Maybe someone can help...I have a S&W model 29-2 ser. # N499XXX. I bought it new in if I remember correctly, 1983 or 1984...Can't remember exactly...I have fire close to 75,000 rounds through this gun. 99% were reloads. I am a very meticulous reloader and keep records of all my reloads. Most of the reloads were avg. in pressure and about a 10th of 1% were experimental hot loads, but well within the industry standards. The PROBLEM.... in the last 2500 rounds + or - a couple of 100, the fired cases are really stuck in the cylinder and I have to pound on the ejector with a nylon mallet to remove the cases... The are avg. on the lower end of power loads as I'm still trying to figure it out...The gun fires and operates perfectly, with the exception of removing a fired case... Test 1..Load 1 round, fire, have to push hard to remove...next, load 3 cases, fire, have to pound out with some force with mallet...Lastly..full cylinder, fire, have to pound on extractor with full force of mallet to get cases out... Test 2...Fire same batch of reloads through Ruger Redhawk .44 and S&W .44 Classic Hunter... Result... All cases fired, come out easily from (2) separate firearms after firing.... Conclusion... Must be something wrong with the 29-2 cylinder... Is this a problem that can be corrected and if so, is it best to send it to the Smith & Wesson factory for repair for the best result and best repair warranty??? Would like to know what the problem is....What is the cause to prevent reoccurrence... What the solution/repair is plus any idea as to the cost??? Thanks for any help someone can give me...dfr...Riverside, CA

What load are you using?

Have you measured the outside diameter of the cases fired in the 29 and compared that measurement to the same load fired in one of your other guns? Is the bore of your 29 very clean and free of any lead deposits?

I've used so many to list, but if you reload, use any reloading manual and just about any load listed, I've used... Like I stated...99% are avg. and below....A microscopic amount were HOT, but nothing outside the listed loads in any manual...Sierra, Nosler, Winchester, youname it...

All reloads are tumbled after depriming, and then spot measured on length and width and all measurements are within specs prior to the reloading process...

I'm one of those CLEAN gun nuts... Cylinder is spotless... Sorry, didn't think to measure the spent cases after they came out so cleanly from the other 2 guns....

Greetings..
Just a couple thoughts...

I know... I know...I hate to suggest this but you asked...
How clean is your cylinder bore? Is it possible you're overlooking build up over the thousands of rounds?
I load thousands of .44mag as well and have many 29's. I've only experienced this when I approach excessive pressures.

35+ years ago, starting out, I used magnum primers thinking magnum primers went with magnum loads. Stuck cases were the norm until I started to back off loads and discontinued using mag. primers for all mag reloads.

I don't have any Ruger .44's to compare. Without this option, if my cylinders were clean and dry, I would consider something has changed in my powder recipe, primers etc. increasing my pressures over previous loads.

.44 Ruger's could have a larger cylinder bore tolerance...I don't know.
With all your loading experience, I would imagine you know how to diagnose your fired primers to determine excessive pressure.

But just in case, if your primers have a puddled look or are really flattened out with very little margin around the pocket, it could indicate high pressures.

Hope this helps. No doubt someone else has ran into this and will offer their thoughts

Merry Christmas! and welcome to the forum

I think Geno44 was talking about measuring the cases AFTER they are fired, both in the problematic and other guns.

Yes Sir....went through that issue back in the late 80's thinking you needed mag primers for mag calibers...even went as far as thinking I needed mag powder to... reloading experience and other reloaders helped on that one.......But all the reloading info I can give you would be that as I started out reloading, was very critical in every aspect, as I knew the dangers of NOT paying attention to details in the reloading process....So, think of yourself reloading your own cases, and the attention to the details YOU took when loading, I did ALL of that x's 2... A little anal if you think about it, but safe is a pretty good think when creating your own loads.... But when you think of my TEST #2...(2) different guns, a Redhawk and the Classic Hunter...machining of the cylinders in both guns should be within the specs required for each gun, for the caliber designed... ALL (3) guns load easily...but after firing, ONLY the 29-2...has the problem...Just for info...Redhawk(1986)...aprox. 12,500 rds. thru it based on my reloading notes for that gun and the Classic Hunter...dare I say, only 56 rds...bought brand new when they came out... Just a keepsake for me, but shot it as a test gun...Any Ideas???

BTW....everything on the gun is SPOTLESS....cleaned like a babies bottom.... Guns are built to last a lifetime.... I want mine to last longer than mine, for someone else to use and enjoy someday...

Take the rounds from your 29 after fired & see if they will chamber in another 44. If not you may need to go cylinder shopping. Also take some fired cases out of another 44 & see if they will chamber in your 29 to prove it. With luck you can get a cylinder for under $150. I am not a gunsmith but see a lot of problems at our 600+ member club. I have seen this on a .357 but not a 44. I would think 44 specials will also stick if the cylinder is bad.

4barrel..... THANKS SO MUCH FOR THAT INFO.... That is another test that literally slipped by my thoughts..... I was resolved to think I might have to replace the cylinder, but testing and getting the best conclusions with the facts to back them up really helps gunsmiths in the troubleshooting aspect of their trade... Do you think this is a problem for the S&W factory or do you think that replacing the cylinder is the problem... 5 minutes lapse.... Just did your test... Fired cases from the 29-2 will not slide into the Classic Hunter....but, the Classic Hunter fired cases slide pretty easily into the 29-2...Conclusion...Something is wrong with the 29-2's cylinder...Would you agree... Do you think this is something that should go to the factory for replacement or just replace the cylinder myself... Thanks for your help in the diagnosis...I guess 2 minds are better than 1....hehehehehehe

Just a random thought, but how many loadings does your brass have? Might older used brass have less spring back. I admit I have no ideas that have not already been covered above.

Have you tried fresh factory rounds? It may not prove anything but, it is worth a chance that they might eject. It is doubtful that S&W can provide a cylinder with counter bored chambers. I believe that the non counter bored cylinder is shorter than the cylinder in your revolver.You will more than likely have to search the used parts suppliers in order to find the cylinder that you need.

If you can find a cylinder from a 29-2 from about 1878 until the early 80s with the pinned barrel chances are it will fit. Try to buy a cylinder assembly with the same barrel length as yours and you will have spare parts. I replaced one in a 19 & one in a 15 and they functioned perfect. There are three gunsmiths on the forum that will probably be along later with better answers. I am just a parts changer. I didnt invent the wheel but know how to change it EBAY & Gun broker have cylinders. RELOADS VOID THE WARRANTY --

If you let the cylinder cool before trying to eject them do the shells still stick in the cylinder?
Another question is after you do get the shells ejected will they fit fairly easily back into the cylinder? It could be when you force the shells out they might possibly become resized?

I am also wondering if the cylinders have some minute burn out that the shells are swelling out into. If you have an inside micrometer you might check the cylinder bores for discrepancies end to end.
Just some suggestions or maybe more like questions from a non expert.

My LCR 357 when firing full mag 357 rounds the shells are sometimes hard to eject right away. If I let the cylinder cool they will come out easier. Realize hot magnum loads the shells will get really hot and no doubt expanding. Which makes sense that after cooling the shells eject easier.

This could be symptomatic of mixing brass fired in different guns.
Are you using carbide dies? Not everyone is aware that they don't truly full length resize a fired case.
Maybe try some fresh brass and only use it in the 29-2. Put them through a few cycles of reloads and see if the problem disappears.

Best Regards

Old brass loses elasticity. Additionally, try loading midrange loads as they may extract better, with good brass of course.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Send it to S&W for repair. Why suffer any more over it. Since it probably is still under warranty you may get the cylinder replaced no charge. They ain't cheap!

S&W won't work on the older revolvers.
M vote is that your brass is old and the 29 has tighter chambers that the Rugers.
Try new brass.

Measure brass as noted, might try annealing you used brass in the oven. The idea of running some new factory rounds though it is good, and you can always used fresh brass.

Your problem is impossible to diagnose from far away. Without the gun in hand anything beyond trying factory ammo is just a guess. This I do know from hard learned experience. If something has changed and suddenly brute force is required to make an object work STOP. Seek professional assistance before you make it worse.

Morning deerslayerdfr;

About 3 things will cause the cases to become difficult to eject.

(1)-rough or deformed cylinder holes, unlikely but possible. In any case inspect the cylinder holes for being smooth & round.

(2)-shooting brass with no spring back (as mentioned above try some factory rounds or new brass).

(3)-high chamber pressures-- this could come from many causes including bullet size, powder amount & choice, round OAL, lead buildup etc.

On the high pressures-- what do your fired case primers look like? Are they exceptionally flat or flowing? Any other indications of high pressures. (can you post a CLOSE UP clear picture of your fired case primers?)

If you shoot (or have shot) lead bullets, at your round count it is very possible that you have some lead build up in the barrel. Even though you clean the gun a lot you might still have lead build up in the rifling if you don't do a dedicated barrel de-leading with proper lead removal solvents. (standard cleaning doesn't always remove lead build up)

Personally, if it were my gun I would try factory fresh ammo & if still sticking cases then do a very dedicated lead removal cleaning.

One other area to check would be the case length. Do you routinely trim your brass? If left to grow over several firings, it might be just a fraction too long for the chambers. Try trimming back to minimum length and see what happens.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I had a similar problem which I asked for help, a member H Richard posted a cylinder bore cleaning process using drill and Flitz polish, I was amazed of the amount of crud that came out of my "clean" cylinders, it cured my sticking case issue.

I would also take measurements along the length of the case.

That would determine if the chambers are uniform or if there is wear at one particular area in the chamber like the mouth.

It sounds to me like high pressure. If your loads haven't changed then I would guess the gun has. The only change on the gun side of the equation I can think of is lead build up in the throats...maybe down bore as well...? Tough to say without seeing pics. Would you be able to post some?

I bought a 25-2 around 1978. back then, only Remington made AR brass. My load was 4.2 gr. of Bullseye with a 200 gr. SWC ... pretty mild load. It wasn't too long ( too many loadings) that I had to start pound those cases to get them to extract. I had no problem with ACP cases. A couple years ago, I decided to replace that 30 year old Rem. brass with Starline brass. End of problem!!!! Same load, and they eject the way you would expect them to. Try some new brass.

I would think that S&W would work on an older model 29, but I don't think at the time of purchase that S&W had their Lifetime warranty. That does not mean they might not still fix it free because of good faith. If the OP really has 75,000 rounds thru the gun, he should consider that he has gotten his monies worth and any cost to fix or replace it normal. I would tho, seek out any of the simple fixes first. While chambers may be clean, years of shooting lead can score/pit(lead residue+moisture/humidity) them making extraction difficult.

Again, iffin I got 75,000 trouble free rounds from an off the shelf revolver, I'd probably mount it in a shadow box and hang it on the wall.

This is a 29-2 he's talking about and from the serial number it's from some time in the 70's, and they will definitely work on it. I sent a 27-2 (with a lower serial number from 1973 vintage) back to them a year or so ago and had it worked on and it came back running like new.

@ deerslayerdfr, I've seen some good suggestions in this thread for you to follow through on already. Buy yourself a box of factory ammo and see if you have the same problem. If so, try shooting a single round from each chamber and then try ejecting them and see if there is resistance from all charge holes or if it is contained to only one charge hole in the cylinder. And definitely check barrel, forcing cone area and cylinders for any lead buildup. And since you reload, check case oal and if it's over max oal you might be getting excess pressure buildup due to the long brass pushing the bullet too far in the cylinder and possibly slightly jamming in there and making what would normally be a load well inside normal parameters be overpressured.

If you are still having problems after checking all that, then a trip back to S&W would be the wisest choice. They still work on guns of that vintage, but it won't be under any kind of warranty. The lifetime warranty didn't start until around 1990 or so. Their pricing is reasonable in my opinion and they did a stellar job on my 27-2 getting it back to like new mechanical condition. Just give them a call and they will email you a shipping tag to put on the shipping box.

Is it every hole that's getting stuck?

The first thing I'd do is try some new brass.

The second thing I'd do is take the cylinder out and clean it real well with a 45 ACP brass bore brush in a cordless drill. The cylinder may look clean but obviously the brass is getting hung up on something.

Just thinking out loud, but why would a worn cylinder cause the cases to stick? The chambers might be enlarged but wouldn't the cases just expand to the new size and still slide out easily? I could see the spent casings not fitting into another gun but shouldn't they still eject properly from an enlarged chamber?

My uneducated shot in the dark would be to polish the existing chambers using some Flitz on a bore mop behind a power drill. 75K rounds is a lot of rounds and there are bound to be some rough spots in those chambers by now.

Clean charge holes thoroughly, load with new brass (but if fired cases from the 29 are oversized that may not fix matters), then (last resort) find a new 29-2 cylinder and have it fitted. 75,000 rounds is a good long life for one cylinder if it comes to needing a replacement. Please let us know how things work out?

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

If I may offer my two cents, from a rifleman's perspective. How many times have these cases been reloaded? It sounds like the cases have stretched from repeated firings, and that the cylinder chambers in your Smith are a wee bit shorter those in your Ruger. You may want to measure your cases for length and bring them back to SAAMI specs.

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Judge control not gun control!

When a cylinder is over charged it swells more from the throat back. The throats are thicker. Even the case you remove will not go back in. Even if you fire a light load the brass will still swell and be hard to remove. The swelling will be close to the middle. It is not round any more. Egg shaped. <my opinion> Seems like I remember TAROMAN being through this. Maybe he will chime in.

If the gun has 70000 rounds through it you might want to check the head space.

If you can't push them out with your thumb on the ejector and your middle and ring fingers through the frame holding the cylinder open then you should be pushing the empties out one at a time with some sort of drift.

Try new brass, check your end shake and send it back to the mother ship if the brass does not cure the issue - because the factory will work on it. Might not be free but it will be done right.

I would ask Deerslayer if the Speer #8 is among the manuals he has been using. If so this particular manual is reputed as being a potential source of information that is OVER PRESSURE specifications. As a result it's possible that he has a cylinder with bulged chambers. BTW, a good machinist could easily check for this condition using a Telescoping gage, just tell him to check to see if there is a bulge in the middle of the chambers. The only solution for this particular issue will be a replacement cylinder and this will NOT be covered by any warranty.

If it's the same crud the builds up on the face of the cylinder with max loads ordinary brushing will hardly faze it. I suspect that some of the gas leaked around the cylinder hole enough to finally build up enough to cause the case sticking.

The only other reasons I could give are the:

Brass that is not tempered to the right hardness.

Rough cylinder holes.

UPDATE: You know, if the brass isn't tempered right, the gas could leak more around the casing and cause that crud build up I mentioned above. So it may be two problems.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I appreciate everybody that replied... Everything has been tried to no avail....The best one at this time is the NEW brass which I will try.... Will do a basic reload in NEW Starline brass, sized in a carbide die first followed with 10.5 grns. of W-W 231, which I have tons of.... dirty but cheap...with a CCI-300 large pistol primer(advanced years of reloading proves no mag primer needed) with a Bayou Bullet powder coated 240 grn. LSWC....This is a very low power load which is right around 1100 fps. I will fire in all three test guns and see what happen and then go from there....Will post test results a couple of days after 1-2-2017....That's when I plan on going shooting again and will let all of you interested folk know what happened and what the results were....Stay tuned.....Thanks again

For my education,please let us know how it comes out.
Qc

Taroman Where u at?

It might be worth picking up a box of factory ammo, too, so if that new Starline brass doesn't work perfectly in the 29-2 you can see if factory ammo is any different, without having to wait for the next range trip. It doesn't seem that it should make any difference, as your reloads work fine in your other guns, but this whole situation strikes me as a real mystery, so who knows what might turn out to work.

Another thought - an earlier post said it was possible to get a single case out without hammering the ejector rod. Have you tried shooting a full cylinder but pushing each case out separately with a range rod, to see if there is any perceptible difference in resistance between chambers? I'm not sure what you'd do with the information if some chambers proved tighter than others, but it would be another data point that somebody else might find useful in diagnosing the problem.

I never thought of that one.... Push each shell out individually after firing a full 6 rounder.... I 'll give that one the next try... But BTW...Went out today...1-2-17....did a test batch of 3 rounds each ...Test guns as follows...#1-Ruger Redhawk...#2- S&W.44 ClassicHunter and#3- the problem child S&W 29-2... Sampleload...fired in all 3 guns...Only test fired 3 rounds in each gun....10.5 grs. W-W 231 w/ CCI-300 large pistol primer pushing a Bayou 240 gr. LSWC.... Test rounds...old brass and brand new Starline Brass...(no factory ammo, yet) but the brass is brand new that I reloaded completely...size, prime, ope neck, powder, bullet seat and slight crimp...Test results..****ger and Classic Hunter ejected by pushing the ejector rod both types of spent ammo cases out with NO problem...old or new brass...both guns easily...29-2...had to use nylon mallet to pound ejector rod to remove fired old and new cases....same type of force on either of the types of brass...But one thing seemed funny looking...on the new brass...seemed like there was quite a bit of blowback around the cylinder and leaving burnt residue on the outside of the brand new cases...BTW also, I took a brass 44 cleaning brush in a drill and scoured the inside of all the cylinders and the used a cotton cleaning swab and polished the inside of all the cylinder walls with Flitz also in a drill....So the cylinder was spotless...I even used a lead out cleaner first...Is it possible that the cylinder is just WORE OUT???? I've never had one wear out, but than again, I've never fired 75k rounds through a gun...except my 10/22's....Can I even get another 29-2 counterbored cylinder??? I've kept all of the cases that I fired separated and will put the caliper on them for length and width...I just don't have the expertise or equipment to check for complete roundness of each cylinder...Is this something that the Smith & Wesson factory can remedy???or is the gun just wore out??? Love shooting the damn thing...killed wild pigs, deer and small game with it and would hate to retire it....shame to think of that...You're one of the few responses I've responded to as your response was more inline with my thinking....Let me know what you think... dfr, Riverside, CA

Blowby/dirty cases are the usual signs of LOW pressure loads that don't stretch the brass solidly against the chamber walls as the powder reaches peak pressure. So if the cases aren't stuck against the walls of the chambers, I'm mystified as to what it is that's locking up the extractor after they're fired.

Out of curiosity, when you pound the ejector rod with a mallet, do you have to drive the cases all the way out of the chambers, or do you just have to break them free at which point you can push the ejector rod by hand to fully extract 'em?

The odds are slim and none. Slim left town!

Most likely one or more bulged charge holes if there is no fouling in the chambers. It is not a problem with old worn out brass. It is also possible that the cause is high chamber pressure but less likely.

What service has the gun had in it's lifetime? 75K rounds is a hell of a lot of shooting. If the gun has never had any work done to it, it likely has endshake and carryup issues which might contribute to your problems.

Incidentally, serial number N499XXX dates to around August 1978 and not 1983 or 1984. Just a thought but HP38/W231 isn't a real good propellant to use for near maximum loads. Hodgdon's website lists 11.0 grains w/ a 240 grain bullet at 1200+ FPS as a maximum load so 10.5 grains is getting up there plus there is room in the case for a significant overcharge. Anyway, watch yourself with that propellant used in that round.

Bruce

I had the same problem with my SP 101 Ruger 357 revolver NYE night bringing the New Year. The problem was with the 357 Mag.rounds not the .38 special rounds.

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Life is short,live it fully.

Yes....Have to pound on the ejector rod from start to finish to remove the shells... with only 1 shell in the cylinder and after firing...stiff to remove but can be ejected by using some push with my hand...fire 2 rounds, can do by hand but getting harder...3 rounds...need to push ejector rod with lots of force, but tapping several times with nylon mallet is much easier...4,5 and 6 rounds...forget by hand...flip gun upside down and bang ejector rod on table to remove spent cases or pound several times with quite a bit of force to remove cases....does'nt matter which cylinder i put just one unfired round into and fire then try to remove case...they are all the same problem...Is it true the the 29-2 cylinders inside cylinder dimension gets bigger as more and more rounds are fired through the gun...??? I understand it doesn't change over a few hundred rounds, but with mine, 70k-75k rounds would seem where it really started to become a problem...Maybe as early as 60k-65k rounds....But it never did this when I bought the gun and when I sent it back to the factory to have the hammer pivot pin replaced....that was at 50k rounds...no problems at that time either...And was never notified by the factory that the the cylinder may be an issue in the future either... Have an idea as to where I might locate a 29-2 cylinder??

You need to gauge those cylinder holes. Take it to a reputable smith and make sure they aren't worn to oversized thus allowing brass to swell too much.