We went through about 6 boxes of 357 on the weekend and the odd time my brothers s&w 586 the cases would be impossible to eject, almost had to pry them out. My ruger ejects one at a time and on e in a while I get a car hard to remove. Overloaded with powder?
Why do some cases get stuck in a revolver?
- Thread starter bandit86
- Start date
If there have been shorter cases - .38s - shot in that cylinder, it can build up crud that prevents the longer .357 cases from opening freely enough causing extreme pressure peaks. Yes it is dangerous. Cleaning with peroxide/vinegar mix - being careful not to damage the bluing - will work.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Sticky cases are a sign of excess pressure. When I started loading 325 gr WFNs in my .44, I ran into this when I discovered that some bullets where significantly heavier than 325 grs. Some cases also might be thicker/heavier, particularly if you use mixed brass, resulting in slightly less powder volume, which also can result in increasde pressure. If you have a heavy bullet in a case with less volume, high pressure will be the result. If you're shooting cast, be sure to check the bullet weight, and reduce the charge slightly when bullet weight exceeds the mean weight. Your powder charge should be such that you can shoot the heaviest bullet in the smallest case without it sticking.
If you're throwing powder charges, check the weight you throw every 10th round or so to ensure your powder measure hasn't gone out of adjustment. Keep the reservoir close to full to minimize the head pressure, which in turn minimizes variations in charge weights. I was loading 1000 rounds of .38 Special for a club shoot once, and my thrower went out of adjustment, it was the slide adjustment type rather than micrometer adjustment. When I realized I was throwing 7 grs of powder rather than 4.5, I had not idea when the problem occurred, so I went out and bought 1000 rounds (I had little spare brass) and kept those reloads for use in my .357. Needless to say, I didn't make much on that deal.
Don't pry the brass out of your DA cylinder. Simply use a wood or brass drift that will fit past the chamber throat and into the fired case, then gently tap it out. If the cases are gummy with lube, that might cause them to stick as well, so wipe them down prior to shooting them.
If you're throwing powder charges, check the weight you throw every 10th round or so to ensure your powder measure hasn't gone out of adjustment. Keep the reservoir close to full to minimize the head pressure, which in turn minimizes variations in charge weights. I was loading 1000 rounds of .38 Special for a club shoot once, and my thrower went out of adjustment, it was the slide adjustment type rather than micrometer adjustment. When I realized I was throwing 7 grs of powder rather than 4.5, I had not idea when the problem occurred, so I went out and bought 1000 rounds (I had little spare brass) and kept those reloads for use in my .357. Needless to say, I didn't make much on that deal.
Don't pry the brass out of your DA cylinder. Simply use a wood or brass drift that will fit past the chamber throat and into the fired case, then gently tap it out. If the cases are gummy with lube, that might cause them to stick as well, so wipe them down prior to shooting them.
Had a similar problem with my Mdl 29 in 44 mag ended up replacing the cylinder as I "popped" the chambers. Pulled all my ammunition to see if I had made an error in charges, no error found. But there it was, cyclinder toast, obviously something had happened. Now with the cyclinder replaced, I am still leary of shooting it again. I have been using the same loads for several years without incident. Check the cases with a caliper to see how much expansion you have and also check for roundness, you will probably find the cases have expanded too much and are somewhat oval. If that is the case, contact me, I can recommend a good gunsmith who specializes with work on S&W
i experienced this problem with a revolver owned by the gun club i belong to
i'm not sure what the model was but it was a smith and wesson .357
i was shooting it and noticed that one of the chambers was not ejecting the round properly, requiring me to use a dowel to extract the brass
the casing was ruptured and unusable
upon inspecting the inside of the chamber by shining a light down one end and looking down the other i noticed a slight dent in the inside wall
The dent was exactly at the same spot where the locking notch was on the cylinder,
It was later discovered that someone was shooting reloads they were given from someone out of that gun
apparently they were loaded a little too hot
a good rule of thumb to go by here is, whenever you get a problem/gun acting funny issue, always inspect the casing for damage it can usually point you in the right direction
i'm not sure what the model was but it was a smith and wesson .357
i was shooting it and noticed that one of the chambers was not ejecting the round properly, requiring me to use a dowel to extract the brass
the casing was ruptured and unusable
upon inspecting the inside of the chamber by shining a light down one end and looking down the other i noticed a slight dent in the inside wall
The dent was exactly at the same spot where the locking notch was on the cylinder,
It was later discovered that someone was shooting reloads they were given from someone out of that gun
apparently they were loaded a little too hot
a good rule of thumb to go by here is, whenever you get a problem/gun acting funny issue, always inspect the casing for damage it can usually point you in the right direction
This is a great reply. Yes always inspect the caseing and almost everytime but not always it will tell the tale.
Graydog
brass cases expand when they get hot. i had some .303 shells in an enfield that split the same way as the shell in the pic. its nothing to worrie about. i think they just some times expand so much they just crack. the ammo i was useing was i belive dominion.
My experience is you start to feel some resistance to eject the case after 150 to 200 rad counted from a properly cleaned one, due to carbon built up and bellying of the case. Revolver in general requires more cleaning than pistol. I only use factory ammo.
Nothing to jump on, they're poor designs that have been outdated for nearly a century. Just trying to educate the masses.
TDC
How does that work?
Antiques I guess. Unless he's LE.
Yep, antique. Great idea, can carry and shoot anywhere it is legal to shoot a long gun.
