S&W UC 32 H&R Magnum Light Strike with Lost River Ammo Only…anyone else?

[pvq]

For those that would prefer not to engage in a long read, the thread title says it all. Here is a longer story.

I actually have three UC 32 H&R magnums, one 432 and 2 632’s. The 432 was my first purchase and I was very happy with it. I had no problems at all with Buffalo Boar or PPU 32 S&W Long Ammo. When I finally got some lost River ammo, I was having about a 10% failure rate with the 432. All of the rounds went off on the second try. After speaking with Ted at Lost River Ammo, and lots of research on this forum, I decided to invest in a TKCustom extended firing pin, thinking that would surely solve my problem. To be honest, when I was looking at the primer indentations, I could not discern that one was lighter than the other, it just failed to fire, but I assumed it must be a less than optimal strike.

The TK Custom firing pin made matters worse. Three out of ten rounds failed to fire on the first try. I also appears to my untrained eye that the TKC firing pin has a different profile because on rounds that failed to fire on the first trigger pull, the primer indentation was very shallow.

At this point, I pulled out my two 632 revolvers and tried to get through at least 30 rounds of Lost River Ammo without a failure to fire. One of my revolvers was able to do so…the other could not.

I guess the easy answer to my problem is don’t use Lost River Ammo, but the ammunition is of superb quality and quite frankly I’ve never in my life owned a revolver that wouldn’t shoot everything I fed it , so the fact that two out of my 3 32 caliber revolvers are not reliable with it is discomforting to me. Obviously I am not going to use it for carry at this point, but this issue needs to be resolved.

Needless to say I put back the factory firing pin and the two guns that won’t fire the Lost River Ammo are headed back to S&W for evaluation. It’s worthy of note that the revolver that does function properly is the most recent serial number.,, and ironically, that gun was sent back almost as soon as I received it because it would not open and close smoothly. Also worthy of note is that the gun that is functioning 100% seems to have a more shallow, although more uniform primer indentation. I have no way of measuring it…that’s just what it looks like to me. I’m not sure if there have been any iterative upgrades to these guns, but the fact that the most recently manufactured one seems to be the most reliable, give me some hope that they may have identified the issue and be able to make my other two will revolvers sufficient for every day carry.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and experiences.

 

[pokey074]

Nope. I have a 432UC and it digested 100 rounds of Lost River with zero problems.

 

[BrBa]

When I finally got some lost River ammo, I was having about a 10% failure rate with the 432.

At this point, I pulled out my two 632 revolvers and tried to get through at least 30 rounds of Lost River Ammo without a failure to fire. One of my revolvers was able to do so…the other could not.

I guess the easy answer to my problem is don’t use Lost River Ammo....

Did you inquire what brand of primer they are using? If I had to guess, they probably use whatever they can get their hands on (like the rest of us). You probably answered your own question there at the bottom. If you don't plan to hand load, I would stick with Federal ammo for their nice soft reliable primers.

 

[Bastogne71]

I had the same problem with CCI primers & Magtech ammunition. My 632UC went back to S&W twice and each time they replaced the firing pin without any improvement. Next I tried the extended firing pin from TK Custom but that didn't help either. Desperate, I installed the 8 pound hammer spring that was included in the TK Custom kit. Problem solved! I have not had a failure to fire with any brand primer since.

I believe that S&W has installed a lighter spring in the UC series to give a better trigger pull that is marginally effective with some brands of primers or ammunition such as CCI.

 

[duke2002]

My buddy had a 16-4. He had to put a longer strain screw in it. Dident matter the primer except federal and it was bout the same.

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

I believe that S&W has installed a lighter spring in the UC series to give a better trigger pull that is marginally effective with some brands of primers or ammunition such as CCI.

^^^ THIS, as a retired police armourer those light strikes always seem to come down to someone messing with springs. You want to fool around with a range toy, fine. But leave SD guns stock. That heavier trigger is because of dependable hammer and trigger return springs. Replace either and light strikes or short stroke trigger jams are a possibility.

That S&W may be using lighter springs in a modified model is on them. My 442 shoots everything I can stuff in it. Ammo that's known to use hard primers, no problem. A SD gun should shoot everything. From all of the reports of various problems with the Ultimate Carry models and S&W in general of late I would shoot a trunk full of assorted ammo before putting it in a holster.

 

[H Richard]

Did you ever consider that one brand that won't fire might have overly deeply seated primers?

 

[APS]

I don't shoot those anymore. My first 100 rounds purchased 3/24 fired fine, the next 100 purchased 5/24 had numerous light strikes, but fired on the second hit every time. I didn't have any issue with Fiochi, Federal or Hornady ammo. Same results when I installed an Apex extended firing pin. Looking very closely I could see that the primers weren't seated as deeply as they could have been.