Light strikes not fixed by extended firing pin— gun or ammo?

[WaldoGuns]

Bottom line up front for those that do not want to read my whole tale of woe: has anyone had issues with hard primers in Black Hills .32 H&R 85 grain XTP?


I bought an expensive case of Black Hills .32 H&R magnum 85 grain XTP, planning to make it my primary carry.
I’d had no light strikes with 150 rounds of Federal .32 Long or H&R Magnum, but was having trigger return issues, cylinder contacting the forcing cone, and typical absolutely **** S&W quality. I sent my gun to a very well regarded J-frame gunsmith to fix the issues, and asked him to install an extended Cylinder and Slide firing pin.


He sent it back, and my case of Black Hills had arrived in the meantime. I tried 100 rounds of Black Hills and had 50% light strikes. He had trimmed the hammer spring. I sent the gun back to him to replace it with an OEM hammer spring. The gun now light strikes about one round every cylinder.
Sorry for the novel, but I just wanted to give all the pertinent data: do you think this is an ammo issue? The gun now has a factory hammer spring AND extended firing pin, but it still light striking 1/6 rounds.


I’m waiting on other ammo to see if it is just the Black Hills, but would love to know if other people have had issues with hard primers from Black Hills in this chambering.
I’m new to carrying J-frames, and this has been a massive disappointment as the gun shoots and carries very well— and the ammo has great ballistics. Now I don’t trust the gun or the ammo, both of which are quite expensive.


Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

[gnystrom]

There should not be a primer too hard to set the round off. Try the ammo in a different gun. If it fires in that gun, buy a Ruger.

 

[Bastogne71]

I had the same problem with my 432UC. It went back to S&W twice but still had light strikes. An extended firing pin did not help either. Replacing the hammer spring with an 8.5lb spring seems to have solved my problem but I need to shoot a lot more to feel confident with it.

Federal primers are said to be the easiest to ignite which explains why yours worked with Federal ammunition. It’s my opinion that your revolver should work perfectly with any 32 long or 32 H&R factory ammo you put in it but I've never tried Black Hills ammo so I can’t help you there. There are several threads here (including mine) about light strikes with the UC’s so I tend to believe it’s a light hammer spring problem. Are you sure your smith installed a standard J frame spring?

Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[WaldoGuns]

I appreciate your taking the time to let me know about your similar experience. I’m sure my gunsmith replaced the spring, but I ordered a 9lb spring to try.


I’m of the same mind regarding ammunition compatibility, particularly as a cheap Taurus or Ruger LCR will fire any Black Hills one is willing to put through it.


I was very much hoping to trust this gun for carry, and am now considering a switch to the Ruger. I’ll have to put at least another 300 rounds of expensive ammunition through it before I consider it reliable, and still may have doubts. Unfortunate.

 

[Doug M.]

There is something odd here. Black Hills is one of the finest ammo makers out there and I have never had any trouble with the various rounds I have bought from them. (At a minimum, off the top of my head, various loads in .38; 9mm; .45 ACP; 5.56.x45, and I think .45 Colt.) Some of these it was multiple different loads, fresh and reman, probably at least 8 and maybe 10 different loads. I tend to buy in case lots.

If I were a betting guy, I would bet that there is some form of QC problem with the revolver. Darned shame; S&W is their own worst enemy.

 

[Alk8944]

First, it isn't the Black Hills ammunition for reasons others have stated!

You didn't say what model S&W you have, but based on the caliber you mention I assume it is a new 632UC. Is this correct? If it is it is under warranty and should be returned to S&W, not you paying a gunsmith to do what is S&W's responsibility!

From numerous posts the 632UC has many light strike issues. There can be many reasons for this, but low hammer energy is the most common. Since it has had the mainspring replaced by a new factory spring this is one case where I would recommend an extra-power from one of the after-market spring makers.

But, I cannot comprehend why you would "send" the gun to a gunsmith to replace the mainspring! Replacing the mainspring in a S&W J-frame is so simple that even someone with no mechanical aptitude can do it. You are spending good money to make repairs that S&W not only will do for free, but has a legal obligation under the warranty.

Call S&W Customer Service and they will send you a shipping label by E-mail to return the gun to them at their expense. Call them at: 800-331-0852

 

[cometpx4]

632

I hit the 700 round mark with my 632UC. The rounds were:
Fiochi .32 long 97gr fmj (200)
Black Hills 85 grain jhp (200 rounds)
Federal 85 grain JHP (100)
Hornady FTX (200)
Zero light strikes
I would say its your gun

 

[minconrevo]

Another factor that can cause the hammer to fail to set off primers is too much "wobble" left and right. This can sap hammer force considerably. A fix, if this is the case, is is the correct number of Powers hammer washers, on the correct side(s) of the hammer.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Your initial question is whether the cause is gun or ammo. Without any doubt, it is the gun. I agree with everything Alk8944 said. S&W needs to fix it.

To summarize, the following are the most likely causes of failure to fire: (1) Hammer spring (mainspring) is too light. (2) Excessive headspace.

I believe the least likely cause is hard primers or defective ammo from Black Hills.

I believe I understood you to say that you installed the OEM factory hammer spring (mainspring). If that did not fix it 100%, then you most likely have excessive headspace.

S&W really needs to address this issue with your revolver as the measurements involved in determining headspace are very small.

 

[steelslaver]

In the initial post the cylinder contacting the forcing cone was mentioned, That could well be caused by excess end shake. With a lot of end shake when the hammer nose strikes the primer a bunch of energy can be used up driving the cylinder back forward. Another energy sucker, as mentioned, is the hammer dragging on the side plate or frame. Another is the spring strut dragging in the piece the bottom rides in. Then there is not enough spring or excess headspace.

You can easily check the head space using some fired brass and an automotive feeler gauge. With a pieces of fired brass in the cylinder what is the largest feeler gauge you can slide between case head and top of recoil shield on each chamber, with the cylinder pressed forward.012 is supposed to be max. Less is better as long as the case heads don't actually drag as the cylinder rotates.

Also, with the cylinder open and the trigger pulled, the firing pin should stick out of the bushing the thickness of a dime. You will have to press thumb piece back to pull the trigger with cylinder open BTW

 

[txmiller]

I just received my 432 back from SW to cure a light strike problem. They did nothing to springs but rather put in new yoke as my 432 had end shake then they realigned the bbl. I talked to them and found that heavier springs and a longer firing pin were not necessarily the fix for light strikes.