686 shell sticking in one chamber.

[UCLALAW]

Bought a new S&W 686+ and finally had a chance to take it to the range. I found that one chamber wouldn't eject fired shells, I had to remove 6 by hand then use a dowel to remove the stuck shell. Looking at the chamber in question I found it has a substantial amount of scoring /rough tooling marks.

How common is this with new S&W revolvers?

I hate to send it back so I looked at some alternatives; Brownells has a chamber polishing tool:

BROWNELLS : HANDGUN POLISHING SYSTEM - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools

Anyone ever used it? Or should I just bite the bullet and send it 3k mi to S&W and hope they fix it the first time around?

 

[john traveler]

You could do as well using a strip of 600 grit wet-or-dry abrasive paper wrapped around a 5/16" wooden dowel.

The hand drill powered Brownell tool and honing oil is fine if you are doing production work, but for a one-off project, the wooden dowel and a few minutes of hand work will do the trick. I would use a masking tape marked stop line to make sure that you do not go into the chamber throat area. Polish only the cartridge case supporting area of the chamber.

 

[Marshall 357]

I would send it back to S&W or take it back to the place you bought it from and see what they can do for you. Its a new gun,you should not have to fix it !

 

[borntoraisehogs]

I would send it back , but only because that is what my model 29 did when I had a tiny crack I could barely see even when I knew about where it must be .

 

[500 Magnum Nut]

New gun?

send it back.

 

[UCLALAW]

Its a new gun,you should not have to fix it !

I couldn't agree more! Brand new $800.00 firearm and lucky me, I get the one made on a Monday or Friday. In fact all the chambers are little sticky - while I didn't have to knock out the others with a dowel, none dropped freely out of the cylinder. The extractor pushed them out to its limit then I had to remove each of them out of the chamber by hand.

I don't mind doing some minor gun smithing and repairs on my own guns (in fact I enjoy it if I have the time and it's within my capability) and understand one slips by QC once in a while, but tsk tsk tsk Smith and Wesson, shouldn't happen out of the box on a high end gun.

In case anyone is interested, for the record I was using Winchester Silvertip 110 gr. 38 spl. and Magtech 158 gr .357 magnum FMJ. The 38 spl. stuck also but not as bad the .357.

To add insult injury, or vice versa, the slide stop pin broke on my Beretta 96 early in the range session putting it out of action...sheesh!

But all was not lost, my trusty Ruger Super Redhawk performed flawlessly - like any of my older S&W revolvers would have - and saved the day.

...that is what my model 29 did when I had a tiny crack I could barely see...

I considered the cracked cylinder scenario and even an out of round chamber but I didn't see anything obvious... not saying it's not a possibility but on the other hand the one chamber is very badly milled on the inside.

You could do as well using a strip of 600 grit wet-or-dry abrasive paper wrapped around a 5/16" wooden dowel.

I haven't made up my mind what to do yet but I just may have those items on hand. Would regular oil work with that or should I use a cutting oil?

Sure hate sending out a brand new gun.

 

[500 Magnum Nut]

Sure hate sending out a brand new gun.

They will pay the shipping both ways and give you a new cylinder.

 

[Marshall 357]

I dont know alot about gunsmithing,but if you are having trouble with the other cylinder holes,it might need more that sand paper to fix it. but since its your gun,you have to do what you think is best.

 

[Dot_mdb]

I think you should send the gun back. It is good for S&W to see where they messed up and then maybe inprove their quality control. If people don't complain they don't know what needs fixing.

Bill

 

[SmithNut]

Had a Mod 242 years back that had a mis-fitted ejector star, and getting empties out was a real bugger. Look at the case of the round you had to pound out to see if it shows any real signs near the case head of deformity, that would give you an idea if it's the ejector star or the tooling marks you mention.
Taking the work on yourself is - in all likelyhood - probably not a big issue, except if you can't fix it and the factory had an issue with any work that you personally did they may void your warranty and charge for any repair work resulting from your attempt at fixing the problems.
I'm with the other posters here, best to send it back and have the factory do the work.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

I'm with SmithNut and the others, call the factory and send it back.

 

[scooter123]

Another vote for sending it back.

I've had good luck with both Smiths that I purchased new in the past year and freshly cleaned I don't even need to use the ejector, all I have to do is tip them up and the cases fall right out. For the price we pay for these guns, I wouldn't expect anything less than functional perfection. Cosmetic flaws I'll accept, functional flaws is a sound reason for sending it back.

In addition, if your cylinder has a metalurgical defect that would only be revealed by magnafluxing or UV crack detection dies, you run the risk of that cylinder failing in a catastrophic manner. As I understand it, these cylinders are formed from billet bar stock and it is possible that some inclusion in the billet could result in a cylinder that passes normal QC checks but has an internal defect that could lead to a failure. Your a lot safer just sending it back, most likelly they'll probably fit a new cylinder and keep yours for closer examination. It's what warranties are for and you should take advantage of the excellent warranty service Smith provides.

 

[66SLOWDRAW686]

SEND IT BACK IS RIGHT

IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT OR IF YOU OVER DO IT YOU COULD SPEND LOTS OF $$$$$$$ GETTING IT FIXED & VOID THAT WARRENTIE. S&W ARE NO DUMMY THEY KNOW IF YOU TAMPED WITH IT. ANY GOOD MACHINIST WILL BEABLE TO SEE THAT. DO THE RIGHT THING SEND IT BACK. WHEN YOU PICK YOUR GUN UP AFTER THEY FIX IT BRING A EMPTY CASE TO CHECK IT OUT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE GUN STORE

 

[mikengracie]

Mine did this after shooting about 500 rounds through it. Just had a dirty cylinder. Used a brass brush and some solvent and can't tell which one it was.

 

[UCLALAW]

I think you should send the gun back. It is good for S&W to see where they messed up and then maybe inprove their quality control. If people don't complain they don't know what needs fixing.
Bill

That last sentence is very important.
If there was any one reason that influenced my decision to return it to S&W that may be it.
People/businesses sometimes eff up, and people need to let them know about it when they do.
I'm told they test fire every other cylinder - they must have missed the bad one.

So Smith is sending a Fedex pre-paid mailing label with a 2-4 week turn around time. Hoping they get it right on the first trip.

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[raveneap]

Definitely send it back. It's a new gun, there shouldn't be a problem and no telling what's causing it. Call them and they'll send you a prepaid shipping label. I had a 586 I bought used that appeared to be like new but one charging hole would not release spent cartridges. Sent it back to Smith and it required a new cylinder. Believe me, you don't want to have to pay for that.

 

[UCLALAW]

Well, S&W may not manufacture steel autos anymore but they're fast at repairing revolvers. Took one week to get my 686 repaired with a new cylinder minus the tooling marks. Must be some kind of record.
Spent casings still feel too tight but only a trip to the range will tell the story.

 

[CQB60]

Send it back

 

[Wayne M]

Soak the cylinder in Hoppes overnight then using a 45cal BRONZE brush, scrape the charge holes vigorously. Dry well, reassemble and shoot again. If the sticking persists THEN send it back.

 

[UCLALAW]

Success! Took it to the range yesterday and it ejected fine, .357 rounds took a little jiggling but some minor polishing of the chambers should fix that.