Hello, Got back from shooting yesterday and see my wife's 386pd has the dreaded Ti cylinder face erosion! Has not been shot much and never with less then 125 gr bullets. Only use Hoppe's elite and never scrubbed the face with abrasives per the manual. This is weird because I have a 360sc that has been thru the ringer with magnums and it has no damage. Titanium is strange stuff. E-mail sent to S&W but I think those cylinders are long out of the parts supply pipeline. Stinks because she loves the gun and I want to keep it light for her purse.
386 PD Ti cylinder erosion
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1sailor
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You should be able to get a stainless cylinder for it. It only adds 2 ounces to the weight.
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Welcome! If the factory doesn't have the cylinders any more, perhaps they are able to re-coat and finish your cylinder. Under warranty, of course 
. It's at least worth a call to the Performance Center and see if this is possible.
. It's at least worth a call to the Performance Center and see if this is possible.1sailor
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It looks like Midway has them in stock. Smith & Wesson Cylinder Assembly S&W J-Frame 357 Mag - MPN: 229390000
That sy-linder looks a little big for a J-frame!! I didn't realize the difference in weight was only two ounces - good info...
michpatriot
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Just a running suspicion
Any Hornady rounds through it? Maybe 125 gr Critical Defense..seems like almost every ti cyl erosion I hear about has used that round at some point..I steer clear of Hornady in titanium cylinders. How about a bronze brush? You clean it with anything other than nylon brushes? This is one of my pet peeve problems.. Neither of my 340s have had a issue and I put a lot through them but clean very carefully..I know you said your j frame has not shown any problems.. Just a bugger of a issue..
Any Hornady rounds through it? Maybe 125 gr Critical Defense..seems like almost every ti cyl erosion I hear about has used that round at some point..I steer clear of Hornady in titanium cylinders. How about a bronze brush? You clean it with anything other than nylon brushes? This is one of my pet peeve problems.. Neither of my 340s have had a issue and I put a lot through them but clean very carefully..I know you said your j frame has not shown any problems.. Just a bugger of a issue..
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One other thing I don't do with my ti cylinders is shoot em till their smoking hot..cylinder after cylinder after cylinder practicing speed loaders, titanium gets real reactive when it's hot and not covered in a inert gas, I weld on titanium a lot and am very familiar with its properties. It does not play well when hot in a reactive environment..and the environment it's in on a revolver cylinder is just about the worst you could dream up, hot dirty and high pressure filthy gasses and abrasive media ( powder residue and jacket fragments) I try and keep my shot strings short and let it cool between cylinders just a little. I usually shoot one revolver and then the other once it gets a little hot. Weird? Maybe. But I'm gonna stick with what I see working on mine.
I have the 386 mountain lite, is what you show in the picture the finish coming off or the metal eroding?? I really like the gun, nice gun to pack walking in the woods. Larry
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Joebuck, sorry for the bad info on the availability of the cylinders from Midway. For some reason when I read your post it stuck in my mind that you had a 360PD.
There is metal missing. It is going back to Smith but I don't think they have any extra cylinders. But, fingers crossed. My wife doesn't want any extra weight from a steel cylinder replacement even though it is more durable.
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Thats some interesting stuff, thanks.
I hope they can replace the Ti. Besides the lighter weight, they start turning a lot more easily, making for a lighter DA trigger.
You’d think Smith could put a steel plating on the cylinder face, like they do the top strap on scandium frames.
Maybe not a steel plating but a coating more durable then what they use now. The whole thing is weird to me because like I said earlier I have a J frame 360 with at least 4X more magnum ammo thru it then this one and NO issues besides screws getting loose.
Interesting, make sure you let us know what happens after the factory has it. Larry
Got a call from S&W today. As I expected, they don't have Ti cylinders to replace the roached one. They are going to put on a regular steel 7 shot replacement. Its a bummer but they were very nice explaining the situation. I will be on the constant lookout for a new Ti cylinder however to return it to 386PD specs. A 17.5oz seven shot medium frame .357 is awesome. Could take years to locate a new cylinder. Maybe Smith will make another run of the cylinders down the road...HINT...HINT...
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