New 686+ owner with an issue

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Demon775

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Yesterday I bought my first wheel gun.... a 686+. Today I went to the range and after a few rounds of .357 the wheel got stuck. I was able get it open and noticed the top of the barrel looked like it was scrapping the bullet as it entered so there was a deposit FMJ that causes it to stick. I could remove it and the wheel rotated again.

I had some 38 special to see what happened and it ran much better.

I attached an image of it and the ammo. Any help would be appreciated.
 

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Maybe that bullet didn't have enough crimp? But for factory ammo? That'd be pretty impossible.
I dont have enough experience with fiocchi 357 mags, but maybe you got a bad batch. I wouldn't run that ammo in there.
Maybe check the OAL and make sure they all weren't made too long? And try switching brands.

The 38 specials worked because they're shorter.
 
Yea, was thinking it might be the ammo. I'll pick up a different brand and try that.
 
Unless I'm not understanding, or seeing it right, why would the bullet's jacket(s) be getting shaved off & piling up on the top of the forcing cone unless there was a gap &/or alignment issue between the cylinder & barrel ??

The less powerful (jacketed?) ammo may not show the same symptoms but the more powerful one shouldn't be doing that consistently if there wasn't something amiss with the revolver.

.
 
I am in BLUEDOT37's camp. If you search this forum you can learn how to check these things on your revolver. I had to send a 640 Pro back recently because of problems with excessive B/C gap. They were a little slow but the revolver has become one of my favorite J frames.
 
Back to S&W for a check up.

It's possible the face of the cylinder
is a bit uneven or the forcing cone
face is uneven.

Also it's possible the seven chambers
are not evenly drilled from back of
cylinder to its front.

Did the shaving with .357s and cylinder
sticking occur on all chambers or just a few?

Could you show a side view of an entire
cartridge showing the shape of the bullet.
Just for the heck of it load all chambers,
DON'T close cylinder, but examine all
chambers to see how the bullets are seated.
It's possible you have a box of ammo with
somewhat uneven seating of the bullets.
 
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I agree. You have a forcing cone or timimg isssue or head space issues. Call customer service advise them it's shaving lead. They will set you up a return label.

Also include the photo of the shaved jacket suck on the forcing cone in the box when you return it and give them a description of the ammunition you were using.

DO NOT SEND ANY LIVE ROUNDS BACK WITH IT

The factory will diagnose and correct the issue.
 
Primer Indendation Cratering

andyo5 said:
Your spent cases show several in which the firing pin sttrike is close to the edge of the primer, while others are near the middle. It appears that one or more chambers are not centered with the forcing cone.
Click to expand...

You've got cratering on the primer strikes that are badly off center, a sure sign of excessive pressure only possible with defective ammo or gun, and with factory ammo what are the odds of bad ammo? How could a gun like this get past proof firing? If they only proof fire a few chambers and accidentally, or luckily, pick the good ones a defect like this could slip by. Back in the old days S&W only proof fired three chambers on a six-shooter. The three blackened rings on the cylinder face were very plain.

How is this possible with CNC tooling and manufacturing? S&W will not explain to you what went wrong. At best you'll get a terse explantion of what they fixed. Where do you go to get better quality revolvers? Older is all I know. Fortunately, this kind of negligence is relatively rare.
 
Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to call S&W. I've never had to ship a gun before. So I just send it directly to them and they send it back? Or do I have to go through a FFL?

I've attached a few more pics too. I did notice the firing pin strike was off center and though that was odd.
 

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Demon775 said:
Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to call S&W. I've never had to ship a gun before. So I just send it directly to them and they send it back? Or do I have to go through a FFL?

I've attached a few more pics too. I did notice the firing pin strike was off center and though that was odd.
Click to expand...

I've sent a few back, they'll email you a shipping label, I remove everything from the case but the revolver, then put it in a FedEx box attach label and drop it off at FedEx, informing them there is a firearm in the box (they recognize the address and already know).
Return is the same, I get a shipping notice, then have FedEx hold it at the shipping center and go pick it up. They'll bring it to your home but you need to be home to sign for it.
 
I suggest you call S&W customer service, explain the problem, and ask for a 'call tag' so you can ship it to them for free. They will email the call tag to you. Follow the instructions on the accompanying sheet. They will want you to take it to Fedex. No FFL is needed.
Before you do this, could you take a good photo of the end of the cylinder with rounds in it so we can judge which of the holes might be mislocated? Another way would be to use a caliper and measure the edge of the rim to the edge of the cylinder for each hole.
 
Ok, I'll try to give them a call tomorrow. Just sucks cause it's brand new. Ugh...
 
Are those 125gr? Dont even see a cannelure. Or a crimp!

Change the ammo.
82d3d58b6beca7279b7daf70b38f1b5c.jpg
 
Is it my imagination, or does that cylinder lack throats?
It looks as if it were bored straight through at the diameter of the cases.
 
S&W did release some K-frame M66-8s (spring of 2017) that had undersized forcing cones of which mine was one.

I found it before firing it & fixed it myself.

Maybe your L-frame has the same trouble?

Demon775; could you do a quick/easy check to see if yours are undersized?

Open the cylinder of the unloaded revolver.

Grab one of your fired/empty 357 Magnum cartridges (a sized case is better) & try to insert the mouth of the case into the forcing cone of the barrel.

It should just enter into the FC (assuming the case isn't over-expanded from chambers that are too large).

If you have a .357 bullet you can do like in my pictures below.

.

large.jpg


.
.
.

large.jpg


.
 
Do not fire that revolver until you receive it back from Smith and Wesson.
As noted by others, one or two charge holes are not properly timed indicated by the off center primer strikes. Trying different ammunition will not correct the timing issue. It will only subject you to possibly being injured by a shaved jacket.

Send it in for repair.
 
IMO, it is too bad that you hadn't taken an image of the cylinder immediately after firing, that had all of the brass still in place. That might be able to ID one or more cylinder chambers that strike poorly. My best guess is faulty cylinder alignment (poorly drilled or a poor bushing installed). I observed ~7 of the 14rd were noticeably struck off center.

FWIW, Fiocchi is my go-to commercial ammo for my .357s especially in my two 686NDs. I have never had an issue with this brand.
 
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I called S&W and going to be sending it in. They guy I talked to said it sounded like a timing issue. 6 week turn around time. bummer.....
 
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