Mod. 18 extraction Problems

[teejay9]

I bought a 1958 mod. 18 (no dash) last year and though it looked real nice, I hadn't shot it until a month or two ago. After a cylinder or two, I found it to be extremely hard to extract spent shells. So hard that I had to push the extraction rod on the table to get the shells out.
I checked the rod to see if it was bent, it wasn't. I gave it a thorough cleaning, and notice a lot of crud built up where the shells are indented in to the cylinder. Also a lot of junk under the "star." I bronze brushed the cylinders and really cleaned under the star. I tried putting in and extracting (unfired) different brands, They all seemed to be snug, but not tight. After a few insertions, I settled on Remington Vipers. They slip right in as do CCI Mini Mags. Has anyone had these problems before? Fixes? I hesitate to send it back to S&W as it has all the whistles and bells: TT TH TS and a pair of hand-filling target grips. TJ

 

[bamabiker]

I have a model 17 and usually just shoot bulk 22s out of it. It extracts the Federals a lot easier than the Remmingtons. You might try different ammo to see which one your M18 likes the best. S&W 22s are known for this. Some one else may have some other ideas.

 

[DCWilson]

The Model 17 and 18 revolvers (and their pre-model forebears) are notoriously sensitive to brand of ammunition. There is a recent thread about K-22 extraction problems that you can probably find without too much trouble. You might want to fire one round at a time in successive chambers to see if all holes are equally hard to eject from, or maybe just one or two. If you can narrow down the problem, maybe you will be able to loosen up the one chamber (or however many) that really give you problems. Then just experiment with ammunition until you find a brand that works for you.

I have a 1948 K-22 Masterpiece (Pre-17, 6-in barrel) that likes both Winchester and Aguila. I haven't found a brand that it won't eject smoothly, but I bet it is out there. But since I have identified good ammo already, I'm not going to spend a lot of time looking for some that will irritate me.

 

[wraco]

My model 18-3 can be a little finicky on ejection if the charge holes are not kept clean. Also I have a 1946 or very early 1947 K 22 Masterpiece that's also finicky. But, my early to mid-50's K 22 Masterpiece ejects spent cartridges with ease.

The charge holes seem to be just a split hair larger. The live rounds go in smoothly, not sloppy, just right. With my other two, the live rounds can sometimes be a tad snug going in and tight coming out.

Regards:
Rod

 

[ElmerKeith]

I have the same problems with my M 17-3. It works best with CCI but has some problems with RWS, Geco and Eley-ammo.

I don't press the rod to the table but give some very slight hits with a light piece of wood on the top of the rod.