Light Primer Strikes Brand New S+W 686-6

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dwa50

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Hi all.

I recently acquired a brand new S&W 686 6 shot.

Right away, I started experiencing light primer strikes with 2 different types of factory ammo.

I did some reading and checked the strain screw but it was tightly seated.

I did, however, notice the following:

1. The cartridges have around a millimeter of play between the face of the cylinder and the surface where the firing pin protrudes
2. The firing pin doesn't seem to protrude very far compared to my old .38 special service pistol back in the day (if I remember correctly)

I was able to have it fire more reliably when I would tilt the gun back before every shot allowing the cartridge to shift back and rest on the firing pin hole.

Am I crazy to think a brand new gun should work properly out of the box?

Thanks in advance,

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This seems to be an issue with my of the new revolvers coming out.
The Chiappa's, Rugers, Colts and S&W all have unboxing videos where they fail to fire at the range.
It's also the fault of Ammo mfg's as well. As their rimed cases never seem to have proper tolerances.
Like everything is being made in China. Shipped to the usa where is gets a package changed to say made in USA.

It's even turning up in the new Pythons.
 
Crazy, are you sawing Smiths are made in China and rebranded ? Really
I have a new 686 in stock, That I have fired , works fine, though the trigger is not like my old smiths
In your first picture, looks like some ammo is not seated, or is that just the way you took the picture?
A mixmash of ammo? shoot some factory stuff.
I small difference in rim thickness should not matter.
When you are checking firing pin, you have to hold the trigger back as well as push the hammer ahead.
If it is new , take it back to the store and show it to them.
I will have a look at the one I have, and a couple of my other smiths.
hang on.

O.K. had a look , mine the firing pin is out about 1/2 way, I did not measure, 1/16th inch or 1mm+? I don't usually think in metric.
If your ammo is not seating onto the cylinder face you will get miss fires all the time, dirt in the cylinder holding the cases back a bit and they will be pushed ahead by the firing pin, but now power left to fire the primer.
That is what your first picture looks like to me.
My 19's and 14's have hammer mounted pins, and they will protrude more than the mew 686.
I had trouble with a Dan Wesson, the hammer was seating to high on the frame and the transfer bar would not push the pin out far enough for positive strike on the primer.

Tipping the gun back to get the ammo to set against the frame is not the answer to anything.
what ammo are you using? new, used? get some new Winch or Federal and try that.

read your post, sounds like factory ammo? it should work 100% with good ammo, even crap ammo.
Clean the chambers GOOD , if you have not. The ammo should drop in fully with out any pushing on it.
 
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marshall said:
In your first picture, looks like some ammo is not seated, or is that just the way you took the picture?
Click to expand...

I took it that way just to show around how much play there is with the rounds in the cylinder back and forth when the cylinder is closed.
I was shooting some PMC .38spl and some CCI Blazer .357. I'll try some different stuff.

The rounds drop in nice and easy, and I think I only put around 35 or so rounds through it.

I've also bought an extra length firing pin, but I have engaged the retailer to see what can be done.
 
Just got a Ruger GP100; no such problem. The opposite actually; tolerance is so tight that if there is a bit of crap under a case rim or the primer is protruding only a few thousands, it locks up. I reload and am using cheap, hard S & B primers, and they all go bang. Trigger is very nice also!!
 
Although highly unlikely, it could be the mainspring. If you could check the trigger pull weight, that would narrow it down some. If you don't have a gauge, you can use a luggage scale. Should be 10 lbs or so in double action.
 
Make sure the screw at the bottom of the front side of the grip frame under the grips is screwed in all the way. If it backs out even a bit it will cause light strikes.
 
Meroh said:
Just got a Ruger GP100; no such problem. The opposite actually; tolerance is so tight that if there is a bit of crap under a case rim or the primer is protruding only a few thousands, it locks up. I reload and am using cheap, hard S & B primers, and they all go bang. Trigger is very nice also!!
Click to expand...

Glad you're enjoying your GP100!
Does not sound right regarding the 686, send it back.
 
Close the cylinder on those rounds and take another picture.
If there is that much free play with ammo in it and closed, something is buggered.
any end shape in the cylinder when open ( back and forth) should not be on new gun
That ammo should be O.K., I shoot lots of Blaser ,there is better stuff, but cheap and it works o.k.
Do you have a feeler gauge? if so close the cylinder with some fired rounds in it and see what the space is. I don't know off hand what the spec should be,
but not much.
 
MuthaFunk said:
Make sure the screw at the bottom of the front side of the grip frame under the grips is screwed in all the way. If it backs out even a bit it will cause light strikes.
Click to expand...

I see you checked that screw. Sorry I missed that in the first post. Place the spent cases back in the cylinder and check the gap between the rear of the cases and the firing pin face. It’s best if you can punch out the used primers to help get a more accurate reading. That’s the headspace. 0.010” is about right but 0.008-0.012 is acceptable. You’ll need feeler gauges to check this.

If the gap is more than 0.012” you’ll have to send it back. Your firing pin looks the same as my 686 but we’re talking thousandths of inches here so it may be the pin.
 
I did a quick online search on this subject and came up with this from the S&W Forums:

I would check to see if you have any gunk in the firing pin channel,Take the pin out and also check the spring.You know since they went to the frame mounted pins I always see these problems. Never had a problem in the hammer mounted guns.
Click to expand...

From Ammoland on inspecting S&W revolvers:

For guns with in-frame firing pins. Swing the cylinder out and hold the cylinder latch to the rear. #### the hammer in SA mode then release the cylinder latch. Use a tool to push the firing pin forward (it's located where the nose of the hammer would strike). Hold the gun muzzle up so you can view the firing pin sticking out of the bushing. Place a .030″ gap gauge on the recoil shield while holding the firing pin forward. The pin should be at least as high as the gap gauge.
Click to expand...

I think you need three hands to do that. I tried to measure the pin protrusion on my 625-8, albeit w/o pushing the hammer forward, but with the hammer in the "fired" position and as far as I could tell with a couple of feeler gauges, it was about 0.32, but I can't be exactly sure.
625-8 FP.JPG


ryan said:
Although highly unlikely, it could be the mainspring. If you could check the trigger pull weight, that would narrow it down some. If you don't have a gauge, you can use a luggage scale. Should be 10 lbs or so in double action.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I don't have a 686, but I do have a 625-8, 14-3, & 19-4 and according to my Timney pull gauge, they all run around 11-12 lbs., even the 14-3 which has an amazing trigger. It does depend sometimes just how you pull the gauge, though. I've often wondered if the gauge is a little off as I would have expected more like 10 lbs., esp. on the Model 14. Guess I need to find some calibrated weights to check it.
 

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sixty9santa said:
Glad you're enjoying your GP100!
Does not sound right regarding the 686, send it back.
Click to expand...

While I agree, times have changed. I know that in the US they are having just as tough a time as we are here in Canada finding skilled people for the trades and quality control. Stacked tolerances with minor measurement error could mean that something like this get's through. Does S&W proof test? From what I'm reading about the new Python; Colt does not. There was zero evidence of it in my Ruger either. The slightly longer firing pin might be just the fix, as long as it fully retracts.
 
Meroh said:
While I agree, times have changed. I know that in the US they are having just as tough a time as we are here in Canada finding skilled people for the trades and quality control. Stacked tolerances with minor measurement error could mean that something like this get's through...
Click to expand...

This may be so. I read of occas. QC problems on the S&W Forum, but at least in the US they can send a gun back to S&W; here we now have to deal with Gretch Outdoors since Murray Charlton retired and from what I've read here on CGN, there is a v. low opinion of Gretch although I've not dealt with them myself.
 
I felt like the trigger weight on my 686+ (-6 I believe, was brand new about a year ago) was really heavy, using a MacGyver'd setup I measured the weight at about 13.5 lbs. Have about 800 rounds through it + roughly equal number of dry fires. I can't seem to find a economical (read: cheap) trigger pull gauge that goes up to about 14 lbs to maybe get a more accurate test.

But, I've never had a cartridge not go bang.
 
That new 686 I have is a very heavy DA , compared to all my old shooters.
That will not be the trouble , lots of custom PPC double action guns have very slick triggers, with light springs ( and polish) and fire fine.
Mind you many of these slick jobs still use a standard main spring.
I think this is a case of way too much headspace or firing pin problem.
From the picture with the cases sticking out of the cylinder, that is not right and if that is the case, don't mess with it ,Warranty work. or replacement.
I am presuming this was a new gun bought at retail???????????
 
Shot my new 686-6 today for the first time in our IPSC practice with excellent results and accuracy. Ammo was my much reloaded .38 and .357 brass.

No misfires. I use Federal primers exclusively in DA revolvers. One of our guys who shoots a 686-8 preferred my out-of-the-box trigger to his well used gun.

I'm so wedded to my 4" K frame revolvers that it is going to take me a while to feel completely comfortable with the larger L frame.

Much to my surprise I was able to back off the screws on my 'Speed Beez' K frame holster and it accepted the L frame 686-6 just fine. Too bad I found that out after I ordered a 5" 'Speed Beez' holster for the new gun ..... ;>)
 
marshall said:
That new 686 I have is a very heavy DA , compared to all my old shooters.
That will not be the trouble , lots of custom PPC double action guns have very slick triggers, with light springs ( and polish) and fire fine.
Mind you many of these slick jobs still use a standard main spring.
I think this is a case of way too much headspace or firing pin problem.
From the picture with the cases sticking out of the cylinder, that is not right and if that is the case, don't mess with it ,Warranty work. or replacement.
I am presuming this was a new gun bought at retail???????????
Click to expand...

Ya, brand new. The retailer told me to contact Grech Outdoors for warranty work.

I ended up ordering the Extra Length Firing Pin from Brownells. https://www.brownells.com/handgun-p...evolver-extra-length-firing-pin-prod5483.aspx

I tried it out last night with no issues.

Still not to happy with the issues right out of the box.

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