S/W Victory 38 special
I was shooting the above revolver
yesterday when there was a loud report
and heavier than normal recoil.
I stopped, checked the barrel for obstructions.
None,so I finished the cylinder off.
I had a heck of a time ejecting the spent
shells to the point of tapping the rod with
a piece of wood. One cylinder(and I should have
marked it) still have the bullet nose lodged in it.
I had a difficult time tapping the bullet out.
I shoot 158gr Laser Cast LSWC over 4 grs Unique
with cci primers.
I'm concerned now that these loads are too strong
for this old gun and I might have badly weakened
a chamber.
I'm concerned ,even worried about shooting this
gun again.
Any comments?...Ron
yesterday when there was a loud report
and heavier than normal recoil.
I stopped, checked the barrel for obstructions.
None,so I finished the cylinder off.
I had a heck of a time ejecting the spent
shells to the point of tapping the rod with
a piece of wood. One cylinder(and I should have
marked it) still have the bullet nose lodged in it.
I had a difficult time tapping the bullet out.
I shoot 158gr Laser Cast LSWC over 4 grs Unique
with cci primers.
I'm concerned now that these loads are too strong
for this old gun and I might have badly weakened
a chamber.
I'm concerned ,even worried about shooting this
gun again.
Any comments?...Ron
0
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Hello,
Hopefully somebody can give me some info
on a trade I just made.
I traded my SR9c +400 rounds of reloads for a
Smith and Wesson 5 screw victory model.
The Serial# is V 648139. The barrel is 4" long
and the gun seems to be nickel plated,but I see
Markings that look worn but the plating is shiny new.
Also I see markings that might help identification.
Just forward of the hammer on the frame above
the recoil shield is the letter P.
Underneath the ejector rod is the letter N .
I see the letter S on the crane next
to the hinge (cylinder open).
The nickle is starting to flake next to the screw
at the base of the hammer.There's a lot of tool
marks that weren't buffed out very well before it
was plated.
Question is: What do I have and was it worth the SR9c +400 rds
of my handloads.If it were up to me I'd say it's only a shooter.
Thanks Ron0 -
well, the pistol isn't 'old' by most standards and can be fired with '+p' ammo. it 'sounds' like you had a over loaded cartridge. (no pun intended). if the cylinder isn't damaged you should be ok. 0 -
Thank you for your reply.
Ron0 -
That is a pretty mild load... the ones that actually did contain 4 grains of Unique.
quote:One cylinder(and I should have
marked it) still have the bullet nose lodged in it.
I had a difficult time tapping the bullet out.
This sounds very strange. Are you saying that the bullet itself was left stuck in the cylinder? Maybe the reason the cases appeared hard to extract was that you were pulling that bullet out of its cartridge. But you said you "finished the cylinder off" after the overload.
What really happened here?0 -
wait a minute are you saying you had a PROJECTILE LOGGED in the cylinder after you "finished the cylinder off" Icant tell what you did Wrong but it sounds like you may have had a double charge of powder in one of your reloads and NO powder in another this can be very dangerous to you and others reloading is something that needs 100% quality control. 0 -
Yes the bullet was left stuck
in the Cylinder and all 6 rounds
went off0 -
That's exactly what happened
Karl, but the way I reload it's really hard
to over charge. I use a single stage
press. I look at each cartridge for powder
level immediately after I drop the charge.
I weight every 15th drop.
Once I fill a 50 count loading block up,
I visually check each powder level against
others in the block for anomalies.
Then I seat and crimp0 -
We're all human! I'm glad this was only an eye opener and not a trip to your local E/R for stitches.
As a reloader who also uses a hand-operated powder dispenser and single stage press to finish my handloads the situation you report sounds exactly like a double charge in one case, and a squib in the next one. None of us here are above making an error every once in a while, and this shows just how important a triple-check can be.
Just to double check the gun I'd disassemble it and take a micrometer and measure your cylinder's chambers, use a magnifying glass to check the cylinder, crane, frame for little cracks, etc.0 -
The only thing I would have done differently is completely unload the gun and check the casings before continuing to shoot rather than just checking the barrel.
Just to be on the safe side.0 -
The loading block is your friend. I use a powder measure also. I charge every case in the block, then visually inspect every case level under a strong light comparing neighbors. I then take the end row (5) and check the charge in each case on the scales, returning the charge to the case and then the case back to the block. Once again checking levels before setting bullets in every case. I then seat/crimp the bullets.
4 grs of unique is a mild load. 3.8 gr is starting in my old book, 8 is listed as max in a 357. I suspect that perhaps a few grains were hung up and got in with the case.
I would be checking each chamber in the cylinder with a split ball gauge, also checking the depth of each bolt notch looking for bulges. If nothing out of ordinary is found your pistol is more than likely just fine.
Usually a primer only will push a bullet into the forcing cone locking the pistol up, and requiring a rod to tap the bullet back into the chamber in order to free the pistol.
How much lube is on the base of the bullets? See if powder will stick to them. Hot weather, the bullet lube can melt and perhaps leak back and kill some powder. I try an keep my ammo bullet down.0 -
quote:Originally posted by charliemeyer007
The loading block is your friend. I use a powder measure also. I charge every case in the block, then visually inspect every case level under a strong light comparing neighbors. I then take the end row (5) and check the charge in each case on the scales, returning the charge to the case and then the case back to the block. Once again checking levels before setting bullets in every case. I then seat/crimp the bullets.
4 grs of unique is a mild load. 3.8 gr is starting in my old book, 8 is listed as max in a 357. I suspect that perhaps a few grains were hung up and got in with the case.
I would be checking each chamber in the cylinder with a split ball gauge, also checking the depth of each bolt notch looking for bulges. If nothing out of ordinary is found your pistol is more than likely just fine.
Usually a primer only will push a bullet into the forcing cone locking the pistol up, and requiring a rod to tap the bullet back into the chamber in order to free the pistol.
How much lube is on the base of the bullets? See if powder will stick to them. Hot weather, the bullet lube can melt and perhaps leak back and kill some powder. I try an keep my ammo bullet down.
+1
For my money Charlie is correct. In the past I've personally had problems with light loads of flake powders in certain powder measures.
Light plinking loads, don't want to drop uniformly.
This caused me to rethink the powders that I was using. Went to the AA ball powders. No problems since.0 -
Sounds like one cartridge got extra powder and one got none.
As said, the block check is necessary if you are single stage loading. If you have a progressive, you just MUST look in each and every case before you place a bullet to seat.0 -
I for one think a progressive press if with a auto indexer and a quality Powder measure . Like a STAR with brewster indexter Is not impossible to over charge but much more unlikely to double charge or even slightly vary the powder charge I have loaded over 350,000 rounds of match target ammo the key with a progressive is NEVER try to start in half of a cycle always go from all way up to all way down to back to all way up NEVER NEVER short stroke the cycle. 0 -
Did any powder come out of the cylinder [?] If so you had a dud primer. If not just a primer in that round [;)] 0 -
Each chamber seems to be consistent
as far as powder residue as the
previous.
I just shot another 30-40 rounds
no problem. No obvious damage to the
cylinder seen under a magnifying
lamp.
I can't imagine not putting powder in
one of the cases but I reloaded them
and there was certainly an issue.
Maybe I should stop drinking CC and water
while reloading.0 -
"Maybe I should stop drinking CC and water
while reloading."...........I think we found the problem [;)]0
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