M 18 and 22/32 hard ejection

[jkingrph]

I got a M 18 and a 22/32 Kit gun (I frame) last year and when I shot them the empties were so tight I could not eject them. I took both guns to local gunsmith and they supposedly reamed the cylinder chambers. I had a sudden onset of arthritis, and that among other things it was not until last weekend I had them out and the same problem. Carried them with a box of ammo I had used and the gunsmith remembered working on them. but said there was nothing else to do, that it was probably the ammo GECO, which I have used successfullly in several other guns a S&W M 41, Ruger 10/22, Winchestere 52b(repro) and 3 Marlin 39a models.
I brought them home, took cylinders off, got a brass .22 cal bore brush and some breakfree clp, put the brush on a cordless drill and really cleaned the cylinders, then polished the chambers with some Flitz, a super fine polishing compound, Same problem

Any suggestions

 

[71vette]

I have a nickel 34-1 that had really hard ejection. I ended up polishing the chambers with Mothers Mag Polish, some bore mops, and a cordless drill. I had to do it over the course of an afternoon, but it ejects smooth now. My other three Smith 22lr’s very in tightness, but the 34-1 nickel was definitely the worst.

 

[Lou_NC]

Forget the polish IMHO, that's too imprecise a solution for an engineer like me. I've used a Brownells reamer on over a dozen 22's, including S&W m18, m17, m617, and m317. All work great now, easy extraction and no loss in accuracy whatsoever. To my thinking that is the only solution, and if you're reasonably mechanically inclined, it's an easy DIY job, all you need is the reamer and a padded bench vise.

Lou

 

[bigggbbruce]

Some 22 brass is soft. I've had problems in revolvers because the brass expands and gets hung up on the cylinder and extractor. My best luck is with Federal.

 

[jkingrph]

Forget the polish IMHO, that's too imprecise a solution for an engineer like me. I've used a Brownells reamer on over a dozen 22's, including S&W m18, m17, m617, and m317. All work great now, easy extraction and no loss in accuracy whatsoever. To my thinking that is the only solution, and if you're reasonably mechanically inclined, it's an easy DIY job, all you need is the reamer and a padded bench vise.

Lou

I ordered a Manson finish reamer specific for cylinders. along with some cutting oil. I thought I would follow up with what the gunsmith might have done, with it.

 

[jkingrph]

Some 22 brass is soft. I've had problems in revolvers because the brass expands and gets hung up on the cylinder and extractor. My best luck is with Federal.

I initially was using GECO which I have had luck with in a K 22, Ruger Single Six, a S&W M 41, several Ruger 10-22's, a Ruger 77-22, Winchester 52b, and three Marlin 39a's, I also this afternoon after cleaning and polishing tried some CCI MiniMag, and some Aguila Target with the same results.

 

[dogdoc]

Ream

 

[jkingrph]

Ream

Gunsmith says they did that, But I ordered a Manson finish reamer to see if a follow up will help.

 

[BILL]

L

Thread '.22 chamber reaming report'

Jan 3, 2015

*** Update ***
I just got a reminder from a fellow Forum member to remind everyone who tackles this type of project to ONLY turn the reamer in a clockwise (cutting) direction. Do NOT turn the reamer counterclockwise at any time, or the cutting edges of the reamer could be damaged. I read this information in previous posts on this subject as well, but neglected to remind folks of this important piece of information. (Thanks Engineer1911!!).


I decided to post this in the revolver section since I've learned so much here from my fellow S&W revolver enthusiasts, and wanted to share...

• Lou_NC
• Replies: 42
• Forum: S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present

• 

 

[toroflow1]

I had that trouble 20 years ago and figured it out for my uses. Do not use cheap Remington ammo, it's the worst for hard ejection. Federal has always ejected the easiest from my numerous mod 34s & 17s.

 

[jkingrph]

L

Thread '.22 chamber reaming report'

Jan 3, 2015

*** Update ***
I just got a reminder from a fellow Forum member to remind everyone who tackles this type of project to ONLY turn the reamer in a clockwise (cutting) direction. Do NOT turn the reamer counterclockwise at any time, or the cutting edges of the reamer could be damaged. I read this information in previous posts on this subject as well, but neglected to remind folks of this important piece of information. (Thanks Engineer1911!!).


I decided to post this in the revolver section since I've learned so much here from my fellow S&W revolver enthusiasts, and wanted to share...

• Lou_NC
• Replies: 42
• Forum: S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present

• 

I had read that in several places in some researching

 

[jkingrph]

Ream

Do I need to remove the extractor star before reaming.

 

[Lou_NC]

Do I need to remove the extractor star before reaming.

I did not, and experienced no ill effects. I reamed just until the reamer "kissed" either the cylinder or extractor star, whichever occurred first, and stopped at that point. In most cases the star and cylinder were in the exact same plane.

 

[Dave Haynes]

I had to use a block of wood to get the empties out on a 4 screw CM. The Manson reamer fixed it nicely. It removes so little material that I didn't even take it apart. Takes about 15 minutes and solves the problem permanently.

 

[shil]

Model 34-1 here. Try other brands of ammo first.

 

[toroflow1]

Model 34-1 here. Try other brands of ammo first.

BINGO!!!!! Certainly is cheaper than inadvertently screwing up your cylinder reaming it.

 

[jkingrph]

I went out and found a couple of other brands Remington subsonic and some Winchester standard velocity, Subsonic extracted easy, Standard stuck in the M 18 and had a little drag in the kit gun.

 

[gwpercle]

It's The Ammo !

Find a brand that doesn't stick ...

Try CCI ... Standard Velocity ... should give you no proble,s ...

You have Reamed the chambers , cleaned and polished them ...
nothing left to do ... It's The Ammo !

I shoot CCI Stingers , Mini-Mags and Standard velocity in my revolvers ... all 4 just adore CCI brand and have no problems ejecting the fired cases .

Good Luck ...

Gary

 

[Lou_NC]

Gunsmith says they did that, But I ordered a Manson finish reamer to see if a follow up will help.

No disrespect intended toward your gunsmith, but it's *possible* that his reamer was worn, just as S&W's reamers wear as cylinders are manufactured, eventually resulting in undersize cylinder chambers before they change their tooling. If that was the case, he may not have removed enough material to bring your chambers into SAAMI spec.

Please post the results of your own reaming when you receive your new reamer. I'm curious whether you'll remove much material since your gunsmith already worked on your chambers.

Some of the .22's I've done have taken quite a bit of work to bring into spec (lots of turns, lots of material removed) and some took hardly any time at all (very few turns, very little material removed). The good news is that all my .22 revolvers will now shoot ANY ammo I've run through them with absolutely zero extraction issues. This includes a bunch of S&W's, Rossi, Taurus, and Ruger revolvers.

Best of luck in your endeavor!

Lou

 

[Doug M.]

Elmer Keith referred to this. My recollection is that was in "Sixguns", the first edition of which was published before I was born. I am about as mechanical as a brick, so I have no idea why S&W cannot get this right, but it is common.