Can revolvers be ammo picky after all?

[TMD]

Blazer brass is fine for reloading. Blazer aluminum should never be reloaded. The fact that you said the gun cycled fine when you removed the ammo screams thats its an ammo problem.

 

[stevieboy]

Carguychris and Tom Servo probably have nailed it, it's a barrel/cylinder gap issue. I've had this problem arise on a couple of revolvers, S & W btw, so it's not just a Taurus issue. If the gap is really small to begin with binding between the cylinder and forcing cone may become apparent as the gun heats up with use. Sometimes the gun will dry fire just fine but bind up to the point where the cylinder cannot be rotated at all once the gun heats up.

If that's the problem you're looking at a simple repair job for a competent smith or an easy warranty fix for Taurus.

 

[raftman]

I am not sure the heating up theory pans out though. The first time the malfunction occurred, it was on the 3rd or 4th round fired out of the gun, I don't imagine that it could have gotten hot enough to expand so much so quickly after so few rounds. What's more, the gun functioned thereafter, with dozens of rounds between failures. Shouldn't it have expanded more as it got hotter and hotter, causing more frequent malfunction, rather than having the malfunctions scattered throughout?

 

[skidder]

When this happens in a Taurus the ammo is always my second guess.

 

[youngunz4life]

Joe the Redneck

Dollars to donuts it was the ammo

I'd put a C-note on it

 

[ClayInTx]

I have one, also. The indexing pawl lets the cylinder misalign just enough to bind up the trigger just as you described. It doesn't press tight enough.

I just threw mine in a drawer and never use it but it should go back to Taurus because it's a maker's glitch.

 

[raftman]

^ Shouldn't that happen without regard to whether or not there's ammo in the chambers?

 

[skidder]

posted by Ozzieman:
Taurus is not known for their great customer service on repairs.

I will 2nd that.

Primers locking the cylinder will also make it very difficult to open the cylinder. If your cylinder opened easy, it was probably not the primers. I had primers back out while shooting my sp101, and it was bitch to open the cylinder.

 

[C7AR15]

Tom Servo

Tom's check list is bang on.

The most common problem with reloads in a revolver is high primers.

Also years ago when the SW 686 came out there was a recall.
Problem: The bushing that the firing pin protruded through was too large a diameter. The result was primers extruding back into the bushing hole and locking up the the gun.

The fix was to send the gun back or stop using soft primers IE: Federal

Is your buddy using Fed primers ?? JD

 

[CajunBass]

First, if your buddy is using Blazer cases to reload, I would not trust his loads.

CCI Blazer makes brass case ammo you know.

If the guy managed to reload the aluminum ones, he's got some pretty interesting equipment (it does exist) that I've never seen. The aluminum cases are Berdan primed. Trying to reload them with conventional equipment would result in fustration and/or a broken decapper pin.

Their brass cases are as good as anybody's.

 

[rodfac]

I won't fire someone else's loads..and your buddy's loads sound fluky.."reports that sound less than normal". I'd not fire another one! That said...you bought a Taurus...I'd have saved my money and bought S&W, Ruger, or Colt. Rod

 

[Vividia]

All the advice above is sound, but I wanted to add one more possibility. The only time I ever had a revolver fail to cycle, it was my ruger blackhawk in 45 colt. I didn't have time to reload before a day at the range, so I picked up a box of factory ammo. Had the "what the heck" moment when the cylinder would not turn on what has been an utterly reliable gun.

Turns out the rim on several cartridges in that box (I believe it was Remington) were an ooch thicker than the rest and would not allow the cylinder to cycle. Needless to say I did not save any brass from that box for reloading. I use mostly Starline for 45 colt.

Just a thought.

 

[Webleymkv]

Another possibility is that you have a bit of fouling under the extractor and it's not going all the way back into its recess in the cylinder. Clean the underside of the extractor and the recess and see if the problem persists. The most common cause of this issue is improper technique when extracting spent cases. The proper way is to point the muzzle straight up and give the extractor rod a good, sharp rap.

 

[raftman]

So... after all the speculation, proposed explanations, and a couple hints of Taurus hatin' I do believe the mystery may be solved.

Went out today with a box of Magtech FMJ's and a box Blazer LRN's; some soda cans needed to be taught a lesson. The issue did not occur with either of these factory loads whatsoever. I did notice a significantly greater amount of recoil from the factory loads compared to the reloads, which leads me to even more strongly suspect my buddy's reloads are sub-par and the gun does work as it should.