29-2, need expert input

[gblkz550]

Hey folks,

My issue might be applicable to any .44mag revolver, but my 29-2 is the first I've ever owned and fired with any frequency, which I've been doing quite a bit lately.

With mild .44mag loads, I get some kind of debris that blows back at me. I swept the bench and collected a bunch of what looks like tiny brass slivers or shavings. They're pretty small, but large enough that when one hits my left hand or face I notice it, and in some cases draws blood. I'm a right handed shooter who shoots two handed with full arm extension. I only ever experience this on the left side of the gun, and with several different brands of ammunition.

The forcing cone and front of the cylinder look great. I can't see anything obvious that might let case debris out. I'm not sure if the debris comes from the current round or from the previous round. Is it possible for pressure from the current round to find its way back of the cylinder, then back out the front of the previous round, blowing case debris off of the frame and back at me?

Has anyone ever experienced this? Is it normal? Are there ways to minimize it?

 

[cp1969]

If you have to bleed to shoot it, there is something wrong. I'm going to guess that the gun is slightly out of time and a trip back to its birthing grounds may be in order.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

If you have to bleed to shoot it, there is something wrong. I'm going to guess that the gun is slightly out of time and a trip back to its birthing grounds may be in order.

I'd say so too. It sounds like the gun may have a slightly wide cylinder stop notch, or a worn stop (which happens more when guns are cycled quickly, and the cylinder stop peens the backside of the notch, and also widens the stop slot in the frame), and the hand is holding the cylinder over to the left side too far. That would place the left side of the bullet in a position to be shaved off on that side, causing the spitting on one side that you are getting.

Definately have someone who knows look at it, or send it in.

 

[4D5]

Could be a bent/crooked frame. Easy enough to check with standard feeler gauges.

With the gun empty and the cylinder closed, find a feeler gauge that will fit between the front of the cylinder and back of the barrel (cylinder gap).

It should be in the range of .004-.006". When you find the thickness that fits, go to the next thicker gauge and try it from both sides. If the cylinder face is not parallel with the back of the barrel, the next thicker feeler gauge will go in on one side and not the other side. In your case I would expect the gap to be wider on the left side. I'd also try all cylinders to confirm that it is consistent for all cylinders.

End shake, if it exists, could be a contributing factor as well.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

While a bent frame is always a possibility, the problem with checking the BC gap is-

many guys here have posted pics and reported BC gaps that are not even from side to side. There's even an old thread here somewhere all about it including pics. I have a couple that aren't even myself, and for sure the frames aren't bent. They are very good shooters, and don't spit.


If you are normally using jacketed bullets, look at the left inside of the forcing cone, then compare to the right. If the gun is out of time slightly, you should notice more copper on the left inside than the right inside when looking into the forcing cone from the rear.

 

[CT Smith Fan]

You said "mild 44 mag loads" are you shooting handloads? Do you have the same problem with full house factory loads or with factory 44 specials?

 

[gblkz550]

Great. This is exactly the kind of thread I was hoping for

@CT_Smith_Fan, by "mild" I mean a factory load 240gr@1180fps. I'm not shooting hand loads. I don't get this with .44 Specials, just the mag. I don't notice getting splattered every shot but maybe 1 or 2 per 6, which is 1 or 2 more than I like.

One other piece of intel I forgot is that I've only been shooting single action. DA works fine, I just like the SA right now. Hammer back, I get very little cylinder movement. I'd like to guess .002ish, but that's a tough estimate without a way to measure. Even more difficult to estimate how that movement effects cylinder-bore alignment.

I don't have feeler gauges in the 002-006 range so will have to check BC gap later. Regarding cone geometry, I can't see or feel any irregularities. The attached photos are after shooting today without cleaning, so any copper resulting from timing should still be present, which it is not. Of course, the left side picture is the blurry one. I'll work at getting better pictures to post after I get correct feeler gauges for bcg.

 

[Doc44]

I had a 41 Magnum that did exactly the same thing. I sent it to S&W and they corrected the problem. I suggest you do the same.

Bill

 

[Snapping Twig]

Shaving lead.

Forcing cone, timing thing.

Have it repaired and for lead only loads, ask them to cut the cone 11 degrees as opposed to the factory standard 18 degrees - it's better for lead.

If you shoot copper mostly, leave it as is at 18 degrees.

 

[Ahab]

I agree with the others, send it in. You won't regret.

 

[Chuck Jones]

The 3 previous comments are very sound advice, and kudos to you for actually shooting your 29 enough to notice!

/c

 

[Bando]

"Shaving Lead"

The above-captioned wording is what we called it on Detroit PD.
If your weapon had this syndrome, it could be very painful on qualfication day, as you had to fire a total of fifty rounds of factory ammo in a short time period, from various distances. Even worse is that I've had lead-shaving weapons fired by the guys on either side of me on the firing line and their lead kept hitting ME in the face.
This is one reason why protective glasses are a good idea, whenever it is feasible to wear them.
As to the problem, it is a simple fix for any good gunsmith and
a matter of adjusting the 'timing' of the hammer/cylinder.

 

[gblkz550]

Great info from everyone. Thanks guys!

I decided to rebuild this one myself

One of my philosophies on firearms is that if I own it, I have to know how to work on it. Disassemble/reassemble went okay (minus a few need tools), so I ordered parts through MidwayUSA.

Some parts were out of stock. Anyone know a good source that you'd recommend?

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Try this guy. He has a ton of NOS parts from the same era as your gun, maybe he can set you up with what you still need-

www.poppertsgunparts.com

 

[gblkz550]

Thanks again for all the input. It really helps hearing other experiences and learning this can be a common wear issue.

For those curious, I changed out the cylinder stop and everything is hunky-dory (what does that even mean?).

I have a few other new parts that I'll swap out when I make some time, which shouldn't be too long. Working on a revolver just feels engineering-like. The auto-loaders are cool but its just a different satisfaction on the 29-2.

I used the over-sized stop MidwayUSA offers for S&W K, L, & N frame. Only needed a very slight polishing using dry and supported 2000 grit paper to make it move smoothly through the frame window. Took about 10 minutes by hand.

Here is the culprit. I should have snapped the old/new together. Might get that next strip.