Model 432UC problem. What to do?

Bastogne71

Bastogne71

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I had several light strike misfires a few weeks ago with my new model 432UC. Last week, I reloaded 50 rounds of 32 long and took my revolver to the range to see if the problem persisted. Out of the box of 32 longs and 10 more full power 32 magnums, I got three misfires. That’s enough to take this pistol off my carry list and to consider it unreliable. It’s a brand new stock revolver. I’ve removed the side plate and didn’t see any obvious problem but lightly lubed it to be sure.

So what should I do now?
Send it back to S&W for warranty repair?
Install an extended firing pin?
Flush with solvent and lubricate?
Try a box of factory ammunition & see if it’s a reload problem?

Any suggestions or comments are welcome! I really like this revolver and want to get it back in my carry rotation.
 
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Did those light strikes fire when tried a second time? It's possible that those primers weren't seated all the way which tends to look like a light strike. The first attempt to fire usually seats them and they'll fire the second time. When you say "new" do you mean new to you or actually NIB?
 
You need to make sure to seat EVERY primer firmly. Any high primers will likely misfire, at least on the first strike because that hit is partly seating them and partly denting them. Use Federal primers if you can get them. They are the easiest to set off. Winchester is the next easiest. Remington and CCI primers are a good bit harder.

You definitely want to test fire whatever factory SD ammo you intend to use. Let us know if you find out what works in your gun.
 
Bastogne71 said:
So what should I do now?

Any suggestions or comments are welcome! I really like this revolver and want to get it back in my carry rotation.
Click to expand...

Using reloads? That is why the Police Department requires factory ammunition.

What is your Self Defense round? I knew cops who put spring kits in their revolvers and made them undependable. So that is the first thing I look at.
 
The pistol was purchased new in box last May. Other than being fired a few times, it is as shipped from S&W. I’m in the process of loading another batch of ammunition and will take extra care to insure that the primers are properly seated. Found some Federal small pistol primers this morning and will use them in place of the CCI-500’s I’ve been using as suggested. Also will sacrifice a box of Federal factory ammunition as a comparison to reloads.

The light strike rounds did fire on the second attempt except one that took three hits to fire.

The models 432UC and 632UC “Ultimate Carrys” are 6 shot J frame Lipsey’s exclusives chambered in 32 H&R Magnum that were just released this year. I will really like this pistol once and will use it once the problems are worked out. I’ll worry about my carry ammunition after I’m confident that this one is reliable for use first.

I’ll post an update after the next chance I have to get to the range with it.
 
I have a 432 UC that I purchased new in box. Have never had a light primer strike in mine. My reloads are all Winchester primers. My carry/defensive ammo is all factory ammo, which is difficult to find locally.
 
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Update

Yesterday I finally found a box of 32 Longs to use to test my 432UC for light strike misfires that had occurred with some reloads (post #1). This morning despite all the high heat warnings, I got to the range early before it broke 79 degrees and climbing (101 now and still rising).

After 30 rounds of the Magtech wadcutters, I had two misfires. One fired on the second strike but the other survived three hits. In the photo you can see that many of the ones that worked show to me many have light hits even though they did fire. The cartridge that didn’t work after three tries is the one at the bottom right corner.

I think my next move will be a call to W&W Sevice
 

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Make sure your primers are seated all the way down into the primer pocket ... you want them to bottom out in the pocket .

"Light Strikes" are a classic sign of primers not fully seated ...
the first blow drives the primer deeper but does not fire it ... usually the second try will fire the primer .

Also do try factory ammo as a test to your primer seating methods ...
if you don't get light strikes with factory ... seat them primers to the bottom of the pocket.

Also make sure the strain screw is tight .

If everything checks out ... send it back to Momma and get it repaired ... something is wrong !

Gary
 
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Check head space at each cylinder. Use a new or fired case. The space should be between .056 and .07. In your case you want a reading less than .07. Push the cylinder forward ( towards the barrel ) when checking. You can get an automotive gauge cheap at a car parts store. If the reading is under .07 you likely have a firing pin problem or spring problem. If the reading is over .07 you have a cylinder problem. My guess.
If you send it back to S&W expect a two month wait??
 
What happened when you tried the factory .32 Longs. Did they still misfire? Also, before sending it in to wait for a couple of months I would replace the hammer spring myself to see if it cured the problem.
 
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Since the fired ones look like light strikes, I suspect a short firing pin. You want the firing pin to be a minimum of .495. Many factory ones are shorter.

The mainspring may be lighter than normal. That is to give the UC guns a better trigger pull out of the box. The one on my 632 UC is painted yellow. It fires all my reloads, but haven't tested it on factory yet. You may want to get a stock mainspring. J frames don't have a strain screw, for those who don't know.

These are the 2 main causes of J frame misfires. Without the gun on the bench, we are just guessing.
 
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The springs are pretty easy to change, and they aren't terribly expensive. Also, you never mentioned what happened when you tried the factory .32 long ammo. If the factory ammo fires without any issues that could answer a lot of questions. And if they don't fire, I guess that answers some questions too.
 
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Some of you need to re-read the second paragraph of post #8

Bastogne71 says he shot 30 rounds of MagTech wadcutters and had two failures to fire. He even includes a picture that clearly shows light strikes on a LOT of them and some show VERY light strikes.

Clearly NOT an ammo problem.

As others have said it is either a light spring, short hammer nose, or excess headspace issue.
 
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Protocall_Design said:
You need to make sure to seat EVERY primer firmly. Any high primers will likely misfire, at least on the first strike because that hit is partly seating them and partly denting them. Use Federal primers if you can get them. They are the easiest to set off. Winchester is the next easiest. Remington and CCI primers are a good bit harder.

You definitely want to test fire whatever factory SD ammo you intend to use. Let us know if you find out what works in your gun.
Click to expand...

I have not seen a box of Federal primers for sale for 5 years
 
Federal factory ammo presumably has Federal primers in it. That might be a place to start. Winchester ammo probably has Winchester primers. Graf & Sons has Federal primers for sale. There are probably others that do, too.
 
Well, it looks like I misread the op's post regarding the Magtech ammo. Since he is obviously having the same issues with factory ammo then it does stand to reason that the issue is likely gun related. However, I would still recommend changing out the spring before sending it back to Smith. If only to avoid the long wait. I admit I have very little knowledge regarding the various 32's. However, I thought that the H&R magnum had kind of vanished into the woodwork. Replaced by the 327 Federal Magnum. Just wondering why they would opt for the H&R.
 
1sailor said:
Well, it looks like I misread the op's post regarding the Magtech ammo. Since he is obviously having the same issues with factory ammo then it does stand to reason that the issue is likely gun related. However, I would still recommend changing out the spring before sending it back to Smith. If only to avoid the long wait. I admit I have very little knowledge regarding the various 32's. However, I thought that the H&R magnum had kind of vanished into the woodwork. Replaced by the 327 Federal Magnum. Just wondering why they would opt for the H&R.
Click to expand...
There have been several very informative recent threads about this.
Search the forum for "Lipseys ultimate carry" to get the latest info on the recently re-introduced 32 H&R magnum S&W revolvers.
 
FWIW, multiple people have reported failures to fire/light primer strikes with Magtech .32 Long in particular.

The one 632UC I shot was 100% with the owner's handloads of Starline brass with Remington primers. He hasn't found any factory ammo at a reasonable price to try out so far.
 
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