I have a Para P16-40 I converted to 10mm many years ago. I carried the bug as an EDC gun for 3-4 years. I really prefer the 1911 platform, though to be honest it is because I like levers and buttons, and the 1911 has them.
I never was able to achieve the holy grail of feeding an empty brass casing from the magazine. The gun ran fine with good mags, so this wasn't a big concern, and none of my other guns will do this either. But I always thought it would be cool.
About 8-9 months ago I picked up an EGW match grade thick flange barrel bushing on closeout. It was one of those add-on's that caught my eye as I was checking out at Brownells or Midway or somewhere. It went in the parts bin for when I had some time to fit it to a gun.
Night before last I had a few minutes and decided to fit it up to my P16. The bushing started out .005" too small and I opened it up to exactly .001" over the barrel OD. Assembled the gun, added a spot of oil and ran the action. Very smooth.
I happened to spot a new starline 10mm case on my desk, and thought, what the heck....so into an empty mag it went, into the gun, and when I slingshotted the slide, it went straight into the chamber. I was floored.
Fluke. That is what it had to be. A complete fluke.
So I tried it again. And again. And again.
In fact, it worked 7 times in a row before I had to move on. And three more times last night.
The barrel is a bit tighter when unlocked than it was before. I guess that is making the difference. A difference I am very happy about.
Sounds great that your slight change has made a welcomed difference... 8)