Model 19 - trouble extracting spent .357 shells

[MagnumForce73]

I love my Model 19-3 snubby, but a lot of the time, it has trouble extracting spent .357 shells. I press the ejector rod, and they'll only go out a little bit before they stick and I have to push really hard on the rod to get the shells out. I've cleaned the gun regularly and this still happens. Looking through the cylinder chambers, I can see some small rings towards the front of the chambers, which makes me wonder if those have anything to do with it. The gun doesn't have the same problem with .38 shells, however.


Anybody have similar issues with their revolvers?

 

[toad67]

Sounds like you might have a built up carbon ring from the shorter 38 spl's. Get rid of the ring, and I'd bet your problem is solved.

 

[bigmoose]

Hmmm, is there a possibility of one of the chambers having a slight bulge in it? You could try loading only one chamber at a time, firing the round and then try extracting the spent case. Do this on all six chambers and see if the difficulty lies in just one chamber, a few, or all.

 

[MagnumForce73]

Both good ideas. I'll give the "one round at a time" thing a shot (no pun intended) next time I'm at the range.

 

[MagnumForce73]

As for the carbon ring, that gave me another idea: when I first had the revolver, my father and I fired a few handloaded .38 Special rounds through it that my uncle had given us, so I'm wondering if those fouled up the chambers.

 

[fishn395]

Do you shoot .38 through it first and then .357 in a range session? If so, clean it and start with .357 and see if it happens.
I bought a used Ruger Vaquero and I believe someone prior shot a lot of .38s out of it. Don't know, though. I could see a ring similar to what you described in the cylinder chambers.
I used Blue Wonder and Lewis lead remover cleaning kit. It took quite few passes but now the spent shells eject.

 

[handejector]

Sounds like you might have a built up carbon ring from the shorter 38 spl's. Get rid of the ring, and I'd bet your problem is solved.

/\ /\ /\ THIS.

 

[kbm6893]

I clean my revolver chambers using a cleaning brush dunked in Hoppes and then chucked up into a drill. 5 seconds back and forth on low, followed by a wet patch with Hoppes. For .38/.357, use a .45 cal brush so it's a tight fit. The patches come out black. Follow up with wet patches into they're clean and then a dry patch to mop it up. On used revolvers that were really bad it might take 10 seconds per hole but once it's clean there is nothing in there that wasn't there the day it left the factory. Now it's just part of my cleaning regimen. Even have a 12 volt drill on my cleaning bench just for that purpose.

Only do this for cylinder holes. Never a barrel. For leaded barrels I use a Lewis Lead Remover, but I only have had to on used guns. Once they're clean I never shoot enough lead to need it. I bought a used Model 10 from the NYPD last year. We used to shoot lead before the switch to Nyclad. All 6 chambers and the barrel were badly leaded.

 

[310Pilot]

I recommend a good cleaning of the cylinder charge holes as described in a previous post. However, you mentioned you have a smubby. The 2.5" barrel 66 and 19 have a shorter ejector rod than the 4" and 6" guns, and often exhibit some difficulty in ejecting spent 357 shells as described in your first post. The 'cure" for this is to open the cylinder after riring, turn the muzzle up and give the extractor rod a sharp whack downward to its full extension. That usually rejects 357 empties' due to the combination of the sharp force applied plus the effects of gravity. A gentle push upward of the extractor rod with the muzzle pointed down often results in 357 cases sticking in the cylinder on the snubbys. Hope this helps

 

[rubiranch]

I've only experienced this one time with just one revolver, my 28-2.

YEARS ago a friend and I were going out into the hill to go 4-wheeling
and shoot our pistols. It was during the deer hunt so we bought hunting
licenses incase we were approached by the DWR.

My brother gave me 12 HOT .357 Magnum rounds incase I saw a deer.

He told me he didn't want the brass back from those 12 rounds.

The only way I can explain them is that they were the most "crisp" .357
rounds I have ever shot.

I had to use a piece of wood to beat on the end of the extractor rod to
get them our of the cylinder.

Those 12 rounds were awesome.

 

[AveragEd]

Back in the mid-1970s, when I was a lot younger and dumber, I bought my first handgun, a Smith & Wesson Model 19. I started handloading at the same time and tended to load on the hot side (again, younger and dumber) and eventually I had a heck of a time ejecting fired cases. I finally sent the gun back to S&W where the cylinder was replaced.

Before too long, the condition returned so I sent it back again. They replaced the cylinder again but this time sent a note along instructing me to stop using such heavy loads and that they would not replace the cylinder again under warranty. My loads were actually deforming the chambers, they said. I then retired the gun to .38 Special target loads only and never had the problem again.

Ed

 

[rct269]

Step One: Go to the Notable Thread Index in the early hand ejector section, and find the "lead in barrel" thread---pretty close to the top of the pile.

Step Two: Follow the instructions contained in my post. (While the topic treated is as noted ("lead in barrel"), the procedure outlined deals with lead deposits, it removes any and everything from barrels AND cylinder chambers); AND it does so in a matter of a few minutes, AND costs next to nothing. As an alternative you can buy a Lewis Lead Remover, and spend considerably more time messing with that.

All this comes from those who've been there and done that, starting with Wilson Combat, and passed along by yours truly----as a public service.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[USBP SW]

Regarding the carbon ring, I've had more trouble getting Magnum rounds in than getting them out. However, I have had Smith and Wesson revolvers that had burrs on the very end of the chambers and where the machining was done for the extractor. The problem would be more pronounced with magnum rounds due to the increased pressure and bulging. I would check the spent cases for scratches near the base of the shell casing for evidence of this problem, I used a round hard Arkansas stone to clean up the chamber edges. I have done this to several k-frame and n-frame Smith and Wesson revolvers over the years with immediate and lasting results. I hope this helps and let us know your results. Incidentally, the model 19 was intended to be shot with .38's and carried with magnums, designed with law enforcement community in mind, The quals and practice were shot with the .38's and magnum loads were carried because leo's wouldn't catch many suspects, with a duty belt full of n-frame revolvers and all the other necessities. The advent of the l-frame filled the middle ground pretty well.

 

[chief38]

Get a Lewis Lead Remover from Brownell's. It is the best for cleaning heavy lead and carbon deposits from revolver cylinders, barrels and forcing cones. They are caliber specific, so make sure you get the 38/357 version. Conversion kits are also available for other calibers. Read instructions before use!

I'd also avoid shooting too many Magnums out of a M19, especially lighter weight bullets such as 125 or 110 grains. They are known to crack forcing cones on M19 revolvers. If you must shoot Magnums, stick to the 158 grain versions. They are the safest magnums to shoot from a M19.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Purchased my 2.5" Model 19 in 1976 or 1977, proceeded to shoot up some .357 SuperVel 110JHP ammo. End of range session! Cases stuck so firmly in the chambers I had to go home, spray in some WD-40 penetrating oil, then insert a wooden dowel rod and tap with a mallet.

Later had incidents using Federal and Remington .357 ammo, not completely frozen in the chambers but very difficult extraction.

The short ejector rod on the snub revolvers is not ideal for positive extraction. At best, you may push about half the case length clear of the chambers. A seriously expanded case could be quite difficult to remove. Any carbon build-up within the chambers could cause binding. Any slight irregularity in the chamber walls could result in binding of a fired case.

A key purpose of the cartridge case is to seal the breach by expansion under the pressures of firing. The greater the chamber pressures the greater case wall and head expansion can be expected. Ammo loaded to maximum pressures will cause these issues more frequently than moderate pressure ammo. Reloaded ammunition can exhibit case head expansion in the web area that is beyond the resizing abilities of common dies, especially carbide dies utilizing a tungsten carbide ring set about 1/4" deep into the die opening (this is quite visible in reloaded .357 cases).

Add to these factors all the variations that can come with manufacturing tolerances and tool wear during production, a combination of several influences can occur.

Simplest solutions are usually thorough cleaning to remove all carbon and metal deposits and the use of ammunition loaded to more moderate pressures.

 

[mod29]

I love my Model 19-3 snubby, but a lot of the time, it has trouble extracting spent .357 shells. I press the ejector rod, and they'll only go out a little bit before they stick and I have to push really hard on the rod to get the shells out...

Are you shooting factory ammo or reloads?

 

[MagnumForce73]

Get a Lewis Lead Remover from Brownell's. It is the best for cleaning heavy lead and carbon deposits from revolver cylinders, barrels and forcing cones. They are caliber specific, so make sure you get the 38/357 version. Conversion kits are also available for other calibers. Read instructions before use!

I'd also avoid shooting too many Magnums out of a M19, especially lighter weight bullets such as 125 or 110 grains. They are known to crack forcing cones on M19 revolvers. If you must shoot Magnums, stick to the 158 grain versions. They are the safest magnums to shoot from a M19.

Believe me, I ONLY shoot 158 grain bullets out of my Model 19 after reading this one article that a thread linked me to.

 

[MagnumForce73]

Are you shooting factory ammo or reloads?

I usually only shoot factory ammo out of this gun, but back when I first got it, my uncle gave my father and I some .357 and .38 ammo that I believe was reloaded.

 

[Chrisj357]

Ammo can cause this.

I have shot many many rounds through my 686 and the cylinder holes are a tad bigger than my M-19. Never had a casing get stuck until I tried some cheap Blazer ammo. The weak aluminum casings got stuck more than half the time