S&W Model 4006 .40 caliber - Ejection Failures

[uncledanny]

I am in the Kansas City area. A few days ago I purchased a model 4006 & 5 magazines in mint condition from the orginal owner who purchased it new in 1991. He had extractor problems & according to the letter from S&W they replaced the extractor and extractor spring. The previous owner told me he fired one magazine through it at the range & it functioned o.k. and it has been in the box since that time. Today I loaded 5 rounds of various ammo into each magazine and test fired it. Two magazines with Magtech 135 gr. SCHP 1190 fps mv/409 ft. lbs. did fine. One mag. with Underwood 135 gr. 1500/675 did fine. One mag. with winchester 155 gr. silvertip HP 1205 mv/500 me failed to eject the first round, I cleared the weapon and shot the other four rounds. The second mag. with Winchester failed to ejcet 2 out of five rounds. One mag. of Corbon 135 gr. JHP 1325fps mv/526 ft.lbs. me, failed to eject the second of five rounds. In each case the empty was no more than 1/8 inch out of the chamber and stuck right on top of the next round up in the magazine. Four failures to eject the empties in 30 rounds sounds like too many to me! I'm guessing it needs to go back to S&W. Any suggestions from the more experienced S&W enthusiasts?
Thanks,
Uncle Danny

[Steve M1911A1]

Sometimes ejection and extraction failures are based in the shooter's technique.
Are you holding the pistol tightly, with firmly-rigid arms? Do you follow-through?

This can happen with only certain rounds, too.
But your explanation seems to rule out faults in technique.

[uncledanny]

Is it possible that there was bad ammunition in both the Winchester and Corbon? Both are new purchases within the year.
Uncle Danny

[DJ Niner]

Welcome to the site!

Many years ago, the Alaska State Police carried the S&W 4006. I was told by at least one trooper that he had to keep his gun well-lubricated at all times if he wanted reliable performance. Especially if your gun had not been shot much by the previous owner, I'd recommend treating it like a new, not-quite-broken-in-yet handgun; keep it well-lubed, and shoot full-power ammo in it (whatever brand/type you can most easily afford), at least until it's been shot a couple hundred rounds. Then try the other stuff again and see how it handles it.

Personally, I wouldn't pass judgement on the reliability of ANY autoloading pistol based on just a few mags of ammo.

[uncledanny]

Thank you. Good advice. I have plenty of ammunition from several manufacturers that I use in my S&W 410S. The 4006 is very tight and very clean, both inside and out. I have some very hot ammo from Underwood, 135 grain 1500 mv - 675 me. At 21 feet it tears through 3 phone books and a bale of hay. I did disassemble it and clean and lube it but it was really not dirty inside even after I fired 30 rounds through it. The previous owner said he had fired no more than 50 rounds through it and it really appears to be in unfired condition. Not a scratch on it. I thought it was a good buy at $500.00 for the gun and 5 S&W magazines all in the original box. I bought it locally so I didn't have to pay shipping or FFL transfer, just a bill of sale. My son-in-law is a policeman and he ran the serial number for lost or stolen before I paid for it. I did verify where and when it was purchased new in 1991. I only own S&W hand guns and I like the 3rd. generation models with the external safety. But I have to confess that I also own an SD9 that I switched out the plastic gide rod and spring for stainless steel.

Thanks for your help
Uncle Danny

[uncledanny]

I sent it back to S&W for repair.

Uncle Danny

[DJ Niner]

Hope they get it fixed-up for you. Stoppages can be a huge source of frustration, especially in a gun you really like.

Good luck!

[Themajickman]

Good luck with the repair and welcome from Stone Mountain Georgia