625 jams with shotshell

G

Gunaholic

New member
I was trying to shoot a CCI shotshell thru my S&W 625. First I tried shooting it without a moon clip and the round didn't go off. I inspected the round and the firing pin had not struck the primer. I then fired it with a moon clip and this time it went bang. I tried to open the cylinder and it was stuck. I tried to pull the trigger and then tried to cock the hammer and everything was stuck. I finally got the cylinder open by playing with it and using a little bit of force. I inspected the fired case and it looked like it was a little longer than before it was fired. That's what caused the jam. Has this ever happened to anyone before with shotshells? I don't know why I needed a moon clip to even be able to fire the round. The gun fires my practice ammo fine without the clips. Is this the ammo's fault or is it the gun?
 
I couldn't find it on a quick look at the www site, but I recall that CCI has warned that those .45 ACP shotshells will not work in revolvers. Nothing wrong with either, just not compatible.
 
I can give a partial explanation. The 625, like other revolvers chambered for the .45 ACP or 9mm Parabellum depends for case support on the mouth of the cartridge stopping on a sharp shoulder in the chamber. (This is sometimes referred to as "headspacing on the case mouth" and is the way it is done in auto pistols for that type of round.)

Your shotshells probably don't have a sharp shoulder at that point, and so will not be supported enough for the firing pin to fire the primer. The moon clips provide that support.

When a normal round is fired in a revolver, the primer tends to back out under the pressure from its own ignition, then the case backs up over it. With a normal brass case, the case walls grip the chamber walls, reducing the speed and force of the backward case movement. The springiness of the brass allows the case to spring back so it can be extracted.

The low pressure of the shot cartridge causes two possible problems. The pressure is not enough to cause the walls of the case to grip the sides of the chamber. This means that the case will back up harder than normal for a bulleted load. Then the same low pressure may cause the primer to back out, but the case not back up over it. This can also hang up the gun.

The problem is compounded if the case is aluminum or plastic, neither of which is especially good as a case material.

Find (or make) some shotshells that work, or forget the idea.

Jim
 
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