34-1 fired cases sticking

[vonfilm]

A few years ago I purchased a NIB Nickel 34-1 4". I have only shot a few boxes of 22LR through it. My problem is that the fired cases always stick in the cylinder and I have to tap the hand ejector tip to get them out.
What would be a good solution to this problem?

 

[Bob T]

Some of the brands are using some pretty soft brass and can be tough to extract. Also, .22 cylinders can be kind of rough and take quite a bit of brushing. Try Flex-Hone Rifle Chamber Hone 17 Caliber, 22 Winchester Magnum 6" 400 Grit if simply brushing doesn't help or it is not an ammo issue.

 

[Ga Johnny]

I try to make sure the cylinder bores are well oiled that has seemed to help

 

[Troystat]

My M17-4 had that problem, the gunsmith polished the chambers and said to clean them with Hoppe's #9 and then a dry patch, no oil. Give the chambers a good scrub with a brass bore brush and try that before polishing the chambers. Also some guns are ammo sensitive, you might try some different ammo.

good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Iggy]

If you are shooting CCI Mini Mags etc.,in some instances the cases are a freckle longer than regular LR cases to compensate for the lighter projectiles.

These can stick in close tolerance LR chambers.

.22s are dirty little rascals and can booger up a cylinder and barrel/cylinder gap pretty quick.

 

[gundoc111]

I would pick up a few boxes of different kinds of ammo and see if that helps. If not send to a gunsmith to have the chambers honed out a bit, or if you have the time, use a aggressive polishing compound, Flitz or Semichrome are the best for this. Good luck.

Doc

 

[H Richard]

S&W .22's are well known for having tight chambers, and anything in them, including oil will increase the odds of sticky extraction. The only known "cure" is to have the chambers reamed with a Manson standard finishing reamer. It has cured 6 of my S&W 22's including a 34-1 and a 63-1. If you search the forum you will find many threads on this subject.

 

[Blaze]

No! No oil in the chambers for a tight chambered Model 34!!! Over the years (44 yrs) that I've owned Model 34's with tight chambers and difficult extraction the answer has always been to wipe the chambers dry of all oil when firing the revolver. Extraction will then be normal, empty cases almost fall out. Just remember to lightly re oil after firing the gun (normal cleaning routine). Has worked every time for me. Learned this while reading an article on this subject in the American Rifleman in the late 60's, early 70's. Try it BEFORE you mess with the chambers in any way. Hope this helps.

 

[tops]

I wrap a patch around a brass brush and keep it coated with flitz. Use an electric drill on high speed in each chamber for 10 seconds. Sometimes I wrap copper wool on a brass brush to make it tight in the chamber and use the drill the same way. Keep polishing until the shells don't stick. Larry

 

[LarryMNH]

Possible cure>

I found a 34-1 that was like new a few weeks ago. I was having an extremely difficult time ejecting a fired cylinder. So bad that I made up a delrin sleeve to go over the ejector rod so I could push hard enough to get the round out and not injure my finger.

I read many posts all over the web and saw many potential solutions. I own a machine shop and have the equipment and skills to make a 34-1 myself. With that knowledge and skill I decided that taking a tool of any kind to the cylinder of this beautiful piece of art was going to be my absolute last option to fix the issue. Once the metal is removed it can NEVER be put back on. I figure the engineers at S&W have a reason for the size and tolerance for the bores on the cylinder.

I have thousands of rounds of ELEY .22 LR ammo and it was what I started using in the gun. By the 4th cylinder load I was needing my plunger to eject the spent cases. It was consistent at 4 cylinder loads. I ran a .22 cal bore snake thru all 6 bores after 3 loads to keep shooting.

I tried some Winchester brand value pack ammo and got around 6 to 8 cylinder loads per cleaning. Then I thought it may just be the ammo. At least for me.

I had around 100 rounds left in a Federal 36 grain HP copper plated 525 round value pack and tried them. I shot all 100+ rounds and did not clean it. They did not eject like a .38 special but they came out smoothly with a minimal amount of force.

I think I am on to something. I used a .243 cal brush. One pass through each chamber and started shooting. I have so far shot most of the first box (around 400+ rounds) with no cleanings and tolerable ejection. Also, I spray the gun down with Rem Oil after each trip to the range.

I will be shooting dirty until I have an issue. I will report back my round count.

Next is my 317 Kit Gun. Has the same issue but I have been having too much fun with the 34-1 2" barrel to try the 317. All in time.

I hope this helps.

 

[Florida Guy]

Common problem with kit guns.

 

[vonfilm]

I am glad to hear all your thoughts. I never have this issue ejecting cases with my 617 and it has to eject 10 cases instead of 6.

 

[IWK2HT]

I have had that problem with most of my 22's S&W's so I reamed them all. A pre 17,17, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4, four 34's and a 63.Now no more problem and it didn't affect the accuracy.

 

[DocB]

This is all good advise. Reaming out the chambers is probably the best idea for a permanent fix. Most 22 bullets are coated with a waxy substance that will make them rub a little when loading the gun. After a few rounds in each chamber re-loading and ejecting will both become tight. The Smiths do have this problem more than the other 22 revolvers that I have owned.

 

[Joe A.]

Not only is my Model 18 difficult to extract empties, it's difficult to load fresh ammo even when chambers are freshly cleaned.

 

[mrrick]

Had this problem, tried different ammo. Found that Federal value pack worked the best.

 

[Pef]

If you are shooting CCI Mini Mags etc.,in some instances the cases are a freckle longer than regular LR cases to compensate for the lighter projectiles.

These can stick in close tolerance LR chambers.

.22s are dirty little rascals and can booger up a cylinder and barrel/cylinder gap pretty quick.

I have had the same problem with mini-mags on a model 63.

 

[britbike1]

First take a cotton Q-tip and lightly drag the cotton around the edge of the chamber and under the star. the cotton will catch on any little burr and so will the empty brass after firing. Using a fine stone or jewelers rat tail file take it down carefully. I also used Miltec 1 in my chambers following directions for applying and have not had problems with extraction, of course I don't shoot more than 50 to 100 rounds out of one of my 22s at a time. I usually take 3 or 4 to the range at a time. Good luck, the j frame 22's are worth the effort.

 

[Hondo44]

A few years ago I purchased a NIB Nickel 34-1 4". I have only shot a few boxes of 22LR through it. My problem is that the fired cases always stick in the cylinder and I have to tap the hand ejector tip to get them out.
What would be a good solution to this problem?

Well I'm a bit late to this party but I see that you've had all good conscientious posts in response to provide you help.

They range from mild to gold plated.

I always attempt to fix problems with the very least invasive method.

Also I would never tolerate a sixgun that was finicky with certain brands of ammo, especially these days when certain specific brands are so hard to find. Having said that, I do recognize that each gun has its own preference for the best accuracy and I will cater to that.

But the fact is, many chambers come from the factory with less than satisfactory chamber finishes. This is exacerbated on a nickel gun because the plating does add a smidgeon of extra thickness on the metal surfaces and can make chambers a little extra tight.

However in my 59 years of shooting experience I've never had to resort to a gunsmith or any added tools expense to fix chamber extraction issues.

A simple inspection for burrs and polishing is all I've ever needed. And I have more S&W .22s than any other models. Britbike1's method is an excellent first thing to do. Quite often one burr in one chamber make all six extract too hard.

I shoot one round in each chamber and extract that one case to find any chamber or chambers with a specific problem or a burr.

Then I polish all chambers gently. The simplest for me is 800 to 1000 grit paper wrapped around a wood dowel with a slit in it, just slightly smaller than the chamber diameter. Mount in a Dremel tool or small power drill and spin in the chamber. It only takes a coup[le of seconds per chamber.

You can even go up to 2000 grit or, as Tops posted, use Flitz. On an S&W barrel mop, the chambers will look like mirrors!!

One caution is to stay out of the chamber throats, you don't want to affect the shoulder or throat area.

Of course .22s chambers are simplest to do because they don't have actual chambers, they have charge holes, no shoulders, (not .22 Magnum chambers, they have shoulders).

The secret to success is to keep the dowel moving in and out of the chamber so you keep the chamber walls straight. If you don't move the dowel or any polishing device for that matter, in and out, you risk creating waves or wallows in the chamber walls and cases will stick even worse.

But as I said only a couple of seconds is needed so there's little risk of the problem occurring and no risk if you move in and out using a dowel.

The risk is greater using polishing compound on a patch because it doesn't have straight sides. Especially if used with a power tool and not moved in and out.

I'm sure you'll have no problems after that and enjoy that beauty for the rest of your life.

 

[LarryMNH]

Federal Value ammo is tops so far

I read some of the suggestions and would be very careful before I took any tools, or hones, or anything else that might change the size of the chambers in the revolver cylinder. Particularly if you don't know what size it is now, what size is it supposed to be, and how much metal am I taking out of this 40 year old beauty. I have all of the tools and gages to do this correctly but would rather use an ammo it likes, same as one that shoots most accurately. If necessary I may hone them out but I will be honing to a very specific size, not just winging it.

So far I have shot 600+ rounds of Federal 36 grain Hollow Points with no cleaning and soaked down with Rem Oil with OK ejection. It leaves almost zero residue in the cylinder. Vs. Eley which leaves a lot of crud after 1 or 2 shots.

One suggestion I saw was bone dry and another was lubed. With Federal I have done both dry and lubed. No difference.

I'll be saving my Eley and Winchester for my semi auto .22's. And stocking up on the Federal ammo for my revolvers.

Good luck all. I'll be posting when I test out my 317.