Sig Elite FMJ Ejection Problem

[Rather Civilianized]

I recently purchased a few boxes of Sig Elite Performance 45 acp 230 gr FMJ ammo. I noticed that the casings like to fly back into my face upon ejection. I ran the ammo through a few 1911s and an HK45C. All firearms directed ejected casings towards my right eye and the HK even experienced a stove pipe. This was surprising as this was the first time I had ever experienced a problem with an HK. The HK handled range reloads perfectly fine. I don't think I was doing anything particularly wrong while firing the handguns. I had a firm grip on everything I fired and all of the firearms put groupings less than 2.5 inches wide at 21 feet. The firearms were all lubed with ALG 0000 very thin grease. I did not experience casings to the face with range reloads, Winchester FMJ ammo, or Sig Elite Performance 45 acp 230 gr V-Crowns. Has anyone else experienced this with Sig's FMJ ammo or have any suggestions on remedying this issue? I may order another batch at a later time to test to see whether or not I had a bad batch of ammo from Sig.

[0ddl0t]

Sig ammo is very inconsistent. I'd rather shoot WWB

[mjmagee67]

Reload.....

[R.Mac]

No ammo expert here, but a reasonable deduction would be the rim on case is slightly different than the others ie; extractor is holding onto spent shell just a tad longer. Some precision measurements of shell will likely solve the question.

[BarrettM99]

Reload.....

I really want to get into reloading. I think that’s the next step in my evolution as a thinker/shooter. Being able to customize loads for a specific purpose and firearm is just amazing to me.

As for OP’s issue...I don’t think it’s the ammo.

[FeuerFrei]

Does it in all tested pistols. Powder charge is on the week side.
Return the ammo to Sig or whomever.

[Rather Civilianized]

Does it in all tested pistols. Powder charge is on the week side.
Return the ammo to Sig or whomever.

Any alternative ammo suggestions?

Any tips on what I should be actively trying to control while I'm shooting?

[BarrettM99]

Any alternative ammo suggestions?



Any tips on what I should be actively trying to control while I'm shooting?

It could be a number of things...grip, limp-wristing, or??

[FeuerFrei]

Any alternative ammo suggestions?

Try another box of a different brand 230gr. 45acp ball ammo.

It'll help define whether or not it's a mechanical problem with you, your pistols or the ammo.
Sig makes good ammo. Might be a bad lot # that you just happened to pick up. It happens.
My guess is your mechanicals are ok. 3/3 pistols have same signs of forehead ejection.
Weak ammo causes all kinds of ejection problems.

[Rather Civilianized]

It could be a number of things...grip, limp-wristing, or??

My grip is firm, slightly below shaking tight. I'm not squeezing the rest of my hand as I'm depressing the trigger. I have a slow steady squeeze as I'm breaking the trigger with the pad of my finger. I'm shooting at natural respiratory pause. I'm not limp wristing. Range reloads would have given me problems if I was. I have a high firm pistol grip as well with the pistol centered/aligned to my wrist. Any ideas what else I could be doing wrong to cause the poor ejection? I'm always open to technique improvement, but I'm getting the feeling that it's not my technique that's causing this. This isn't the first time I'm shooting these guns. It's the first time I'm experiencing ejection problems with trying out sig ball ammo. I don't have the same problems with sig hollow points.

[Rather Civilianized]

Try another box of a different brand 230gr. 45acp ball ammo.

I'll pick up some federal and try again next weekend. I'll report back my findings.

[Rather Civilianized]

Sorry for the delays. Schoolwork had me busy for a while. I went back to the range to test with alternative ammo (range reloads), and also with a few boxes of my remaining Sig ammo. It seems that I had a bad batch of ammo from Sig. I did get a grouping of 8 shots within the 10 ring of a 6 inch target using my M45A1 at 7 meters. No FTF FTE or other failures were experienced during the most recent range trip.

[sofbak]

The Sig Elite Performance 45 acp 230 gr FMJ ammo is rated at 850fps. All the other "factory ammo" you mentioned is rated at lower muzzle velocities. A hotter load means not only higher projectile velocities, but also higher slide velocities in the opposite direction. The faster the slide comes back, the more the ejected case will tend to be thrown backwards toward 6 o'clock (where your head is).