Revolver jamming/misfiring
I shot my Taurus M66, 7-shot .357 mag, 4" bbl today using Sellier & Bellot 158gr soft point ammo. I had two incidents where the revolver jammed after firing and two misfires. When I switched to Federal 125gr JHP ammo there was no problem, and 13 out of 20 were in a three inch group at 10 yards, offhand using a two hand grip, weaver stance and DA trigger.
Normally I have had no problems with S&B ammo. Has anyone encountered difficulty similar to mine?
Normally I have had no problems with S&B ammo. Has anyone encountered difficulty similar to mine?
0
-
Without seeing it it's hard to diagnose the jamming, but there is an explanation. On some old S&W's, unburned powder flakes could get between the extractor and cylinder, thus causing the ammo to bind against the frame.
On the misfires, what did the primer look like? Did the firing pin make a good indention in the primer like it did on the ammo that worked OK?
Rafter-S
"What is truth? No wonder jesting Pilate turned away. The truth, it has a thousand faces -- show only one of them, and the whole truth flies away! But how to show the whole? That is the question."
--Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" (1934)0 -
When Smith and Wesson was making ammunition, I had a Colt Python with a four inch barrel that would jam after almost every shot. It was sent to a Colt warrantee station several times and they said nothing was wrong with the gun with the ammunition they were testing with. The only thing I could figure was the ammunition was too hot for the gun and jamming the cylinder. I just stoppped using S&W ammunition. 0 -
Are the fired cases easy to extract from the cylinder? Look carefully at the fired primers: look for signs of flattening around the radiused edge, right at the end where the primer pocket begins. It's likely your fired primers are backing out slightly when their cartridges go off. This could cause no end of misfires and jammed cylinder situations.
I have 2 .44 RemMag revolvers: a Dan Wesson and a Ruger Super Redhawk. If I use exactly the same loads in the Ruger as in the DW, I consistently find the DW evidences severe primer flattening & hard-to-extract spent cases, all generally regarded as signs of overpressure. The DW's barrel (8") is gapped at .014", just a bit over the factory recommended .012" & the Ruger (8+") is factory stock.
Do you have similar problems with several different brands of factory ammo?0 -
Revolvers can be ammo fussy. Check primers or rear of casings to see if they dragged on the frame of the gun. Some ammo in magnum loads will back out primers to rub the recoil shield. You may also see a drag mark on the recoil shield. It can also be just one lot of ammo. 0 -
You owe us a description of the jamming. Do the primers show bright rubbing spots around the primer indentations or do the case heads show any ? Do you see unburnt powder grains anywhere around the cylinder?
With the cylinder full forward, the barrel/cylinder gap should be .005"-.006". With a .005" feeler gage between barrel and cylinder, a .003 feeler gage should fit behind a fired case and the recoil shield.
Repeat the check on all six chambers. If some are too tight and others loose or if all are too tight, there is some careful filing and stoning to do.
My guess on this one is insufficient headspace or cylinder gap.0 -
I'm not sure you "owe" us a description of the jamming, but if you wouldn't mind, could you describe with a little detail how the jams take place?
And if you can't figure it out until you go back to the range, be sure to give us an update as soon as you determine the problem.
Respectfully,
Rafter-S
"What is truth? No wonder jesting Pilate turned away. The truth, it has a thousand faces -- show only one of them, and the whole truth flies away! But how to show the whole? That is the question."
--Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" (1934)0 -
Sorry, Rafter
As I view it, the onus is on the applicant who has the question to respectfully submit it to the experts for the efforts of their consideration and a useful reply. The general discussion board on the other hand is an open forum where anyone throws anything on the table and 20 Questions is acceptable.
In consideration of the prospect of receiving free advice from professionals and experts, it's only common courtesy for the submittor to supply a reasonable description of the issue at the outset and to promptly respond to questions.
The hat is properly in the hand of the submittor not the respondent.0 -
Ok, I went through all my spent casings, and reviewed the events that I remember. All the cases had defined firing pin indentations, but I did notice a few primers that were not flush with the cartridge base. Some shells were difficult to extract. These were on the S&B ammo. The Federal ammo had zero defects and performed flawlessly. I guess it was just the ammo. Thanks for all the responses and the insights were very helpful. I will avoid the S&B and try some other brand next time. 0 -
Did you mic unfired ammunition that has the problem? Is it ?.002 inch of ammunition that causes no malfunctions? I refer to every exterior dimension. See Barnes' Cartridges of the World if you cannot otherwise identify "nominal" specs.
Have you contacted the US distributor, furnishing lot number of your trouble ammo? The lot may have a problem.0 -
While your binding problem along with the difficult extraction and sharply defined primer indents, strongly suggests overpressure ammunition, I would still suggest going through the simple feeler gaging of clearances recommended earlier. If you find your clearances are below minimums the reliability of the gun will suffer and you will see accelerated wear on internal parts that affect cylinder timing. 0 -
I guess I gotta go buy a gauge now. Y'all are the best. I will certainly not take ammo for granted in the future! 0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
11 comments