Tough Extraction
First session with recently acquired S&W M19. Same load I've been shooting through .357's for 25 years - 13.8 gr of 2400 under a 158 gr JHP. Tough and increasingly tougher extraction. Ejector rod worked flawlessly when the cylider was empty. Checked the fired brass for splits and /or flattened primers. Nada. Cleaned the cylinders and wiped dry before firing. Did not have any other ammo to try. Ideas or remedies much appreciated.
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How many times have those casings been fired?
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Your life is not my fault.0 -
Egad! Probably 10-12 times. 0 -
[:D] Have you tried some less used or new casings?
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Your life is not my fault.0 -
No, only had the old stuff with me. 0 -
That'd be where I'd start the trouble shooting at, with the brass, if that dosen't help perhaps have a gunsmith check the diameter of the chambers. Are the rounds peticularly loose when you drop a loaded round into the chambers? Is the brass forming any odd bulges or irregularities that are noticeable? Are any of your other .357 revolvers having or have had a similar problem? Did you use a different set of dies with this crop of ammo you loaded or could your sizing die be wearing out?
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Your life is not my fault.0 -
Have experienced this problem, and I think it was a .357. My Load was 11.7 grains of Unique with a 147 grain semi wad cutter.
Two ways to remedy: #1 Shhot Nickle cases. #2 Take a bolt 1/4 and split with a hacksaw, cut the head off, take 320 grit emory cloth and chrome polish, flitz, #2 polishing compound, what ever. Start the Emory cloth in the slot on the bolt and wrap around the bolt, spin in the direction of the way you twisted the cloth. Add compound to the Emory Cloth, Place in drill motor, running in and out, the tool you have made will have a natural occuring and extremely slight taper toward the primer end of cylinder. Make it Mirror. Slight Gas cutting and dirty ammo can make the cylinder walls grainy. Many people never think about dropping a shell in the dirt and wiping it off sticking it in the cylinder. But! 40 to 50,000 CUP will impress the dirt, dust or spent powder into the hull and eventually the cylinder wall. [;)]
Ronnie G. Perkins0 -
Thanks, guys. I have a bunch of different brass I can experiment with. Hope that's the issue. Really like the revolver. 0 -
Some years ago some aquaintances and I were shooting a 629 and experienced a similar problem. Finally loaded, fired and extracted from each charge hole individually. Discovered a bulged charge hole. After we identified the charge hole, we could rotate the cylinder so it (the charge hole) was on top and by holding the gun sideways and looking through the gap between the cylinder and top strap, we could see the bulge. You don't say whether you bought the gun new or used. If new, the handloads voided the warranty and the repair is going to be on you, unless you do some "creative" explaining to S&W. If you bought it used, that is probably why it was sold or traded to begin with. You may or may not have recourse to seller. I hope the other posters are correct but I have some 44 Mag brass that I have fired 20+ times and except for an increasing number of split mouths, still works fine. I have dropped ammo, picked it up, wiped it off on my jeans, and fired it, more times that I care to remember. Actually, unless it is really huge chunks of dirt and grit, the "dirt" will imbed in the softer brass and act as a sort of lap. I have 15,000 plus rounds through my 629 and the charge holes are slicker now that when the gun was new ever so many years ago. Please keep us posted.
BEER IS PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US AND WANTS US TO BE HAPPY!0 -
You would be lucky if the chambers are not bulged.
If you have a Dremel tool buy some Cratex rubber bonded abrasive polishing wheels. The 1/4" dia.x 7/8L cylindrical or bullet shape
wheels will remove all tool marks and roughness & produce a burnished chamber.This has to be done carefully to try and preserve the .001" chamber taper.
You will be able to see if the chambers are ringed or bulged. Alternatively, you could have the cylinder's outside diameter or chambers measured for local bulging.0 -
A couple of you asked if I had solved the problem. Yes and no. Good news is that the cylinder is not bulged. Suspect that some previous owner may have fired the revolver and left the empties in the cylinder for a while, causing some corrosion. Soaked the cylinder in bore solvent overnight and scrubbed the heck out of the charge holes next morning. Some black on the patches but nothing in a quantity that would confirm my theory. Went to the range this PM. First cylinder, one hole at a time, .38 Spl.+P's. No problems. Second load was new, factory stuff, Federal Hydra-Scock, 130 gr. (yes, 130) JHP. No Problem. Last, the old handloads that gave me grief the first time out. A little sticky but not objectionable. Mixed the loads for another fifteen rounds and then, with the third full cylinder of the handloads, the problem returned. Closed shop, came home and scrubbed the cylinders again. Bright and shiny as far as I can see. I can't afford to shoot those factory loads, nice as they are, so I'm going to start a separate thread to see if anyone knows how to duplicate them. Thanks for your help and your interest. 0 -
Polishing is the answer, but have to be REAL careful. The reason that this is so is that if the cases "set back" against the recoil shield, rotation of the cylinder will be difficult indeed. This is why bottle necked rds like the 22 Jet always had problems in revolver chambers. 0 -
Yeah, if it comes to polishing I'll have to have a smith or Smith do it. Thanks. 0
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