Roughness in revolver chambers

[elector]

I have a S&W revolver with a titanium cylinder, manufactured a year or two ago. A couple of the chambers have circular tool marks toward the bullet end--IOW, the marks are at a right angle to the line of the bore. They aren't deep or sharp, although I can feel them slightly by running a toothpick across them. The other chambers look smooth.

I'd like to know if this roughness is a defect, or if it's a common occurrence. Thanks for any info.

 

[James K]

Make sure you are not looking at the chamber shoulder, where the chamber is stepped down from case diameter to bullet diameter. The shoulders need to be there, but should be present in all the chambers.

Otherwise, circular tool marks should not be there, but whether there is a real problem depends on where they are. If they are in the chamber itself (where the cartridge case is), they could result in hard extraction. Forward of the case, they could cause a buildup when firing lead bullets. I have seen a number of revolver chambers (S&W and others) with tool chatter marks, chip marks, and other defects that caused no problem, but do look bad. I suspect the factories see these on final inspection and just go ahead and ship, figuring they will repair the gun if it comes back. There is no safety problem, and probably not an accuracy problem, either. If the defect bothers you, return the gun to S&W. They should fix it free of charge.

Jim

 

[elector]

Thanks for the response.

The marks are forward of the cartridge case. As near as I can tell, they're also forward of the chamber shoulder--in the area between the shoulder and the front end of the chambers. Extraction is fine.

There did seem to be more buildup between the marks than in the smoother chambers. A bronze chamber brush removed the buildup with a few passes. So, if this is all the problem that results from the marks, I may just live with them--figuring to leave well enough alone.

But the next time I buy a revolver, hopefully I'll remember to check for this. Live and learn!