686 - 357 casing won't eject

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swstetson

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Hi Everyone - I recently bought a 1985 686, and finally put some .357 rounds through it (after getting the firing pin bushing replaced and the infamous "M-stamp" on it).

Unfortunately, one of the chambers in the wheel seems to grab the casing after being fired. I had to bang it out with a rod, and this was after the first 6 shots had been fired, and on each subsequent set of 6 shots.

Has this happened to anyone else? My first thought is to send the gun to S&W, but I'd like to hear how that went for anyone else who might have experienced this.
 
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Well, my first thought would be to give that cylinder chamber a good cleaning. There might be a build up of lead or other fouling in that particular chamber. I did that for my Model 686-6 when some cases didn't eject as smoothly as I expected. I used some Lead Away cloth patches and Hoppe's No. 9 to loosen and remove the lead deposits. If that's not the case, then perhaps that one chamber was machined incorrectly, and it would have to go back to S&W (unless you have a qualified gunsmith locally). The 686s are outstanding revolvers, so I hope you can your issue resolved quickly. Good luck!
 
Has the gun been shot with a lot of 38 Specials? It could be a build up of carbon grabbing the round. Extensive cleaning with a bronze brush and solvent. Possibly putting the brush in a cordless drill and running it on slow speed. Using a copper or bronze wool on your brush will also help cut the carbon.


Hawg Rider types faster than I do.
 
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Was this the first time you fired the gun? The most likely reason is that one charge hole is bulged from a very hot load! This is probably the reason that the previous owner sold it!

You can contact S&W, 800-331-0852, about possibly replacing the cylinder, which will not be under warrantee. The other thing you can do is mark the charge hole that is bulged and use the gun as a 5-shooter. Not the answer you wanted.:(
 
A fellow employee bought a 686 back in the 1980s and had the same problem with a brand new gun. He took it back to the place he bought it and the guy behind the counter told him it was due to shooting CCI ammo and that he should only shoot Remington and Winchester. Yes, I know, a total Crock of stuff. I asked to look at it...I went over the chambers and found a burr on the ejector star...a small "feather" if you will. Not uncommon on stainless guns. 3 minutes with a small ceramic sharpening stone and all was well.
 
I agree with the first two responses. Give the chambers a good scrubbing before contacting S&W. It "could" be a defect or damage issue, but I have experienced this in my 686's and my M&P340.

After firing a steady diet of .38spl the carbon deposits can make it difficult to get the longer .357s in and out.
 
Definitely make sure that the chambers, extractor and the area under the extractor are clean and free of fouling. If the same chamber consistently sticks factory loaded 357 Magnum ammo, I'd say there is a problem with that chamber, either poor machining or it is slightly bulged from someone's overcharged reloads.
 
H Richard said:
Has the gun been shot with a lot of 38 Specials? It could be a build up of carbon grabbing the round. Extensive cleaning with a bronze brush and solvent. Possibly putting the brush in a cordless drill and running it on slow speed. Using a copper or bronze wool on your brush will also help cut the carbon.


Hawg Rider types faster than I do.
Click to expand...

The most common cause of a .357 cartridge case jamming.
Cleaning and polishing :)
 
Inspect the case you drive out very carefully for scratches, marks, or anything else.

If it's a bulged chamber you can probably see it or feel it. Or measure it. Compare it one from another chamber. Try to put it in another chamber and see if it goes in easily.

Could be fouling from .38's but that seems less likely given that it's just one chamber.
 
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So...
After speaking with a gunsmith, we determined my 686 has gas rings etched into the charge holes from having exclusively shot a lot of 38 specials through it. Fortunately, the dealer where I bought it stood behind the sale and has sent it to S&W for repair. Hopefully this will end well, but I'm going to be reluctant to put any 38's through it again!
 
At the range I have taken to running an oiled patch through the chambers. It really helps on extraction in my case. (No pun intended.)
 
swstetson said:
So...
After speaking with a gunsmith, we determined my 686 has gas rings etched into the charge holes from having exclusively shot a lot of 38 specials through it. Fortunately, the dealer where I bought it stood behind the sale and has sent it to S&W for repair. Hopefully this will end well, but I'm going to be reluctant to put any 38's through it again!
Click to expand...


Now that is very interesting!! I have a couple of .357s with over 100,000 rounds of .38 Specials through them without any indication of damage to the chambers. I hope they return the cylinder so we can see some good photos!
 
swstetson said:
So...
After speaking with a gunsmith, we determined my 686 has gas rings etched into the charge holes from having exclusively shot a lot of 38 specials through it. Fortunately, the dealer where I bought it stood behind the sale and has sent it to S&W for repair. Hopefully this will end well, but I'm going to be reluctant to put any 38's through it again!
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I have shot many .357 magnum revolvers with tens of thousands of .38 special rounds through them and they still work as designed when shot with magnum loads. In fact, my model 19's rarely ever get shot with magnums but when they do they function perfectly - no sticky cases. The same goes with my M65, M586, etc. Never had a magnum fail to eject from the cylinder. Not to say it can never happen (never say never) - just saying in all my 50+ years of shooting revolvers I have not seen that one.

Without being able to see the cylinder in person I can not say what the issue is and I do hope they fix it for ya. Please let us know what they say and do.
 
Never heard of 38 Special ammo etching gas rings into the chambers. 38 Special is a low pressure cartridge, just does not seem likely to me. More likely is a carbon and lead build up in the chambers, then firing 357 Magnum causes the longer Magnum brass to drag on that build up, the result is sticky extraction.
 
I shot a case of Zero +P LSWC HP 38 Special ammunition through my M66. The bullets were swaged lead hollow points and created large lead rings inside the cylinders. When I tried shooting full power 357 Magnum loads, the cases would form around the lead rings making very difficult to extract.

It was also difficult to remove the lead rings. Used torpedo brushes, got most of the rings, but used up those torpedo brushes. I do remember seeing reamers designed for the purpose of removing 38 Special lead rings from 357 Magnum cylinders. Wish I had found one.

I do not recall seeing any gas cutting rings in my M66, and I have a M586 that a buddy shot 60,000 of 38 Specials in PPC. I have not seen any evidence of gas cutting rings in any chambers of that pistol.

But who knows, maybe such things exist. I do have a barrel removed from an Anschutz action. I purchased a stripped 22lr Anschutz action from the CMP and the barrel has a ring slightly ahead of the chamber. Eddie, who was smallbore prone shooter after WW2, told me about "Eley" rings. Ammunition of the period had a high glass content in the primer. Priming compound with high percentages of glass ringed 22lr barrel just ahead of the chamber. This glass is used as a frictionator. Page restricted | ScienceDirect I think the glass turned into some sort of molten plasma during combustion, which was good for gunpowder ignition, and this plasma condensed on the barrel steel in front of throat. That and the hot gases must been highly erosive to barrel steel. Eddie sold me a 1961 BSA Martini 22lr, he had only fired 650 rounds through, and it has a half moon ring forward of the chamber. Eddie purchased the rifle new, it did not fit him, and he put it away till I purchased it from him.

Maybe something like that happened in older centerfire primers.

After all the fun I had cleaning 38 Special lead rings from 357 Magnum chambers, I decided to shoot 38 Special level loads in 357 cases.
 
Not gas rings from firing 38 specials, but build of of lead/powder residue etc that is stuck in there. A brass brush and some solvent will get it out.
Heck with a cylinder you can remove it and submerse it in some Ed's red and wait a day or so and it would come out quick.

Ed's red. 1 quart each of acetone, kerosene and automatic transmission fluid

There is also the possibility of some kind of small bur. I would take a nice clean round with no scratches, put a mark on the case head so you know how it was situated in the chamber and fire it in that chamber. Eject it and really look it over. If there is a scratch it should show on the case and the using the mark you should be able to locate any bur. A bur is more like than a scratch as a scratch would have to be a fairly deep for enough brass to flow into it to make extraction hard.
 
SlamFire said:
I shot a case of Zero +P LSWC HP 38 Special ammunition through my M66. The bullets were swaged lead hollow points and created large lead rings inside the cylinders. When I tried shooting full power 357 Magnum loads, the cases would form around the lead rings making very difficult to extract.

It was also difficult to remove the lead rings. Used torpedo brushes, got most of the rings, but used up those torpedo brushes. I do remember seeing reamers designed for the purpose of removing 38 Special lead rings from 357 Magnum cylinders. Wish I had found one.

I do not recall seeing any gas cutting rings in my M66, and I have a M586 that a buddy shot 60,000 of 38 Specials in PPC. I have not seen any evidence of gas cutting rings in any chambers of that pistol.

But who knows, maybe such things exist. I do have a barrel removed from an Anschutz action. I purchased a stripped 22lr Anschutz action from the CMP and the barrel has a ring slightly ahead of the chamber. Eddie, who was smallbore prone shooter after WW2, told me about "Eley" rings. Ammunition of the period had a high glass content in the primer. Priming compound with high percentages of glass ringed 22lr barrel just ahead of the chamber. This glass is used as a frictionator. Page restricted | ScienceDirect I think the glass turned into some sort of molten plasma during combustion, which was good for gunpowder ignition, and this plasma condensed on the barrel steel in front of throat. That and the hot gases must been highly erosive to barrel steel. Eddie sold me a 1961 BSA Martini 22lr, he had only fired 650 rounds through, and it has a half moon ring forward of the chamber. Eddie purchased the rifle new, it did not fit him, and he put it away till I purchased it from him.

Maybe something like that happened in older centerfire primers.

After all the fun I had cleaning 38 Special lead rings from 357 Magnum chambers, I decided to shoot 38 Special level loads in 357 cases.
Click to expand...

I take a .357 case. Sharpen it with an RCBS deburring tool. Then flair it as much as possible yet still fit the chambers. Force it in each chamber. That'll knock off a big chunk of it.
 
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