Problem with a new 686 plus

[richf7]

I took my new 686 Plus .357 with a 4" barrel to the range for the first time yesterday. I went through about 21 rounds of .38 special, then switched to Hornady 357 mag 158 gr loads. The first 6 loads fired flawlessly I but couldn't pull back the hammer for the seventh round. I reloaded 7 more rounds and the same thing happened again. The chamber was also very hot to the touch. Does this sound like an issue that requires the weapon to be returned to S&W for warranty repair?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fox Creek]

Was the ammo new? If a bullet moves under recoil in an unfired case, it can bind against the frame. Did you examine the unfired ammo? Dd you have any problem opening the cylinder? If the ammo was seriously out of spec and was extruding primers, that can bind up on the back end. How easly did the empties come out?

 

[Invictus357]

Was the ammo new? If a bullet moves under recoil in an unfired case, it can bind against the frame. Did you examine the unfired ammo? Dd you have any problem opening the cylinder? If the ammo was seriously out of spec and was extruding primers, that can bind up on the back end. How easly did the empties come out?

Good point.

I wonder if a problem arose from firing 38s first?

Did a rogue cartridge foul a charge hole and something is now not quite right?

I would thoroughly clean it and dry fire 7 times to see if it gets stuck again.

 

[old bear]

21 rounds of 38 special ammo SHOULD not have been enough to "carbon" up any of the charge holes. If you were able to insert the .357 magnum rounds with out problem and were able to close the cylinder you can be sure your problem was not caused by firing 38 special ammo.

After shooting only 27 rounds of assorted ammo the cylinder should not as hot as you described.

Other than knowing what it's not I got no idea what the problem may be other than a loose ejector rod, have you checked that?

 

[Neumann]

38 Special cases are 1/10" shorter than 357 Magnum. Fouling in the cylinder may make it hard to seat magnum cartridges fully. If you can get the cylinder closed, that's not the problem.

The face of the cylinder gets fouled too, which makes the cylinder hard to turn. That happens with any ammo, but particularly shooting plain lead bullets, or if the cylinder is slightly out of alignment.

Frequently overlooked in a new revolver is the retention screw for the mainspring. It has worked loose in the last three S&W revolvers (one used) I've purchased within 50 rounds. If slightly loose, you may get light strikes. If completely loose, the mainspring takes an S shape and makes it hard to cock for SA.

 

[richf7]

Thanks for all your i feedback. It seems strange that the hammer locked two different times after the sixth round. The cylinder was so hot I had to wait for it to cool off before reloading with .38 special, which worked fine.

 

[scooter123]

I think that we are getting a bit side tracked here and chasing down some blind alleys. So, lets start with the most common causes for an issue like this.

First, there is powder debris under the extractor star. So, the first question is how are you ejectong your empties? It does matter becuase of the barrel isn't pointed straight up burnt powder can be deposited on the ejector star on the surface that rests against the cylinder. When that happens the next load can be held a bit "proud" of fully seated and cause a humongus level of drag with the cylinder. The lesson here is to make sure you have that barrel pointed straight up when you eject the empties. Doing this will cause Gravity to keep any loose powder debris in the casings where it belongs.

Second question. What ammo were you shooting? I ask due to some bad experiences with some of the low cost ammo's on the market. If that 38 spl. you were shooting was either the Aluminum cased CCI Blaser or Winchester White Box It is completely possible that you fouled the chambers in the cylinder enough to make fully seating a 357 Magnum problematic. Believe me, I've been there done that. A small bit of good news is that 3 full loads of 357 Magnum will pulverize the carbon ring from the 38 spl. enough to allow normal function with the Magnum. However, it take 3 full loads of the cylinder with a good stiff magnum to do that. If you want to mix 38 spl. and Magnums in one range session I would suggest going upscale with your ammunition. I've found that Speer Lawman or American Eagle jacketed 38 spl. both shoot clean enough to allow stepping up with Magnums without any issues with fouled chambers in the cylinder.

 

[richf7]

You nailed two factors.

The barrel was never pointed up while the shells were ejected.

The .38 loads were Winchester white box.