442 problems with winchester ammo?

[Jamie]

Anyone have any issues shooting Winchester 130gr 38 special ammo, Wally World stuff? I was at the range, the wife was shooting her 442 snubbie, my reloaded ammo went first, (the first ammo I've ever reloaded), 50 rounds, no problem , two boxes USA ammo, reman, no problems, opened up the box of Winchester White box, she shot 5 ok, reloaded, went to shoot, the gun is jammed, cylinder won't turn. Unload, dry fire ok, put one round of the Winchester in, fires, load all five, cylinder won't turn. Load five of her carry ammo, shoots fine. I couldn't see anything wrong, at that point we had to leave the range was busy. Got home, loaded it up again, with the barrel pointed down, there is space between the frame and ammo, equal amounts for the Winchester and Speer Short Barrel, all measure identical except for OAL, the Winchester is .010" shorter, IDK.

 

[Chris Openbrier]

That's a tough one Jamie!!
Did you check to see if the spent primers were flowing back into the firing pin hole maybe causing the cylinder to bind???

 

[Jamie]

No, didn't check that, tried other ammo that fired....came home, cleaned everything, measured all the ammo, thinking I'll have to give it another go at the range, no other way to check, the wife won't let me test it in the garage, can you imagine that?

 

[patbelly]

I recently had a similar issue with my 442. Thought it might have been the ammo too. Sent it in to S&W and they replaced the trigger, hammer, and the hand. I think it was the hand that was malfunctioning, but they know best. Just something to consider. All works now.

 

[Tyrod]

Jamie & patbelly,
What vintage are your 442s?

 

[Chris Openbrier]

Yea Jamie I believe you! My Wife won't let me shoot my M629 in the basement cause she's afraid a ricochet might hit the hot water tank or the furnace! HeHeHe

 

[Jamie]

Mine is, (it's the wife's actually), almost three years young.

 

[patbelly]

Bought mine new in November last year.
Display model if that means anything.

 

[Jamie]

Occassionally one runs across a box of factory ammo with rims that exceed industry stndards for rim thickness. They tend to cause binding of cylinder rotation. This may be your problem.

Yeah, when it happened at the range, that was my first thought, but I measured 'em, (rim thickness), no different than other ammo I have, loaded a full cylinder and with the barrel pointing down, plenty of clearance between the 'face' of the ammo and the frame. The diameter was no different. I might email S&W, Winchester see what advice either of them might have.