First trip to range on a newly acquired Smith/Wesson 9mm SW99. Put 100 rounds through it with about 8 Failure to feed and sevearl failures to eject. Very disappointed in the performance, especially right out of the box. Never had this experience with ruger P90 and Mk1 that I aslo own.

Any thougts? How is Smith/Wesson's customer service

The most common mistake people make when wringing out a new handgun, is failure to disassemble, clean, lube and reassemble. Also some springs may take a number of rounds to break in. Shoot about 500 and get back please! I'm interested in if this improves your shooting!

:D

First trip to range on a newly acquired Smith/Wesson 9mm SW99. Put 100 rounds through it with about 8 Failure to feed and sevearl failures to eject. Very disappointed in the performance, especially right out of the box. Never had this experience with ruger P90 and Mk1 that I aslo own.

Any thougts? How is Smith/Wesson's customer service

Clean it, perhaps polish the ramp a wee bit, try a couple different brands of ammo during the first couple hundred rounds.

After that (and even before), I'd say give them a call, you don't lose anything but time. Manufacturers have to get called when stuff like this happens. If you call, it will only improve their quality and you're liable to receive a little something for your trouble. Besides, if nobody calls, they don't think they have a problem.

If you want to get comped, it generally helps if you mention that you have owned several SW pistols (i.e. "my dad bought me a sw when i was 18, never had a prolem and i've bought sw ever since, etc etc) and try to push "brand loyalty". Mention you gave your nephew / kid / whoever a sw knife for their birthday, etc. Small stuff like that helps.

I presume that if you mention that the feeding defects don't make you feel that this is a reliable weapon and that it is a safety issue if you ever carry concealed. I've never tried that approach with a gun manufacturer before, but generally once you mention safety, the csr is much more willing to deal with you / transfer you to someone who can.

PR is really important to all companies, they don't need someone complaining to every person they meet that new SW's jam / don't feed. Give them a chance to restore your confidence in their brand.

while i don't know much about the sw99, i have a walther p99 which functions flawlessly. on the other hand, I have a couple of friends on the police dept. here in Rock Hill, SC, and they carry the sw99 in 9mm. They're all pretty happy with them, so yours is either a lemon or needs cleaning.

Sorry to hear about your difficulty. The only question that I would have is it the same lot of ammo? I have expirienced similar first impressions with pistols that I wanted to throw into the lake, and when I changed the ammo, everything perked right along.

In this respect, I don't use much American Eagle ammo, as several years ago it tied up a 38, 357, and refused to cycle a beretta 92f.

I have found that guns that are not particular about ammo, perform adequately, but not exceptionally with about everything, and my guns that are particular stink up the place with loads they dislike, but excel with the load they prefer.

I had a Kahr that would shoot 135s like a match gun, but would choke to death on 180s. Same with my Kimber 45, it can't stand light bullets. My Kimber 10 hates 180 grain from Master Cart, but can shoot 155 grain anythings, and shot one hole with some 200 grain solids that I put together.

I only fired 155s in my Walther 99, but it would rap the end of my trigger finger, and that annoyed me so much I got shed of it. It just didn't fit, I guess.

Good luck to you, Friend.

Steve

Despite your experience with the Rugers, most semi's need more than a hundred rounds through them before you can expect perfect performance. And...well...it IS an S&W. Motto: "A century-plus of great revolvers, but our autos tend to suck." :)
Shoot your gun a bunch more; different loads if you can. Clean carefully and often. This will either cure your failures, or make them worse. Real broke gets more broke, broken in gets better.
If the piece isn't perking at 100% after 300 more rounds, get S&W service involved as a last resort. If you have to send it to the factory, plan on a long separation and don't expect perfect satisfaction.
Since the package-shipping boys have gotten a hair across it about firearms, your best bet would be to have the dealer where you bought the piece do your shipping for you. It isn't widely known, but an FFL holder can MAIL guns to other FFL's. He can send it through USPS much more cheaply than by way of Big Brown or Fed-OX.
Hopefully, a good break-in regimen will make this a non-problem for you.
Most Rugers I've known did the same: Start good, get better. Can't expect this from other brands, as a rule.

I have a bone stock SW99 I purchased in September, and have put 500 rounds through it so far with Winchester whiteboxed ammo. I have had no FTF or FTE with the gun whatsoever.

Is it possible that the gun dislikes the ammo you are using or possibly that you are limp wristing the firearm?

J

So, is the 99 made by Walther or S&W?

I concur with previous replies-shoot the gun more and clean it after every 100 rounds. Vary the brand and type of ammo used. If you still have problems at 500-600 rounds, call S&W. Their service department is excellent.

the 99 design, whether by Walther or Smith [small difference in shape of slide] is VERY sensitive to limp wristing. now I'm not accusing you of anything, but my experiences with my Walther in 40 started the same way.
Being the first POLY Pistol I owned, I was not accustomed to the grip and feel. I ended up going with the smallest grip insert to cure my problem. now, at over 1000 round of 40 bangers. it's still flawless.

So, is the 99 made by Walther or S&W?

When visiting the factory last year I found out that Smith & Wesson manufactures and distributes the Walther in the US.