If I mess up, I’ll fess up. This one is a hard pill to swallow for me, because I’ve written articles on this topic before and I didn’t take my own advice.
I can’t find the article right now, but it’s out there, and it’s been discussed in numerous articles over the years.
Here’s what happened.
Yesterday, I went to the range with a few GLOCK’s. One was not yet fired, and the other two came along for the ride because they all shared the same caliber.
I brought three guns: G19X, G26, G19
I brought three different rounds, all from the same manufacturer: 115gr HP, 124gr HP, 147gr HP.
The manufacturer, Underwood Ammo, has been my carry ammo for about 4 years now. I love what they produce, and it’s never failed me.
I start with the G19X. I run a magazine of each of the three different rounds that I brought along. They all ran through perfectly.
Next was the G19. Same as above, I used the same ammo in the same manner as with the 19X. They all ran through perfectly.
Last was the G26. I started with the 124gr rounds. Chambering a round was no problem. The first shot was no problem. The second… failure to feed.
I tried it again, and had the same result. I messed around with a few different things, but for some reason I continued to get a failure to feed on the next round. Every. Single. Time.
I scratch my head and move on to the 115gr round. Flawless.
Last was the 147gr round. Perfection.
For some reason, my G26 didn’t like the 124gr HP’s that I was trying to use. I’m not sure why, because I’ve never had a problem with any other ammo in this particular gun, ever. Even with the same manufacturer.
Here’s the kicker, and the part that leaves me upset with myself.
For a few years, I carried the G26 with the 115gr HP round. Around 2 months ago, I swapped the rounds for the 124gr HP from the same manufacturer.
I carried that gun for 2 months. If I ever needed it, I would have been able to fire one shot before needing to clear a FTF. I didn’t practice with that round in that gun at the range.
When I did go to the range in those 2 months, I was using a different G26 than the one I carry, and I wasn’t running the 124gr HP through it.
If you’ve followed along, I can imagine that you’re shaking your head at your phone or computer screen. “Brandon, man, you gotta practice with the rounds you carry!”
I’ve learned that, even though I had faith in the ammo itself, and is probably the reason why I just swapped out the rounds and didn’t think about taking it to the range –just to make sure the gun accepted them–, I need to be doing this on a regular basis. If ammo is ever swapped out that I haven’t carried before and I’m not regularly using that gun at the range, I need to bring it along or make a special trip to make sure that everything is functioning properly before carrying that firearm with that ammo.
Since this mishap, I switched back to the 115gr HP rounds that I know are flawless with my G26. I also contacted the manufacturer to see if they’ve had any issues with this particular setup, so I’ll update here when I receive the information.
