Loading the 317, I notice occasionally that a cartridge does not drop in smoothly. If I remove the cartridge and run a nylon brush through the chamber in question, then it drops in cleanly. If I don't, then it will subsequently (after firing the 8 rounds) be hard to open the cylinder. The 317 was carefully cleaned before shooting, of course.

It has occurred to me that the problem might be the ammunition I'm using, which is the Blazer 22LR, which uses a 40 grain lead round-nose bullet.

I haven't yet tested with a FMJ round. Does S&W have any restriction as to the type of cartridge? Or comments on this cartridge?

Thanks.

It happens on a lot of .22s. You are dealing with a small bore with small dimensions and tight tolerances. Then this is exacerbated with .22 ammo which, on the most part, is noted for being notoriously dirty. In most cases it's just the nature of the beast. I use Federal bulk pack JHPs in mine and seem to have a lot less problems. Use at least copper washed ammo. I've found Remington bulk pack to be the dirtiest.

__________________
Dick

Many thanks