Hi there, Im new to the forum and was hoping to get some info on an issue with a brand new 686 I just bought. I took it to the range and put 50 rounds of Norma .357 through it. It seems to fire fine for 2-3 shots, than malfunctions. When I say malfunction, I mean when i pull the trigger it hits a hard spot through the pull ( like 10 pounds was added to the weight of the pull). If it allows me to continue pulling, the cylinder still rotates but next shot doesnt go off. Very weird. I looked at spent casings and dimple is dead center on the primer. I looked for timing issues when dry firing, and the cylinders are all centered, and lockup seems just fine. When dry firing everything looks and sounds fine, and again the problem only occurred with live ammo. To reiterate, when I load up a cylinder the first couple shots work fine, but things go south on 3rd or 4th shot. I was in the military and now im a cop so 99.9 percent of my firearms is with autos. Just looking for some help since i dont know much about revolvers. Thanks very much for any insight you may be able to provide.

sorry to hear of this. I hope its an easy fix like dirt under the extractor or the lock malfunctioning. Best of luck sir,but it sounds like another new Smith back to the factory. If its insuffecient case head clearance it should effect every cylinder turn,not just half of them

Same chamber or different chamber every time causes the problem? In any event, no need to overthink this, back to the factory for warranty work. Include a note describing exactly how the revolver behaves.

EDIT: Note to self, remember S&W revolvers have charge holes, not chambers.

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To cannon, all men are equal

Welcome to the S&W Forums! Since it does not happen when dry firing, only when firing live ammo, I am wondering if the hole in the firing pin bushing is oversized or if the bushing is not properly seated in the frame and you are getting the fired primers dragging on the recoil shield. Another possibility is that the case rims are dragging on the recoil shield due to insufficient clearance. Either way, since it is a new revolver, contact S&W.

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I never even thought to keep track of which cylinders were having the problem. I was thinking of going back to the range and trying a different ammo brand so I’ll try and pay attention to that. Thanks

It definitely feels like something is dragging. I guess id better just get it sent back in. What a pain. Thanks for the help folks!

sounds more like a firing pin issue than an extractor issue to me, in which case a trip back to the factory is probably best.

I bought a 686+ recently that has a barrel/cylinder gap of .003". This is very narrow, but the gun cycles perfectly with magnum ammo so I have not bothered with it. Could be your problem, but contact S&W and have them deal with it.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Norma is hot stuff. Different ammo is always worthwhile to try, of course. Three or four rounds to an issue may be leaving unburnt powder flakes under the ejector. What you described is exactly how this feels. Those flakes influence the clearance JUST enough to plague you like that. Cleaning toothbrush, and cotton swatch, LOL.

Just for grins, try it with fired cases in the cylinder and see if the same thing happens............

The front of the cylinder may be dragging on the barrel face. I've had this happen on several revolvers with minimum gaps. The powder and lead residue can build up on the front of the cylinder and close the gap.

Cant believe i didnt think to try that. Im gonna try and shoot it again tomorrow, different ammo. I will save some spent cartridges. If no good, ill mail it in to s&w

Finding .357 ammo sucks right now. Bad time to be playing trial and error with a new gun lol

I had and issue with an older M29 after a new hand was installed; worked fine with empty cylinder. Trigger very hard to pull on a couple of chambers when loaded or with empty cases.

Improperly fit hand was hitting the rim of cartridge. I didn't fit the hand, some tractor mechanic at one of the "Custom" plating shops

I did fix the problem by removing a bit of metal from the top, right hand edge of the hand where it was hitting the rim of the next cartridge.