This is my Arex Delta Gen 2, which I acquired late April – and which I want to like a lot more than I do…
In specs it’s exactly what I wanted: a very modern plastic striker gun with a decent trigger and an optic cut, and a trigger guard that works with gloves. But it has not proven reliable, with at least one and sometimes as many as three failures to feed per magazine. No matter which magazine I’m using. And that’s after I’ve put over 700 rounds through the gun, so it’s got no break-in excuses.
Longtime readers know how often I switch guns: I’ve had four principal handguns in almost twenty years. I tend to carry a gun for a long time between upgrades, because I’m one of the poors. So when I finally got a real modern 9mm you can imagine my distress when it turned out I can’t depend on it.
Now, all these failures have been with 115 FMJ practice ammo. I’ve only put one magazine of the good stuff through the gun, for obvious reasons, and that mag ran flawlessly but one mag dump doesn’t prove anything. Still, on the theory that sometimes you can get a gun that’s just a bit ammo-sensitive I went to the gun shop in the biggish town about 35 miles away and bought a rather large variety of 115 FMJ 9mm. The clerk may have thought I was a little off-plumb.
And you know the one brand that the Arex hasn’t jammed on even one single time? Through almost an entire boxful?
I didn’t even know you could still buy this stuff; didn’t Biden do an importation ban on Russian ammo just to be a dick? And with the possible exception of Tula, is there a lower-quality ammo anywhere? But so far the Arex feeds them perfectly.
Go figure – maybe it’s an Eastern European thing.
FTF, I’d be measuring the overall length of those wolf pills to see if they’re shorter/longer than the other rounds.
Are rounds consistent on jam? If not nosing up on to the feed ramp I’d blame mag lips to be adjusted *but you shouldn’t have to do that* Ditto if it’s hitting top of breech.
Since it’s consistent (?) across mags though, I’d be looking real close at that feed ramp. Burrs, gouges, machine marks, discontinuities on the bullet path out of the mag into the chamber?
For Dogs sake, we’ve been building various versions of ‘plastic’ pistols feeding 9mm for decades. This should _not_ be a problem.
And I’m one of ‘them’, but I won’t say you should have gotten a Glock sumpin’ or ‘nother gen 1 thru 3. (grin)
Alan E.
Why only 115gr cartridges? Have you tried performance with 124s or sumptin’ else?
Try
Try some 124’s. My kimber micro says to only use them. The 115’s will sometimes jam. Get a box of 124’s and find out. I use 124 FMJ’s & cast gas checked with no problem.
Purely because of cost. As I said, I put a mag-full of Sig Sauer 124 grain hollowpoints through it and it worked perfectly. But that was an expensive experiment, not just in money but in opportunity cost – it’s harder to get than 115 FMJ. If I were convinced that the Arex will never jam with the good stuff I would be content but one magazine full doesn’t prove anything. I’ve never bought ammo online, maybe I should try that.
When Ukraine was “invaded” I bought every box of Tula 5.56mm I could afford bc I knew what was gonna happen to firearms related commerce with Russia. I’ll say this for the commie arms factories; their output aren’t shiny eye-pleasing works of art like the Germans, Italians, Americans, or the Swiss make but it generally costs way less, it stores well for a long time, and it’s reliable & decently accurate in my rifle. Like Cooper said (to paraphrase) about combat rifles; They must be dependable and reliably kill. All else is fluff. My EDC is a hand loaded GP100 (SS version). Sorry to high jack your thread but there is my 2¢. You use what you have as well as you can. All else is fluff.
You might want to try some heavier bullets. My understanding is that American 115gr range ammo is a bit on the anemic side – your pistol may simply have been designed with full power service ammunition in mind. Trying some tad spicier range ammo along the lines of 124gr Sellier & Bellot might be a good idea; should be cheaper than hollow points but still have a bit more oomph than 115gr FMJ’s.
Joel, If you are going to look into buying online let me suggest you try sgammo.com. Their prices are usually the best around or at least very competitive and shipping is fast and it’s free if you order $299 or more.
Just my .02
Eric.
If you’ll email a copy of your local FFL, I’ll sendja something for free that you might like better.
CZ: As much as I appreciate the offer and never want to discourage anyone from giving me free stuff, the logistics of that present difficulties I don’t know how to overcome. There is no local FFL I’m aware of, a fact that frequently perplexes me.
If you are anywhere near Snowflake AZ, you might drop in and see these folks can be of service.
https://mypersonalgunstore.org/mainmenu.html
And have you ever tried calling the holster manufacturer to see what a TRUE custom would cost for your rig?
I’m wondering about power levels and recoil spring strength. Is the spring so heavy that with a reduced power level it’s short stroking the slide ??
Ian has that nifty high speed camera…..are those any good for diagnosing ft-x?
. . . and Ian would be a good source of opinion on the entire matter, 😉
Kentucky