mc5aw
Member
I spent the weekend on the range exercising my regular rotation of CCW J-frames and had an experience worth sharing. The four snubs are a pair of 37-2s, a mid-1970s 37, and a 337 … three Airweights and an AirLite. (Photo 1). They are obsessively maintained, and always in perfect working order. The range ammo I used on this occasion was Remington UMC .38 Special LRN 158 grain; I've shot thousands of rounds of UMC over the years with nary a problem. I ran three cylinders for each J, then alternated … in order, 37-2, 37-2, 337, 37. After roughly 100 combined rounds, the 37 choked … the first four rounds cycled, but the fifth didn't. At first I thought I had bungled the trigger pull, but quickly realized that the 37 was out of commission. The hammer and trigger would not engage, nor would the cylinder rotate or open. After a bit of fiddling, I got the cylinder to give … upon dumping the cases, I found the fifth round to be unfired … not due to my sloppy trigger pull, but rather a jumped crimp. (Photo 2). Looking closely at the round on the right, there is a small deformity on top ... that gouge occurred as the round tried to cycle after the crimp jumped, and jammed the cylinder. The unseated bullet can be measured by a couple millimeters difference than the properly seated round on left ... not much to seriously consider, until those millimeters aren't in one's favor. I've had several jumped crimps in the past with .44 Specials, and only twice with .38 Specials, and yes they have all occurred with LRN bullets. I've spoken with some experienced shooters who claimed that jumped crimps were an urban legend with no merit … well, that opinion is wrong. The problem I experienced was sufficient to take my revolver out of action. Unlike a semi-auto stovepipe-type jam, which could be rectified quickly, my trusted J-frame companion was rendered useless, requiring significant downtime to process, then fix, the problem. On the range it wasn't much of an issue … in a self defense situation it could have cost me my life. Now, I do not carry LRN as a defense load, but lightweight revolvers are precision machines that are subject to the laws of nature and physics. The lesson (re)learned is that despite the reliability of revolvers, malfunctions can/do occur, and will often overshadow caliber, round capacity, and number of speed strips/loaders in one's pocket. In the aforementioned scenario, a back up revolver would have been mandatory to continue the fight … Yes indeed, one is none, two is one. If you carry a revolver for SD, give serious consideration to having a comfortable and practical Plan B. It could be a life saver.
or worse.
