I knew it had an .008 B/C gap. But after shooting about 75 rounds of different types of ammo, I had alot of leading and spitting. Other than that, it is functioned just fine, on everything, but CCI Velocitors, which made the cylinder bind. What do you guys think? I dont think I will be happy til the B/C gap is down to .004. It took me about 15 minutes to scrub off the leading, above and around the forcing cone, and on the underside of the frame top strap.

I had the exact same problem with mine. I suspect you have a barrel to cylinder alignment issue as I did. This must be checked with a bore sized rod on each chamber, but I could see the misalignment simply by shining a bright light down the muzzle with the empty cylinder closed.

I sent the gun back to S&W. The spitting and lead buildup was very bad, and would only get worse. I called this morning and they said it should be returned this week. I'll let you know how it goes, or feel free to PM.

Dan

I think a gap of .004" on a .22 revolver is a bit tight. With my eyeballs I can tell that the gap on my 43C is closer to .008" than .004". From my notes I see that Velocitor is one of the best shooting loads in mine at 50 yards and there is no cylinder binding. Everything functions fine in mine except the 20+ year old PMC I have which doesn't want to extract from ANY J Frame revolver I have tried. The other day I dropped mine on a concrete floor while removing it from a pocket and while the finish on the muzzle was slightly dinged, accuracy and function are still outstanding. It's your revolver and I don't know what to tell you, other than there's a fair chance that you'll get it back and it might be even worse.

Dave Sinko

Does your lead up all around the frame? I had tons of it after only 75 rounds.

While an excessive BC gap is not ideal, it could not cause the amount of leading I was getting by itself. In my gun the cylinder was sitting slightly above alignment with the bore. This caused part of the bullet to be shaved off every time the gun was fired. The splatter collected just above the forcing cone, and some hit my forearms and face.

This was not acceptable by any means and the gun had to go back to S&W. I have read past threads about similar problems with 317s, but reports are that the guns come back completely fixed.

Without replacing the entire gun, I dont know how, you would get the barrel in alignment with the cylinder?.. Unless the Cylinders were drilled improperly?

I just measured my 43 c gap at .010 and while I get some leading at the forcing cone I expect some with a .22 as it is fired a great deal more than a center-fire revolver and ..22 ammo varies greatly some being dirtier than others.All that said the inside of the barrel does lead up some after a 200 rounds plus ( mostly CCI Blazers) and some others and I get some key holing which is not good.But this gun needs to be cleaned after every range session 200-250 rounds in my opinion.It is a very accurate little .22 but accuracy goes away fast when the barrel leads up.Maybe my bore /cylinder alignment is off as as well ??

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T. Johnson

I believe they bore out the forcing cone. Not an elegant solution, but if it works it works.

That doesn't sound good to me. Are you getting any splatter hitting your arms or face?

A b/c gap of .010 is a lot in my book. Maybe the rimfires are not as particular about it as the centerfires are?

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Centennial Every Day

I think on a new one....010 is entirely too much BTCG. My fired 22's run around .003 to .004. I can say that I put a REALLY used cylinder in one of my 317's and the combined end-shake and gap were in excess of .012 and closer to .014 to .015 and it would never spit. It sounded like a 38-special and lit-up the sky between the cylinder and forcing cone, but never spit.

I think on a new 22.....004 to .005 may be acceptable, but I am also aware that some other posters have had the gap discussion with Smith and it seems they have let that tolerance slide out to .008 on center-fires.....not sure about 22's.

Allglock - what ammo were you using?

I recently shot round 200 rounds through mine with Fed bulk 36 grain copper washed and had no leading at all.

A couple years ago I was shooting Rem Thunderbolt and it leaded the barrel of my Glock Advantage Arms 22 upper so bad I had to hammer a cleaning rod through it.

I shot Federal Bulk, CCI mini mag, CCI stingers, and CCI velocitors.
By leading, I mean all the lead residue around the outside of the forcing cone, and on the underside of the top strap of the frame.

I can live with cleaning around the forcing cone-some barrel leading (inside) and a .010 gap as long as its accurate and always goes bang.If its not broke why fix it. But it does have a lifetime warranty right?

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T. Johnson

I agree with J-Frame. A BTCG of .010 is going to result in a dirtier gun, especially a 22. If it's not spitting, it's surely not an alignment problem....just a wide BTCG and it's going to get dirty quicker. It would be interesting to hear what Smith would say if you contact them.

Several years ago, I was told by phone from S&W CS that their allowable production limit for the b/c gap is .004" to .010". Since soaking built-up areas of crud on some black S&Ws (Melonite finish espsecially!) with ammoniated cleaners, like Hoppes #9, will damage said finish, I suppose such buildup should be avoided. Still, even at .010", they are likely to 'let it be'.

I wonder if the hyper-velocity CCI Velocitor & Stinger rounds are possibly too much for a 43C/317's AL construction? By comparison, the CCI Stingers don't just leap out of my 3"/5" 63's & 4" 617's SS chambers and do require far more regular cleaning than the Fed 36gr bulk pack el-cheapo's certainly do. I suppose the hot CCI rounds may have their use - but, if forced into a self-defender, I would think that the penetration of the basic non-HP .22 would be better. Maybe plinking with el-cheapo's - and even 'carrying' them is a viable solution... that won't require a return to S&W? Just a thought.

Stainz

I get a little bit of lead on the topstrap above the forcing cone but nothing excessive. I have put maybe 750 rounds through mine and have not yet cleaned that area.

The Federal bulk pack 36 gr. plated HP is probably the most consistent performer for me. At 25 yards it shoots to the center of what that front dot covers and does not care if the bore is clean or dirty. Occasionally I experience what looks like mild keyholing at 25 yards with various loads but accuracy is not affected. Then it will disappear. I experience the same thing with my 2" 625, which leads me to believe that a clean bore might be causing it? The 2" barrels do exhibit some odd quirks sometimes.

Dave Sinko

Off to the Mothership she goes! I will definately post , after I get her back, regarding repairs.

Sorry you are having problems with your 43C. I have shot over 1000 rounds out of mine with no problems. No leading or spiting, no failure to fire, no sticky extraction of empties. I am very happy with mine.

Its too bad we all cant say that!