Ammo question

B

buddah4snow

New member
I have a S&W pre-27 that I had worked on by S&W late last year. Hadn't really put any rounds through it since it came back..........no "local" ranges. A couple of months ago a bought a box of 25 Hornaday Critical Defense ammo in .357. Loaded it up and put it in it's case with a speedloader full too.

So last night I had occasion to touch one off. Darnedest thing......the spent case stuck in the cylinder. Couldn't get it out with the extractor. Didn't want to force it. Had to take a small phillips screwdriver and a mallet and give it a little whack. Once I got the case out I looked closely for any bulges or any reason for sticking. Nothing visible to the naked eye.

Now I've fired a bunch of range fodder through it last fall........Blazer, Magtech, Bellot & Sellier and even some older Federal.......basically junk to just be blasting and never had anything even close to this happen. Any ideas what I should look at?

In the interim I reloaded weapon and speedloader with something else until I have an idea what happened.......

Any thoughts appreciated.
 
I would do two things. Try some of the ammo that has worked OK in the past, and try the problem ammo as well. You should also note if a particular chamber is the culprit. Once these things are done you will have a better idea of what to do.
 
If you fired a lot of .38 spcl out of it then the carbon may have built up. That can cause the cases of .357 to either hang up, or stick after firing. Get some J&B Bore Bright. Use as directed in the cylinders. Then clean them very well. It should help solver your problem. Another thing would have been firing a few more rounds before blaming the ammo. As you have said you have not fired it in a long time, lack of oiling, and the round being in it for that long could have played a role as well.
 
O.K., I should have been more specific in my description......I've probably fired 2 boxes (100 rds) of .357 through it since the last .38 spec. Also I tend to clean and lightly oil the weapon ever 2 to 4 weeks depending upon how I feel. Sometimes I just feel like messing with it. And no, it was not over-oiled......I favor multiple all over light oilings to a massive dose once in a while. Additionally, after firing .38 spec. I like to de-gunk each cylinder as it were.......tight fitting spent .357 case plus brush afterwards. That's why I was semi-baffled by the whole thing........
 
Have you compared the velocities, either published or chronographed, of the other .357 ammo to the Hornady?
Hornady says their ammo is over 1300 f/s, kind of impressive.
Maybe it's just that much hotter than the other, and enough to expand the cases more to cause them to stick in the cylinder chambers.
 
I happened to have occasion to touch off another of the rounds in question....no extraction issues whatsoever.....must have just been an oddball round?
 
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