I bought a L frame >357 7 shot revolver new in 2005 and never shot it. A few months ago I shot some Winchester .357 158 gr JHP. I shot about 50 rounds and then the cylinder bound up and wouldn't turn, when I got it freed up the firing pin was broken.

Anyone have any problems like this?

Welcome to the forum. Is your gun an early 686? There were problems with some of the firing pin bushings. S&W had a recall. Someone will be along shortly with more info, I am sure.

Welcome to the forum. Older and wiser people will be along shortly to help you .
I don't have an L frame pistol. As I remember, there was a recall of early models which had a problem with the firing pin and the bushing it fits in. If you call Smith & Wesson, they can tell you if it's in the recall. They will send you a box for shipping, fix your pistol, and return it to you at no cost if it's in the recall. If it's just a broken pin, they will usually ship one to you free of charge (they did to me on a different pistol).

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and what his trumpet saith

The recall was on the very early no dash and dash 1s. if the gun was made in 2005 it is covered by S&Ws lifetime warranty, give them a call and they will ship it and fix it free of charge.

I have never had that problem but I have had gun parts break, it can happen with any machine.

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

It was a 686-6 L frame.

It was a nice firing gun while it lasted. Some I have talked to have suggested that the ammo I used was bad, but I was factory Winchester .357 ammo.

I read the recall notices on the old 686's and 686-1's. To be honest it sounds just like the issue I had, the cylinder binded up--except that mine was a 686-6

Attached Images

	IMG-20120215-00002.jpg (72.6 KB, 195 views)
	3 of the fired rounds.jpg (35.2 KB, 353 views)

here's another pic. The remains of the firing pin.

Attached Images

the firing pin is damaged.jpg (41.5 KB, 358 views)

No problems like that...but if you bought the gun new in 2005, it is covered by the lifetime warranty policy. Contact customer service at the factory and they will arrange to repair or replace the gun at no charge to you.
It sounds as though maybe the firing pin became stick in the forwards position and became jammed into a spent primer. When you tried to index the next round into position, rotation of the cylinder snapped it off. Just a guess.

Based on the flattened out primers, you may have gotten a pretty hot batch of factory loads. I would not use any more ammo from that box. That alone should not break a firing pin, but could have contributed to the problem. c good

Those primers don't look right. Is there any chance they might be reloads? As c-good already mentioned, those look like pretty hot loads.


-Jim

I'm on my phone so can't tell for sure but those primers don't look right to me either , wicked flat and pierced - just my 2 cents but I avoid any thing that says winchester on it , I've had a lot of bad luck over the years with them

Those primers scare me

Yep.... As a reloader of warm and hot handgun ammo for over forty years I can agree you have a very serious problem. One primer is cratered and the others are flattened in a manner that indicates pressures far in excess of what the upper limit should be....

Don't shoot any of the remaining ammo in any other gun until qualified others, ideally Winchester have had a chance to access the problem.

Are you absolutely sure someone's improperly charged reloads didn't get mixed in with the factory ammo? The appearance of the flattened primers is indicative of what a double charge of a very fast burning powder (like Bullseye) will do when mistakenly double charged over maximum....

I believe you may have been lucky there wasn't more damage done to the firearm, let alone your hand, after viewing the physical evidence of what has happened.

JMHO

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Terry

It also appears that those hot loads set back the firing pin bushing. In the photo it appears that it is no longer flush with the breech face. I suggest a trip back to the factory if that is the case.

thank you for all the replies. I am 100% sure it was factory ammo.

I returned my revolver to S&W. They sent me a pre-paid mailing label, free of charge. They replaced the firing pin, bushing, and cylinder, all 100% free of charge.

Smith & Wesson gave me the best customer service ever. I am very grateful to them and very happy.

That remaining Winchester ammo goes into the trash. Winchester--I will never buy from them again.

Interesting problem but I think Bigmoose hit the nail on the head.
The bushing set back and as the next round fired the primer flowed into the bushing hole.
I have shot a lot of warm .357 loads and the primers have never looked like that ever. They will flatten but stay flush with the case.
The ammo may be ok but the gun has a mechanical problem.
That has lead us to look at the ammo as suspect and not the gun.
Good that Smith & Wesson will make it right.

Just my $.02

Bruce

Several months back, I posted about a similar problem I had with a new 629 and since then, see that others have posted similar failures. I'm curious if S&W has seen an increase in firing pin failures with the newer floating firing pin vs. the older hammer mounted versions and what we're seeing are failures unique to that design? Right now, I'd be betting so.