in the same fashion as described above. ZERO failures to feed from the full magazine with +1 extension installed! 100% reliability.

So, my conclusion is that the use of the Pow'Rball ammunition (with it's "FMJ ball" profile) in a full +1 magazine out of a P-40 may reduce any failure to chamber/feed issues that have been experienced by other owners.

Ballistic tests of this ammunition shows excellent expansion, penetration and weight retention. The Pow'Rball will become my primary concealed carry load in the .40S&W, .357 Sig, and.....when released, the .380 Auto for the P-3AT.

 

[Midiman]

Hmmm 200+ rounds of Corbon in an afternoon... you spent some money today! Hopefully others will benefit from your expenditure!

 

[flyandscuba]

HAW! Nope -- only 20 rounds.....

I only fired the first round out of the 20 evolutions....because it was that first cartridge in the full +1 magazine that seemed to cause the previous problems. Once the tension is released to 9 rounds or less in the +1 magazine, I have not had any feed reliability issues.

flyandscuba....whose not THAT rich, nor who's hand could take 200 rounds of Cor-bon in one session!

 

[Midiman]

I misread. :idea:

 

[KeysBear]

scuba,
Sounds like we've had similar experiences with the +1 extension. It won't feed low every time - maybe one out of five, but that's enough to make it too risky for carry. Using the 22 lb. recoil springs that I have causes extreme bullet setback on those low rounds. OTOH, I've never had a failure to feed using Winchester FMJ. I had planned on doing exactly what you did with the Pow'Rball, figuring that it would help that top round find it's way up the ramp. How is the Pow'Rball priced compared to regular CorBon 135 JHP?

My solution before now was to just go with a regular 9 round mag and put a P-11 finger rest on it. After finishing the first mag I could then use the 10 rounders, because once the P-40 got warmed up a little it never had a feeding failure. If the Pow'Rball solves the feeding problem then I can go back to carrying 10+1.

Thanks for the report.

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[flyandscuba]

Keys,

$14.20 for 20 regular Cor-bon 135 gr. .40 S&W
$17.75 for 20 Pow'Rball 135 gr. .40 S&W

These prices are from Cor-bon direct -- from their website. If buying at your retail gun shop, you will probably be paying $16 for regular and $20 for the Pow'Rball

I'm not going to be shooting very much of it -- so the price difference is worth it to me for the added reliability.

 

[KeysBear]

I finally stopped using the P-40 mags. I shot 100 rounds today with no failures to feed using P-11 mags. So I'm carrying 8+1, but I feel good with my 155 grain Gold Dots.

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[flyandscuba]

I've gone back to the .357 Sig exclusively in my P-40/P-357 -- using the Pow'Rball load and carrying 9 in the P-40 mag with the +1 extension in the gun with one in the tube and 10 in the spare mag with the +1 extension.

I really like these Pow'Rball loads. When/if they become available in the .380 ACP -- they'll be in my P-3AT.

 

[KeysBear]

I don't see the point of carrying a 357 SIG which uses essentially a 9mm bullet. I like the idea of taking a bigger bite.

Regards, Keys 8)