Can revolvers be ammo picky after all?

[raftman]

So I just picked up a new revolver, a Taurus 85 Ultra-Lite .38 snubbie to be specific, I know, I know, it's a Taurus, but the price couldn't be beat. I should also add I have for a long time been a semi-auto guy, and am not extremely well-versed about wheelguns. Anyways, I buddy gave me some of his reloads (60 rounds in total), it seemed to loaded with an assortment of spent brass, some Blazer, some WWB, and a few others. The stuff may not have been very consistently loaded, as one round gave distinctly less report and less recoil than the rest... but that's not the issue. The issue is, out of those 60 rounds, 3 times I was unable to get the revolver to cycle. I would pull the trigger, and could only get it pulled 1/3rd of the way back (the hammer would correspondingly lift a little ways) and no further. I tried to pull the hammer back to see if it would cock the gun and go into SA, but I was unable to pull the hammer more than about 1/3 of the way. I then swung out the cylinder, simply turned the cylinder a few times, and then resumed shooting and the revolver then functioned as it should. Seems to cycle flawlessly with no ammo also.

I know there's a lot of people that say one shouldn't fire anyone else's reloads, but this buddy is actually quite knowledgeable in all matters fire-arms related (aside from knowing much about ex-Eastern Bloc surplus guns) and in fact he has a business reloading ammunition and selling it, so I thought it was trustworthy stuff. I have yet to try any factory ammo in this particular handgun, but everyone always touts how revolvers "don't jam" so I am thinking, should I even bother with trying factory ammo? Could the reloads be slightly out of spec to an extent that would result in the malfunction described... or is it the gun?

 

[Dragline45]

Other than the bullet unseating itself from the cartridge enough to bind up the cylinder I cant think of an ammo related problem that would cause what you are describing. My guessing is the timing is off, but im sure someone else will chime in who is more knowledgeable.

 

[youngunz4life]

my advice is to try different ammo. I believe certain ammo will not make the same issue happen. If that is the case, you should be able to save yourself some time.

 

[Tom Servo]

• Check the ejector rod to make sure it hasn't worked its way loose. It should be a left-hand thread.
• Check the ammunition for high primers. The primer should sit nearly flush with the base of the cartridge.
• Close the cylinder and hold the gun up to the light sideways. Can you see light coming through the gap between the forcing cone and cylinder. If not, you've got a problem.
• Check the screw for the cylinder latch and make sure it's not loose.

 

[Sixesonduty]

Call Taurus and complain ASAP

 

[GM2]

Call Taurus and complain

Sixesonduty is giving sage advise indeed

 

[Shadi Khalil]

I would never touch that guys reloads again. The round that didn't have much report could have ended up a squib and blown up the revolver. I'd try some factory fresh ammo before you put yourself through the ordeal that is Taurus CS.... Remember, a S&W airweight would probably cost about the same as the 85 or in some cases, less.

 

[Don P]

Post number 4 has the most valid info.

 

[Andy Taylor]

First, if your buddy is using Blazer cases to reload, I would not trust his loads. If a primer is to high, it will lock up the gun in the manner you describe.
Get some good ammo and try again. I am not a Taurus fan, but this sounds like an ammo issue, not a gun issue.

 

[carguychris]

If the problem primarily occurs when the revolver is warm from firing, pay particular attention to the 3rd item in Tom Servo's post, and try it with the cylinder indexed in different positions. You should not see any difference in the air gap when changing chambers.

Revolvers with a cylinder-forcing cone gap problem often exhibit more issues after firing. This occurs because the cylinder heats up and expands faster than the frame does.

If there is any observable difference, flip the cylinder out and spin it while carefully observing the ejector rod and cylinder. You should not observe any wobbling. If anything appears to wobble, send it back to Taurus.

 

[Tom Servo]

Revolvers with a cylinder-forcing cone gap problem often exhibit more issues after firing. This occurs because the cylinder heats up and expands faster than the frame does.

I've seen wildly differing cylinder gaps on new Taurus revolvers. Some are so tight they drag the cylinder, while others are so wide they shave lead.

 

[freenokia]

I have an 85 that did that. Changed ammo and never had another problem. iirc it was a box of magtech.

 

[raftman]

Went through Tom Servo's list of suggestions:

Check the ejector rod to make sure it hasn't worked its way loose. It should be a left-hand thread.

Checked, not loose.

Check the ammunition for high primers. The primer should sit nearly flush with the base of the cartridge.

Used up all the ammo and left spent casings at range, cannot check without getting more of said ammo. So this remains a possible cause.

Close the cylinder and hold the gun up to the light sideways. Can you see light coming through the gap between the forcing cone and cylinder. If not, you've got a problem.

Light can be seen coming through between the forcing cone and the cylinder, but just a hair.

Check the screw for the cylinder latch and make sure it's not loose.

Checked, seems tight.

 

[Wharves]

I've had an 85 for years. Only problem I've had is the ejector rod loosening. A bit of picture blue took care of that. Really does sound like an ammo problem. Specially considering the light report on one.

 

[TMD]

Being knowledgeable and being skillful are two completly different things. With that being said your buddies reloads sound like a recipe for disaster. With that out of the way try factory ammo or consistant reloads that you made. The cylinder binding is more than likely from either improperly seated primers, COL being too long, or improperly sized brass.

 

[hermannr]

Primers can drag on the backside, and overall length can cause drag on the front of the cylinder.

EMPTY the gun. Put it in full lockup (squeeze the trigger, hold the trigger back, but let the hammer fall) Take a feeler guage and measure the cylinder gap. 0.003 is a good minimum gap, any tighter you will have to clean the gun more often, and it will be very picky about over-all cartridge length.

Measure all 6 chambers seperately. If say one measures 0.002, and one measures say 0.008, the gun has a problem. If every chamber is say +/_ 0.001 from any other, the gun is not at fault.

If the cylinder is exceptionally tight (>0.003) you will have to clean the weapon more often (every 50 or 100 shots) to keep in cycling properly. I would not worry about it being too tight unless it is >0.002, it will loosen with use.

While the cylinder is in full lockup, try to get it to move (side to side, and front to back.) It should move very slightly. If it moves easily, the fault is the weapon.

 

[James K]

If the reloader is actually reloading Blazer aluminum cases, he is not (IMHO) a good reloader; for several reasons, those cases are not made or meant to be reloaded and trying to do so can create problems, including backed out primers.

Jim

 

[Ozzieman]

I agree if he is reloading Blazer which are aluminum cases. DON’T shot his stuff.
There are a lot of good suggestions here but the one I ran into with a Taurus 455 in 44 special. It had the same problem. The cylinder to forcing cone was too tight. After firing several rounds it would get hot, expand and hang up.
My gun smith opened the gap and the problem went away. This is a known problem with some Taurus.
If it’s not the ammo as others suggested, instead of sending it back to Taurus, if you know of a good gun smith have him look at it. Taurus is not known for their great customer service on repairs.

 

[Joe the Redneck]

Dollars to donuts it was the ammo. I bet the primers were backing out just enough. It does not take much.

That fact that your friend reloaded blazer cases simply removes all doubt that he needs a copy of "The ABCs of Reloading" or another good reloading book. There are gaps in his knowledge that could result in a very serious problem.

Try some new ammo. I bet it will be fine.

Best wishes.

 

[raftman]

Thanks all for the input. I've purchased some factory ammo and will hopefully give it another try this weekend.

In regards to the Blazer casings. This was Blazer brass-cased ammo, not aluminum. Is Blazer brass less suited to reloading purposes than other kinds of brass?