Did his "good cleaning" involve a thorough polishing/cleaning of the chamber?
If the round is sticking while still protruding that far out of the chamber it is either
A - Dirty/Corroded chamber as semiautos are notorious for being muzzle cleaned, thus the goop gets left in the chamber most of the time
B - If it is a magazine fed model, the lips may be buggered causing the cartridges to jam, and slow the bolt.
Could be a combination of both. Slow bolt and a nasty chamber.
