Questions on first revolver

L

lenny7

Inactive
Prior to this point, my only experience with handguns has been a .22 Ruger Mk I. Last week I picked up a S&W Model 66 .357 LE turn-in from SOG and took it out shooting at the local range.

I had a blast, but a couple things have me curious. First, when shooting 38 specials, the exterior of the casing indicated that hot gases had blown backwards. There were soot marks extending about 3/4" of an inch back, for about 90 degrees of the case circumference. The 357 rounds I shot remained clean. Is this an indication of a problem or is this a normal occurance due to the shorter case length of the 38special round?

Secondly, on one shot in 60 (can't recall if it was 38spl or 357, both loaded in the cylinder at the time), something flew back and nicked me in the ear. It felt like a burning sensation for a few seconds and later when looking in the mirror there was a slight cut in my ear, about 1/8" long. What could this have been caused by? Is this an indication of problems with the gun or doest his happen from time to time? Sure made me appreciate safety glasses!
 
I would be running from that S&W. Sounds like a lemon. Personally, I love my Ruger Blackhwk, no issues firing .38 or .357 interchangably.... and it doesnt shoot things back at me! :eek:
Good Luck.
 
I don't think you have a problem. .38's sometimes don't expand hard against the cylinder chamber. lot's of .38's do this. As far as your ear what were you shooting at? What range? What bullets? I'd bet you got hit with splatter or bullet particle ricochet.
 
I don't think you have a problem. .38's sometimes don't expand hard against the cylinder chamber. lot's of .38's do this.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I've seen very light .38 Specials and .45 Colts do this. Just wasn't high enough pressure to really seal tightly on the cylinder wall. If the Magnums were clean then everything is fine.

Gregg
 
sep5, thanks for the input. I was shooting at a paper target, 25 feet away at an indoor pistol range using 38sp 130gr FMJ bullets. I think they were Winchester "target" loads, in a white box. If it was a .357, then it was a 158gr jacketed soft point, Federal American Eagle.

I was thinking after I posted my question I should have left the make and model out of it, so I could eliminate the comments based on folk's preferred manufacturer.

SanDiegan, I don't know if there ARE issues, that's why I'm asking. If a discolored casing is an issue, it sure isn't a very big issue. Sep5 provides a logical explanation.

I did find a nice description of what to check for when you buy a used revolver in another thread, but being out of town for Christmas, I haven't had a chance to go through it.
 
You need a gunsmith. I do NOT believe your weapon is bad, It does sound like it is "shaving" and "spitting". These are indications of cylinder timing issues. I would ask the SOG folks if they have had any reports of such. I would also ask them to replace the revolver as it is defective.
 
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lenny7

Sir William could be correct. Were there other people on either side of you? Shaving and spitting are indeed a sign of out of time. But, I've seen several out of time revolvers over the years and I've never seen them spit out and backwards. Just something to think about.
 
I had someone on my right but it was my left ear that was zinged. I was pretty focused and not paying attention to my folks around me, but the little zing to the ear coincided with my own shooting.
 
Hopefully it is Jim March's Revolver Checkout that you found. If not, check it out.

Quite probably the revolver is spitting some lead. The lead rebounded off the stall wall and into your ear. It's likely a timing issue.

The S&W M66 is a good solid gun, and worth getting put right. If it is otherwise in good shape for the money, I'd let a 'smith handle it. Sending it back to SOG for a replacement can be risky. I got one stainless police trade-in from them that looked like it had been dragged 20 miles down the interstate on a chain. I sent that one back. Just be aware that there are some pretty ugly police trade-ins out there.
 
That's the checkout I found. I'll perform that checkout tonight.

I went to the range again yesterday. Fifty 38sp loads and twenty-four 357mags. Same fouling on the 38 special exterior, but I'm convinced this is not a problem.

With the 357mags I didnt' get hit with anything, but I can feel powder or something hitting my hands.

I'm not going to screw around with this anymore though. I called the local smith and will drop it off for a cleaning and a checkout.

Thanks for all your input guys!
 
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