.38 Snub locking up!

P

Pond James Pond

New member
When does your .38 carry gun of choice cease being your .38 carry gun of choice?

When it only shoots one full cylinder out of 8 full cylinders. At that point it suddenly just becomes a .38 gun....

I loaded up a stack of .38 spl this morning and I promptly went to the range in order. What happened then is something that I've experienced before, but it happened a lot.... Not just a one off I had taken it to be.

The cylinder seemed to not want to go into place willingly, and then the hammer would not move into a cocked position, neither under the action of the trigger nor my thumb...

I narrowed it down to the action of the cylinder release catch not fully returning to the set position.

Aside from that, any suggestions on what to look for?
Snub is an Astra 680...
 
Had a Taurus 85 that would bind up. Got rid of it for a J Frame. I would either get a J Frame or a Ruger LCR. Charter Arms is good as well. Don't know if that is an option for you. Don't know much about Astra revolvers but I need a gun that works.
 
ASTRA .... nuff said:rolleyes:

When it comes to carring a 38spl snub nose for self defence...Either S&W, Colt, or older Charter Arms.
 
cleaning.......?

Without looking at it, it sounds like crud built up in the internals and not allowing the cylinder stop enough travel. Try cleaning and lubing the internals. I'll bet it'll be OK.:cool:
Hope this helps,
gordon
 
Look under the extractor/ejector "star" for any crud. A couple of flakes of powder in this area can tie up a revolver having very close tolerances.
 
Actually, the Astra revolvers are pretty good guns. IIRC, they have the same kind of ejector rod setup as S&W, so I would check to see if the ejector rod has unscrewed itself. If so, tighten it up (some blue Loctite can be used if the condition recurs) and the problem should go away.

Jim
 
ASTRA .... nuff said

When it comes to carring a 38spl snub nose for self defence...Either S&W, Colt, or older Charter Arms.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure the OP purchase options are a bit limited (seeing that he lives in another country and all...). So telling him to buy a different band may not be a viable solution.
 
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I believe Astra were quite an acceptable brand. Before knocking them , it's worth noting for some posters that they are effectively copies of S&W...

Anyway, I've just taken it all apart: I decided to just take the plunge and try not to let any springs fly across the living room!!

Not quite the Swiss Watch internals I was expecting. There was quite a bit of lube, so I've wiped it all down, but will give it a squirt of ballistol before sealing it up. What I did find was indeed a build up of crud, but not on the ejector star. It was on the surface where the cylinder arm meets the frame, the crane I believe. At that hinged point there is a big flat surface and any crud there will make the cylinder difficult to close.

So far that is no the place I've been specifically looking, but is now on my check list after a trip to the range!!

Time will tell if that solves the problem...
 
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Also check where the front of the cylinder and crane meet by the forcing cone. I have have a few S&Ws with a lot of crud there, that gave me problems with turning the cylinder.
 
Like you have done, a good solid cleaning is a good starting point. The wife inherited a J frame from her father and during initial inspection the cylinder and crane were so crudded up I could barely turn the cylinder by hand when it was opened. A overnight soaking in Hoppe's and a brush fix all the issues.
 
As to the OP question concerning the, 'cease' issue.

I'd say the 'cease' option choice that you referred to for .38 is before you now.

I thought the Astras left town on the last Yugo. So much for me keeping up on current events.
 
First time my Taurus 85ch locked up the side plate screws were loose, screwdriver fixed that and the second time it locked up I took apart and didn't put it back correctly. Just food for thought.
 
Since cleaning and keeping clean the internal surface of the crane, the problem has not reoccured.

I need to be careful as my reloads do seem to produce a degree of unburnt powder that could easily end up in that gap...

Seems my 680 is back in business!!
:D
 
Good job, Mr. Pond. There's nothing like a good cleaning, if for no other reason than to familiarize you with your revolver.
 
I need to be careful as my reloads do seem to produce a degree of unburnt powder that could easily end up in that gap...
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Welcome to the club...

There's a fine balance between the most economical, the most accurate and the cleanest shooting powder/primer/bullet combination.
Usually, it's pick any two of the above...

Look at the lock up this way.
It was a no/low cost educational experience in what can cause a revolver to malfunction.
It dispells the often quoted myth that a revolver "is just point and pull the trigger and it goes bang every time".

I see and hear that so often I've become immune to it. I just shake my head these days whenever someone says/posts that.

I'm glad to hear everything is back working for you.

One teeny tiny little thing though.

Did I read that correct above that you pulled the sideplate and cleaned out the grease and replaced it with Ballistol?
I'm a big fan of Ballistol, but, that's not the correct lube for under the sideplate.
Get some Teflon grease, like Tetra, and smear that in there.
You can be pretty generous with it also.
Underneath the sideplate isn't a typical spot that gets dirty.
I usually only pull the sideplate to clean and relube every 6 or so thousand rounds or every 5 years or so.
IIRC, I've only had to clean out my 35 year old Model 19 once & even then it didn't really need it.
 
Thanks for the tips on the grease.

As it happens a take down of the side plate was not necessary: it was that crud on the crane-to-frame mating surface that was causing the cylinder to not quite align, and so that bar that the ejector star depresses was not being pushed in far enough, thus locking up all the internals....

Now all is good!!
 
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