Shot my first official match today

[jrdudas]

I shot my first official match today and it was fun.  We shot the entire match in the rain, but luckily extreme wisdom was demonstrated by the folks that built the range and we were able to stay under roof the whole time. 

My times didn't impress anyone, including me, but out of 6 stages I was clean on at least 3 and maybe 4.  I had the same problem a couple of times on different stages with my rifle.  It's a Marlin 1894CB and I never have a feeding problem when I use nickle plated rounds.  The brass rounds occassionally stick and have to be coaxed along.  Does this happen to anyone else.  I'm trying to figure out if the brass is softer and more prone to hanging up, or maybe it's just not as slick.  I haven't been able to find RNFP ammo locally so I got some from Ammo Direct.  What arrived is brass rounds so I will be using them for some time.  Is there a common fix for this problem of hanging up when using brass rounds. 

One of the stages that I took a miss on was because I had to eject a round that would not seat; I didn't have a spare on me so it counted as a miss.  I have fired several practice sessions using nickle plated rounds that were provided by the club during a training session and everything worked very nicely with no hang ups.

What do you think.

JR
   

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Which bullets are in those rounds, JR? RNFP's will feed better than SWC's. Bullet weight will sometimes play a factor as well.You didn't mention caliber either. Lever guns can be real sensitive as far as OAL goes...........Buck

[Micheal Fortune]

Congratulations jrdudas!

Life will never be the same now.   I haven't had those problems, but you will get it all worked out soon, it's all part of the game.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Congrats, pard. It is addictive. 

Slim

[jrdudas]

With regard to the ammo; I'm shooting .38 Special.  I have shot RNFP and RNRP with nickle plating and had no trouble.  I have also shot RNFP and RNRP in brass and had trouble with both.  So, I am focused on the brass being the problem.  I stopped by my local gun shop today and talked to them about it and they agree that nickle plated rounds are just a lot slicker than brass.  I also posted my question on another website and one response said that for many years the protection forces (police, sheriff, Highway Patrol, etc) have used nickle plated for that very reason.  When their life may depend on proper function they want to minimize the risk.

I'm told that the down side of nickle plated rounds is that for those who reload they will not last as long as brass.  Since I don't reload at present that's not an issue for me.  The next problem is finding an affordable supplier.  Back to the research mode.

JR

[Four-Eyed Buck]

You might try polishing that chamber some. Peersonally, I find that the nickeled cases do split quicker , I believe something in the plating process does something chemically to the brass......Buck