I tried shooting my 1982 era model 63 today, and had a problem. I was using CCI Blazer .22LR ammo, and it wouldn't eject after firing. I loaded the cylinder, and no problems shooting. I went to eject the casings, and it wouldn't eject easily. After a minute or so I was finally able to get casings out.

My friend didn't think .22LR ammo was the proper ammo for the model 63, but I am pretty sure it is. Am I wrong?

If it was the right ammo, what could cause the problem. I ended up not being able to shoot that gun after the first time due to the problem.

Thank you.

that is the right ammo.

make sure you scrub the chambers clean with a copper bore brush. 22 revolvers like yours are very sensitive to any fouling and this can cause hard ejection.

Well , that's what mine says on the side of the barrel , .22 Long Rifle Ctg.

But ya can also use shorts , longs , BB caps , CB caps , shot shells and blanks.

Most problems with mine are the chambers are on the tight side and putting rounds in the chambers requires a good push. (yes they're clean)

Some CCI ammo seems larger OD at the bullet crimp - perhaps a combination of factors that likely include the type and amount of lube. It's the only ammo I have trouble with in my CZ and Kimber rimfire rifles. Stingers and Velocitors just won't fit in their chambers - and take effort to go into my 617 or 63's (New 3" & 5".) chambers, no matter the cleanliness of said chambers. They won't fall out when spent, either.

Now, my trio of .22 S&W revolvers were weened on proper ammo - Federal 550 packs of 36gr CPHP's from WallyWorld (<$16). Works great. And, as it is not 'whizz-bang-target/match-ammo', I have an excuse for the odd poor shot! Try it. Their Federal 'AutoMatch' works well, too. Not so fond of the el-cheapo bulk packed Remingtons. In reality, a revolver isn't tempermental - if it fits the chambers easily when you load them with little or no effort, they should come out easily - unless your chambers are nasty. Make sure they start off clean - but be careful. Many more .22 firearms have their chamber(s) and rifle bores damaged by cleaning than are ever damaged by shooting them when they are dirty. I push swipes, wet (Still use Hoppes #9!) or dry, through my bores with a length of 1/8" brass rod - available at hardware stores for ~$2 for a 3 ft length (Makes a handgun and a rifle rod.). Let the solvent work - keep the bores wet for a while - then pass clean swipes - repeat. Good luck!

Stainz

The chambers were quite clean when I took the gun today. I know the .22 is a dirty round, but it should be handle six rounds before needing a good cleaning.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy by using the wrong ammo in the gun. My friend said he didn't think it was the right ammo since it looks short in the chambers. It fired, but I had two (of six) misfires, and then the extraction problem. Decided to stop firing the gun, and check with you guys before trying again.

I was at least able to use the .22 in my AR15 .22 upper, and it worked great.

I only shot my 442 and 681 prior to the model 63, and I never had any extraction problems so I was very surprised when this happened. I did have the yoke stretched a very small amount to fix a cylinder release issue. Don't think that could be a problem though.

The Blazers were no problem putting into into the cylinder. I also fired the rounds there were two fail to fires at first.

I use my cleaning solvent, and run my bore snake through the cylinder and barrel twice. I like to keep my guns clean which is why when they aren't it drives me crazy (see my 681 thread). I expect them to get dirty at the range, but I like to clean them up as soon as possible.

I have quite a bit of the CCI ammo, but I can use it in my AR15 without a problem. I guess it is time to start experimenting with other .22 rounds.

My son's Browning ATD loves Blazers but gives him a fit with WW Wildcats. Where as my old ATD will eat anything. Not all .22's like all .22 ammo.

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S&W Accumulator

442js: My 63 doesn't like Blazers either. I think it's something about the rims after the firing pin smacks them. They seem to expand the rim just enough to make extraction very hard. All other CCI's eject without a problem. Try putting a few fired cases back in the cylinder and see if they get tight when the rim seats.

442js: I think I spotted your problem with the Model 63. You wrote the words "bore snake". As you already know the .22LR cartridges are 'dirty' and leave a lot of residue in the chambers. IMHO, you need to switch to a good bronze brush on a proper hand rod used with a good bore cleaner. Take the cylinder out of the handgun and work the brush with bore cleaner vigorously back and forth thru those chambers. I bet that your problem goes away.

If you are in So. Nevada, I will be glad to meet you at the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club range just out side of Boulder City and will bring my pistol cleaning equipment with me. PM me if this sounds like something that you would like to do. ......... Big Cholla

Have you tried the el cheapo Federals? Have you tried anything other than CCI? As to J-frame ftf's - check under the ejector star - especially at the ejector rod/ejector star juncture - a cotton thread there - or some carbon fouling - can cause problems. Did you replace the hammer spring with a lighter unit - or clip a turn or two? S&W won't do a regular J-frame trigger job on a rimfire model - there is a message there. Rimfire primers require more oomph to go bang than cf primers require.

The current 63 chambers really won't shoot the CCI Stingers, without at least some difficulty in extracting, while a <$200 Ruger 10/22 will feed them fine. Self feeders, long and short, generally don't have 'match' chambers - they have 'loose' chambers - thus they feed fine. Where they have problems with different ammo is in the recoil energy - to make their self feed mechanism function. A revolver couldn't care less re recoil energy - if it fits, it fires. Getting it out, if it was a tight fit pre-firing, is another matter.

I clean my cf revolvers after their use -- generally speaking. Since running my 'nastiness test' on my 617 two years back, I have really been lacking in cleaning my rimfire revolvers - one or more always goes to the range - every trip - and launches at least 100 rounds/trip - they are fun. I know the 617 saw >600 - probably 700 rounds. I'll wager that the new 3" 63 has seen 400 rounds between cleanings on more than one occasion already. I think it's the ammo - the el cheapo Federal's really aren't that bad.

Good luck.

Stainz

I recieved a few "Thank You"s from members who tried my remedies in this post:
M63- tight chambers?

I fire Federal 550 bulk pack from Wally World in my 63 and never had a problem with sticking spent shells. Try them first before you start reaming etc.

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Dick

IIRC, some M63s had tight chambers. After firing, the brass was hard to eject until you gave it a minute to cool down. Try ejecting unfired cartridges, they should eject with ease. You'll either have to get the chambers honed or just take you time, allowing it to cool down, when shooting this fine little gun.

I do have other .22 ammo, but it is match grade ammo I bought for my 22/32 kit gun. I didn't bring that ammo with me since the kit gun didn't go, but I think I will have to try it out next time I am at the range. It will be nice to know if it is the ammo that is the problem or if there is truly something wrong with the gun.

This was the first time I tried the gun since I bought it. The previous owner had the gun in spotless condition. The barrel looks good, and I saw just a small black speck of lead in two of the cylinders. I don't see the gun getting much cleaner than that. I ran the bore snake through afterwards, and it was pretty hard getting it through the cylinder due to it being pretty tight.

I will PM you a little later. Thanks.

I only tried the CCI Blazers since that is all I had with me (I have some match grade ammo for a 60 year old gun but since that gun didn't go with me, the ammo didn't either). I checked under the ejector star, and it was clean.

I did no work on this gun at all except a gunsmith stretched the yoke a small amount to get rid of the cylinder release problem.

I clean my guns after I buy them, and after every use. The 63 was pretty clean so I don't think that is the problem. I know .22s can be a little finicky about ammo so I might just try a box of Federals to see if that is the problem. If it is, I will have to use up the CCIs in the rifle and the switch exclusively to that round. I want to be able to use the ammo in more than one gun.

I had/have the same problem with my 63.

Didn't matter what type or brand ammo. Always had very sticky ejection.

Close look at the charge holes showed rough machine work.

I honed/polished the holes and results improved considerably. Still not as slick ejection as my 17.

My 9mm model 940 also had similar problems. I think S&W had a bit of a learning curve on machining the new stainless revolvers. Stainless doesn't machine the same carbon steel and tool wear is much greater. Don't think the changed or resharpened tools as often as they should have in early production. So, sometimes you get a gun or gun parts with poor finish.

Thanks. I usually eject the rounds with the barrel pointed up. This was a problem with the first six rounds, and after clearing the casings, the gun was still pretty clean.

Polishing the chambers sounds like a good idea so I will probably try that in addition to trying new ammo.

I just put six new rounds in, and then ejected them without a problem. Heat could have been an issue since it was over 100 yesterday when I was shooting, and my 681 that I was also shooting had its cylinder get extremely hot as well.

I will probably also follow other people's suggestions to try new ammo before I start doing any work on the chamber. I did notice that the round doesn't go that far into the chamber meaning that it is that I place it all the way in, but then the round isn't too close to the front of the cylinder. Probably not an issue, but that is what my friend saw as possibly being the wrong ammo.

I am definitely going to try different ammo before any work is done to the gun. I am hoping that it doesn't come to that at all.

The person who I bought the gun from said he never had a problem with it. Granted, he was selling me the gun, but I do tend to believe him. My gun was built in 1982 so I would hope that S&W learned about machining the stainless revolvers by then.

I am certainly going to try different ammo as that is the least problematic approach to trouble shooting the gun, but if that doesn't work, something else is going to have to be done. I wonder if S&W would fix the gun at this late stage if it is not an ammo problem.