Something strange happened at the range today

[JeffNW]

Went to the range today to try out my
newly acquired M48-2(actually a dash 3).

Was shooting CCI Maxi Mag WMR and
everything went spectacular for the first
30 rounds or so. But then I noticed what looked like tiny
sand granules inside the cylinder chambers and on the underside of the extractor. You can even see this sandy stuff on the black rag with the spent shells in the second photo:





Any ideas what this stuff is or where it came from? It is definitely not from the gun case or back pack I carried it in
and I only noticed it after shooting for awhile and some of the
rounds began to be difficult to seat in the chambers.

[Autococker07]

Oh no, you should sell that old thing to me, its dying a slow death and I will take it off your hands....pal.....

looks like unburnt powder to me.... I have seen it from 22LRs, but have never owned a magnum till lately, and have not shot it yet

[billwill]

Looks like Cream of Wheat. Add hot water and you got breakfast with your shoot. as previous member said...looks like unburnt powder. Those 22 mags are some pricey shootin these days. Enjoy the 48!

[JeffNW]

Thanks guys, will definitely mix those granules w/hot water and eat 'em for breakfast and then will sell the gun to Autococker07.

(Looks like this same problem is being discussed in another thread in this section: M48-2(really?).

[Jamesatrange]

The 22 mags are known for this issue. Mine do it as well. Often that powder gets under the extractor star and causes a gap and cylinder binding too. Bring an old toothbrush with you to the range to brush it off/out. Fun guns but an annoying issue with them. I would have figured the extra powder would just flame up going out the barrel but it stays behind causing havoc...

[scooter123]

It's unburnt powder. A consequence of shooting what are essentially rifle loads in a handgun. Once the bullet leaves the barrel the pressure falls way off and any remaining powder will not fully combust. One thing you can do to help keep this debris out of the working parts of your revolver is point the barrel straight up while ejecting the cases from the cylinder.

[frankcr]

I have seen the same thing with .22lr ammo but have no idea what the brand was. It looked like tiny grains of sand.

[DWalt]

It's a little surprising, but most cartridges do not consume the smokeless powder charge completely upon firing. Some are worse in this regard than others. Depending upon the specific propellant used and the barrel length, unburned powder will blow out the muzzle along with the bullet to a greater or lesser extent, and some will remain in the barrel.

Having been around many military small arms ranges, I have observed very noticeable accumulations of unburned smokeless powder on concrete floors ahead of the firing line. it looks like a fine greenish powder. You can sweep it up into a pile and throw a match into it and watch it burn. It was a very unusual circumstance, but I personally know of one range fire resulting from ignition of an accumulation of unburned powder. There are special explosion-proof vacuum cleaners made specifically for use in cleaning indoor range floors for just this reason. I have purchased two of them, and as I remember they were about $3000 each and required 220 volt power. You really do not want a fire inside a vacuum cleaner full of smokeless powder while you are using it.

[pawncop]

I have the same issue with mine. After a couple of cylinders the cases are very difficult to extract unless you clean right then.

[paul s]

Next time blow the unburnt powder from under the extractor star and you should be good to go. Have the same issue with my 48, but the accuracy and power makes it worth the trouble.