327 trr8 maintenance questions... Forum help!

[rickjones]

Hello all! I own a 327 trr8 and it is my absolute favorite wheel gun of all time. I have had it for a couple years now and carry it often (on and off duty). I can't stop shooting it and never go to the range without it. I would loosely estimate the round count at around 3500-4000, type of rounds are, lots of 158 magnums and .38 (majority) but I will say that the gun has made a lot of thunder so far lol. I do meticulously clean it after every outing as well as routine cleaning. I would usually be inclined to start putting it in the reserve spot but it is set up perfectly and broken in to the "smoothie as butter" condition and as I said I love it! I have noticed a little bit of debris hitting me in the face when firing magnums and a little bit of cylinder play developing. I was hoping that my forum friends could give me some good advise as to how I can resolve these issues. Do I send it to smith for a check over? Local gun smith? I'm sure it needs some sort of heavy maintenance at some point. For the record I will not attempt any do it yourself smithing on it, besides the sights and grips it remains pc factory stock. Thank you!!

[kaaskop49]

Hey partner, how you doin'? Sounds like your gun might benefit from a visit to a gunsmith, one who knows revolvers. Could be a timing issue, the gun certainly has done what it's supposed to, from what you say. Does your "job" have an armorer who knows wheelguns? Or does the armorer know someone who does? That's my take.

Getting uglier out there. Stay safe, partner, check 6.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

[Neumann]

How's the cylinder gap? Mine is 0.005", but still low mileage compared to yours. Smith recommends having the barrel re-torqued at intervals. You might give them a call. Smith will not provided the tools nor specifications for this job.

I agree completely with your pick as "favorite" revolver. It's light, accurate, and has a great trigger out of the box.

[BLUEDOT37]

In addition to what's already been mentioned (check B-C gap, timing/lock-up on each cylinder) I'll just add that some ammo/powders just seem to spit more than others. Magnum loads & unburnt ball powder spits can be annoying. If it seems ammo specific the gun might be fine, but still worth checking anyway.

.

[Lou_the_welder]

"Little debris hitting my face....."

Check your force cone. It may be eroded. I've done that before. After 3800 rounds-mixed 38, 357 with 110, 125 and 158gr . this was on a ruger. But, a gun is a gun. If its a revolver, it has the barrel cylinder gap. Flame cutting causes this. Ive heard many blames as to the specific reasons and i think all are speculative.
"The light that burns twice as bright...."

[kaaskop49]

"...burns half as long, and you have burned so very brightly, Roy."

Love that flick. Interesting photo, Lou. Shows the meaning of timing and the b/c gap.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

[Lou_the_welder]

You're the second that said timing....before Ruger sent me a new gun. They said the whole thing needed to be replaced. The sand in the face is what i remembered.
I've adopted a ,"if it breaks-send it in, shoot something else" mentality. Sent in two guns this year alone. Last year sent 1 or 2 also.....
SAW has my 629 right now. Canted barrel.

I have an R8. The first thing i did was snap an allen on the top rail. Fixed it on the kitchen table with a cordless drill and 3 different size drill bits. I snapped a "snap-on" allen bit to tighten. To loosen i snapped a cheapo bits head right off in the screw! Thats what made me float in this thread......

[rickjones]

Thank you all very much for the advise! Much like young people today I'm really good at driving it but have no idea how to fix it lol. All of the responses make perfect sense and I do believe it could be a timing/spacing issue. I think in this case I'm going to call and send it home to Smith for some tlc. I have read in numerous posts that the tool needed for barrel adjustments is not available so I'm going to go the safer route. Unfortunately the revolver armorer's are a thing of the past here in PA. I will post an update when I get her back for another quick 3-4000! I don't want to shelve this one....ever

[rickjones]

Quick update, I spoke to smith customer service and the extremely nice gentleman sent me a label to send her in for a much needed tune up. For ego purposes he agreed with all of your assessments!!! I will post another update when it gets back.

[muddocktor]

Sounds good. I bet it will feel and shoot like a new pistol (but with a better trigger) when you get it back. I sent my 40+ year old 27-2 in a year ago and while it wasn't free, they did a great job of refurbing my pistol. I would estimate it had 30K+ rounds through it when it went back to be tuned up.

[old pipefitter]

sounds like you really like that TRR8. I'm thinking of buying one even though my favorites are 29's. I hope S&W fixes it to your satisfaction

[rickjones]

Hello all, I checked my notes and found the round count was way higher than 4 and between 5-6k. I go to the range a lot and just want to give accurate info. That being said I sent her back to smith and two weeks later it was back!! The fine folks at smith gave it a nice rebuild with a new barrel and cylinder. Took it to the range and started beating it up again lol. Flawless function and still tack driver accurate. I now have no hesitation when it comes to shooting it often and a whole lot of rounds. My best recommendation is to have it checked out between 4-6k rounds and send it in if there's an issue. Don't try to mess with it and let the pro's handle it. I will be shelving this one at 10k to home defense and getting another. I will post a condition report when I hit the magic number which shouldn't take too long. Just traded for two cases of .357 158 (1000 rds) 1-jhp, 1-target flat tip so I plan on putting it through its paces. Thank you smith pc guys, great job!

[kaaskop49]

Glad for the good tidings! Get another one now while you can. Man, you shoot a lot! Keep checking your 6. Stay safe.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103