I've seen so many opinions on this topic, but I haven't seen a poll around here about it.

So, How many of you have actually had one of their K frame 357's experience the infamous cracked forcing cone vs. how many have actually seen one in person vs. how many have only seen pictures of one on the internet?

I know I fall into the third group - all I've ever seen is photos of them.

Of course you can select multiple answers if you have both owned, seen, and seen photos of cracked forcing cones.

So how common is this problem really?

If you have had or even seen one, tell us all about it.

I have only had 1 cracked forcing cone out of at least 8 Kframes, and that was on a PPC gun, with an after market barrel, after thousands of rounds.

Like this one? Purchased the gun many years ago with the barrel already split at the forcing cone. Do not remember the "story" if there was one about what happened. Replaced the barrel and sold the gun off to fund another purchase.

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The only cracked forcing cone on a revolver I have owned was on a nickel, first-year Colt Python. Gun was supposed to be unfired when I got it and it looked it. I kept it unfired for almost 10 years before shooting it. Forcing cone split on the second box of Federal 158 grain JHP factory Magnums. The replacement barrel Colt put on (after losing the gun for a year) was sad by comparison and it went down the road.

I have a feeling your Python was hiding some secrets you weren't aware of. The fact that Pythons were not offered in nickel until 1960, and the 1st year Pythons were made in '55, tells me someone may have pulled some wool over your eyes. Unless by 1st year Python, you mean 1st year nickel was offered, which was '60, although a few custom ordered ones exist from '59. That's probably why it looked unfired, as it was refinished like new to hide the extensive shooting it endured. At least it's in the past now and you sent it on down the road.

I did see one Python just a few weeks ago on GB from a big time Colt dealer with a chipped forcing cone, may have even been cracked also. It would have sold for high dollar too, was already over $2K, before it was made public as being a refinish and the forcing cone issue was pointed out. The sad part was the refinish was so obvious, as was the chip/crack, but it made the auction block anyway despite the seller being a supposed expert. Caveat Emptor guys, no matter how 'reputable' someone seems and countless others will testify for.

Back to the question at hand, I had to answer just seeing pictures online because the only K frame I have ever owned is my 17-4, and I don't think that quite applies to this topic. I would still imagine the actual numbers for K frames that were used properly and suffered a cracked forcing cone is very low. Most examples probably stem from mild to moderate abuse. In that case, any gun will eventually have failures.

Some years ago I purchased a S&W M19 with a 2.5" barrel and RB-blued from a local Tennessee forum. Gun was sold "As Is" (first clue). The cylinder was difficult to open and close ? Tighten the ejector rod did not help. Finally using a bright light I discovered bottom of the forcing cone was split ! Could not locate a blued replacement 2.5" barrel but did find a SS 2.5" barrel from a forum member.. Had the SS barrel installed and sold it to a fellow that wanted a "Pinto" revolver. Lesson learn about "Sold As Is".

Owned a 2" Model 10 years ago that was used to test some pretty hot reloads. It was an off-duty gun and had very little bluing left. The forcing cone cracked after about 500 +P+ 110 JHP's. Totally my fault.....put a replacement barrel on it and sold it.

I've seen only one cracked forcing cone..on a friends fairly new 640-1.(I know,not a K frame) First time he shot it,it was shaving lead. Instead of calling it a day,he continued to "punish" the gun and anyone standing close to him. I moved out of "range" of the fragments and implored him not to shoot it. Weeks later, he was back at the range with "new" ammo. Still shaving lead and now would not print on paper. He sent it back to S&W and got it back with a new barrel installed and a letter that told him if it happens again, STOP shooting the gun and send it to them. I believe it was out of time,and him shooting it caused the cone to crack. That's the only personal experience I've had with forcing cones gone bad.

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My Daddy was a pistol..

I bought a model 10-2 on the cheap that had a cracked forcing cone. It now sports a 2 1/2" model 19 barrel and recessed cylinder.

I've never seen one, and I've owned a dozen or so Model 19/66's over the years. All but one were purchased used, so I have no idea what the real history of them was.

I shoot about 99% 38 Special loads in mine, so I wouldn't really expect to see any problems with them.

I do however believe it is not some kind of internet horror story. I read about the problem years ago.

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John 3:16 .

Many years ago I had a friend who fancied himself the Roy Weatherby of handgun cartridge reloading. He had a recipe for a rip snorting .38 special load with 158 grain SJWC bullets that he developed for a nickel plated C serial number Pre-10 and a 28. He changed the bullet, and cracked the forcing cone on both guns with the modified load. He sent both guns back to the factory and had the barrels replaced.

I saw him at a funeral seven years ago, he was carrying the Pre-10; and he said he still owned the 28. He also started buying factory high performance ammo and only reloads target rounds now.

I have an old model 10 that came back with a cracked forcing cone after lending it to a friend. He was shooting standard velocity 38spls in it when this happened. I re barreled it and the revolver continues to function to this day.
Jim

I think that letting lead build up there increases pressures. But firing very hot 125 grain .357 loads or Plus P Plus ammo is a known cause. I was told by factory reps that Plus P Plus ammo is sometimes more abusive to guns than full .357 loads.


If you work at it, you can ruin anything. One of the Ruger boards had pics of a GP-100 with a severely eroded barrel throat that had also cracked. The owner admitted to firing thouands of very hot handloads.


It's become trite to see posts on the Net about Rugers being as tough as tanks. Remember, even tanks can be destroyed.

I repaired two, over 20 years ago. The first was a K.38 Masterpiece, a police trade in. The forcing cone was severely leaded which I believe caused the crack. I replaced the barrel with a new one. The second was a 2" Nickel M&P from when they had half moon front sights. This was before the internet, so I had no idea of how to find a correct barrel, so I bored out the barrel and sleeved it with a piece of barrel I turned from the K .38 barrel mentioned above. I tested it with Super-Vel ammo with no problems, and returned it to the owner.

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Tom
1560

Why would +P loads be more abusive than full .357 loads? Because of the shorter .38 case maybe?

Yes, but not at Plus P levels. I referred to Plus P PLUS ammo, loaded only on order for some police agencies.


Why not just use .357 ammo? Politics in liberal cities! The cops wanted to be able to tell the media and "community activists" that they issued .38 ammo.


It's not supposed to have ever reached the public, but some has, so be wary of it. It's loaded beyond SAAMI specs and departments ordering it had to sign waivers conceding that it'd cause more rapid gun wear.

I have one right now that split the last time out after shooting 357's and some 38+P's. I have a barrel on the way and a gunsmith ready to install. Failed 1/28/17 in my hand. Cylinder would no swing open and had to be forced.

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I split the forcing cone on my Ruger Blackhawk convertible years ago. I had shot a lot of hot 357 reloads and 9mm submachine gun ammo, so there's no telling what did the deed.

In all my days, handling and shooting, I've only seen one cracked forcing cone in captivity.
It was on an early 6" Colt Python.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

A friend and I became obsessed with velocity at one point in the mid 70's. We both had 4 inch model 19-3 and were reloading using the Speer #8 manual. I don't remember the exact load but it was a heavy dose of SR4756 and Speer 125 gr. JHP in .357 cases with a small pistol std. primer. The book spec was 1600+ fps in 6 inch barrels. This was the hottest pistol load I had ever shot. You could actually feel the pressure wave when fired and see a softball size white flash. We shot thousands of these over a period of 4 or 5 years in our two revolvers with only a very small amount of gas cutting of the top straps.
During that same period we also loaded and shot a much smaller qty. of .38 spl. 110 gr. JHP max loads from that same #8 manual in our model 60s with no ill effects.
We experienced no forcing cone problems. Of course these guns were cleaned properly and regularly.

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Billy
Gunsmith, M/C mechanic

Cracking the forcing cone on a model 28 would take some real effort. That is amazing.

Came home with a model 64 recently, was on the dirty side but otherwise in (what I thought) good shape. After cleaning around the forcing cone, found a crack in the 6 oclock position. Will have to get barrel replaced now and put more in to it than should have. Learned to look a lot closer from now on. Does have one of the smoothest double actions I have run into in some time, ah well, lesson learned.

Did it with my 19 in 1986 shooting cast 150 gr bullets....Bought a barrel and replaced it........

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S&W Accumulator

That's why if you regularly go with 2 or 3 scoops, you should always use L or N series cones.

I would have thought that it would crack your skull too from the cylinder and top strap blowing up along with the forcing cone.

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Possum—The other white meat!

I have rebarreled a few K frames with cracked forcing cones, these were competition guns used for the Bianchi Cup and were firing 125 grain jacketed bullets at 1000 fps or more. Very seldom saw a PPC gun that shot all lead bullets crack. I've also seen one or two L frames crack from the same type of loads but it took a lot more of them. I've never seen a 357 N frame crack.

I owned a 19-4 purchased in 1982. Noticed around 2002 that the bottom of the forcing cone was cracked. I did change the barrel and sold it about a year later.

Yes, I shot a lot of 125 gr jacketed bullets through it.

Funny thing you never hear about a cracked forcing cone on a 66......I have a 66 from the same era as my 19 with lots of ammo through it with 0(zero) effects.....So stainless must hold up better..........

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S&W Accumulator

I bought a new Model 19 in 1980. Next I bought an RCBS Rockchucker press, dies, etc, and loaded up 500 cartridges using 125 grain jacketed bullets using data from the old Speer handbook (what could possibly go wrong?). I shot those up and then loaded another 500.

Somewhere though the second batch of ammo my gun suddenly locked up on me. I eventually got the cylinder open and discovered a cracked forcing cone. I had never heard of this before. I sent it back to S&W and they replaced the barrel under warranty, but it was the fault of my ammo, not the gun.

So, I learned two things. A Model 19 forcing cone can break, and there are no signs of pressure when working up a load for a 357 Magnum. If you ever do get sticky extraction, you are WAY over-pressure (my handloads extracted just fine).

I learned one more thing too, and that is the foolishness of shooting low pressure ammo for casual use, and then using (over?)max pressure ammo for self defense. If you are using a gun for self defense, do not use a load that can tie-up your gun when your life is depending on it.

I have a Model 66 from a year or two later, and that is working (not "running") just fine. I learned from my mistake, and have never shot light bullet, high pressure ammo through it.