Is it normal for all revos to spit some lead/powder?

[Brass]

Hello, I was wondering if it is normal for a revolver to spit some lead or powder once in a while...

I have a 617 that just came back from repairs at S&W, and it is much better, but it still stings my face with some debris once in 20 rounds or so.

I recently noticed the same condition in my 27-8. This revolver hits me in the face with a little bit of either lead or powder, or both, about every 15 to 20 rounds...

Does this mean it's time to send them both back, or is some spitting to be expected of revolvers? What does S&W do to repair this problem?

 

[Gunhacker]

Welcome to the forum!

It's normal for a revolver to expel some stuff, from time to time, out of the gap between the barrel and cylinder, sometimes it's more pronouned with a certain loading of ammunition that others, especially if lead bullets aren't sized correctly and are oversized.

It can be the type of powder used... a really slow burning powder with the shorter barrels can result in unburned particles being blown out of the gap from incomplete combustion.

Have you tried using some different ammo or has this been going on for sometime with different ammo?

 

[44wheelman]

Some guns "spit" more than others, I assume it is a function of timing & lock-up- & basically anything that effects barrel to cylinder alignment. Some spitting may be acceptable, but debris in the face is not. This is an unpleasant condition in the least, and I would want it corrected if they were my guns.

I would have a competent gunsmith check out your guns before you send them back- he may be able to help.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Having spent a lot of time on the range with revolvers during my law enforcement career, I have noticed debris blowing out of the barrel-cylinder gap frequently. I have occasionally felt small particles striking my face, hands and forearms from my own revolver. More frequently, I have experienced this from revolvers being fired by other officers on my left and right at the firing line.

My conclusion is that this is to be expected. Good eye protection is a must during every range session.

 

[Brass]

Thank you for the responses and the welcome to this great forum.

The 617 is hitting me in the face way too much, even after the repair. I remember when this gun was new, about 15,000 rounds ago, this almost never happened. The revolver had very sloppy lockup and accuracy had degraded significantly when I sent it in last month. It came back much better, but it is still a little sloppy and spitting lead or powder at me. Accuracy had improved significantly, almost as good as when it was new. The 617 is going back to S&W for re-repairs tomorrow.

The 27-8 just started spitting back at me recently. Coincidentally, I noticed that the firing pin strikes are a little off-center. I'm going to go dig through my older brass to see if it has always been like this, but I doubt it. I'm sure that I would have noticed the off-center fp before.

Is the combination of spitting and off-center firing pin imprint a sign of a mis-timed gun?

Could a revolver like this one go out of time in just a couple of thousand rounds?

Would you recommend any diagnostic procedures that I can carry out myself before sending it in?

Oddly, there has been absolutely no noticeable degradation in accuracy with the 27-8, and I would have noticed, as this is currently my favorite gun and I shoot it about 200 rounds per week.

By the way, this gun's favorite load is a Winchester SJHP 158-gr over 14.3 grains of Hodg. H-110, CCI-SP-Mag primer. All of my Smiths and a Python LOVE this load and it delivers amazingly accurate results! Nice "Magnum" flash & boom, too!

 

[1066]

Hey Brass check this out:

www.cactustactical.com/reloading/sw-inspection-guide.doc

It is a Word Document so you need Microsoft Word to open it. It is an "Inspection Guide for Smith & Wesson Revolvers". It explains a couple of checks including a rough and ready way to check the timing.

It is also available here in html format:

Inspection Guide For Smith and Wesson Revolvers

The sections you want are the "Timing" and the "Cylinder-to-bore alignment" sections.

It goes without saying that you MUST MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED BEFORE YOU LOOK DOWN THE BARREL with the flashlight as suggested in the "Cylinder-to-bore alignment" section. This can not be overemphasized!

Hope that helps.

 

[DonD]

Maybe those with more extensive revolver experience than I have will disagree but I don't think it is normal to get lead spitting. I've owned about 15 revolvers over the years and have never had that happen.

Sounds like a timing issue to me. Don

 

[dogdoc]

On one of my 22 revolvers I have noticed some spitting on occasion. I have looked at it and believe that it occurs when crud builds up on the top strap and surrounding area and, on occasion gets blown off during a shot it.The top strap on my revolver is clean after i feel a little spitting. it is inconsistent and the crud from bulk 22 ammo builds up a good bit. The timing on all chambers is good on my revolver. In short, i think it is normal sometimes.

Dogdoc

 

[scooter123]

It may be unrelated to your issue but it's something to think about.

My 620 has hit me with debris on 4 occasions when shooting full power JSP 357 Magnums. At first I thought it might be a timing or cylinder gap issue. However, the forcing cone shows no indication of shaving, timing is perfect, and the B/C gap is only 0.005 inch. It had me puzzled until I felt a hit on my stomach. A chunk of jacket debris was actually lodged in my shirt. I was shooting at an indoor 60 foot range and was standing at a bench. Since there was no way that debris from the B/C gap could travel through the bench, the only conclusion was that the Magnum rounds wer "hot" enough to throw debris from the bullet trap to the firing line.

 

[RightWinger]

I shoot my 617 regularly and have never had debris hit me in the face or anything, none of my other wheel guns have ever done it either.....I would get it checked out before you shoot them again.

 

[epj]

I have owned a few dozen revolvers over the last 40 years or so, largely centerfire calibers. Mostly S&W, but a few Colts and Rugers thrown in the mix. I can't honestly ever remember one that would hit me in the face with anything. Spit some powder or lead fragments out the sides? Yeah, but that is to be expected. That's why you keep all of your anatomy behind the B/C gap when firing a revolver. I do shoot steel plates a lot, and I'm accustomed to ocassionally being showered with bullet fragments at fairly low velocity, which is one reason I wear safety glasses at the range. I'd get that sucker checked out by a competent gunsmith, or send it back to S&W and let them lick their cat over again.

 

[Brass]

Thank you for the advice, everyone! I was beginning to think this is normal, but now I see it is not.

Before sending the 617 for re-repairs, I gave it a good cleaning and tried several types of ammo and sure enough, it is still stinging my face with debris. By the way, last month, S&W recut the forcing cone, among other repairs, but obviously that did not fix the spitting problem.

It's a bummer that the 27-8 has to go back so soon, but if I don't get this problem fixed, I'm afraid I'll develop a flinch!

I'll let you know what S&W does to fix these guns.

 

[stevieboy]

Once in a blue moon my 617 will throw a little something back at me. It's been so rare that I can't recall a specific incident and I certainly can't say that it's been a consistent problem. It may happen five times out of 1000 discharges. I believe that it's happened only when my gun is really dirty, after having fired a couple hundred rounds at least with it between cleanings. My experience with .22s is that they are a filthy round (I fire mainly the cheap Federal bulk pack .22s) and that carbon builds up very quickly around the forcing cone and on the cylinder faces of my 617. My guess is that it's possible for the gun to blow off tiny pieces of carbon on discharge once a substantial buildup has occurred.