Timing Question

[dallasconundrum]

Hi guys, I have a little question about timing concerning a beater Astra .357 I picked up a few months ago. I bought the gun as an under the seat gun...but now I doubt it will ever go there as I don't trust it. When you are shooting the gun SA only there is not a problem at all. Slow DA is the same way. BUT when you go to shoot rapid-fire DA it starts to misfire pretty consistently. Upon opening it up and checking the ammo, I noticed that the firing pin had struck the primer just barely on the edge, rather than in the center. I am guessing this is a timing issue. However, timing is not something that I know a whole lot about, and I had assumed that if it was out of time, then it was out, DA or SA no matter. Does that sound like being out of time is the problem though?

 

[Sir William]

Take it to a gunsmith. IIRC, Astra 357s could be tinkered with easily. They had adjustable triggers and some hacksmiths tinker with things best left alone. I feel it only needs adjustment back into spec or new springs. The Cadix 357s were excellent revolvers.

 

[Dfariswheel]

Could be any number of things, but likely the gun has a condition known as "Throw by".

In this condition, the cylinder is rotating TOO far, and is actually rotating past the lock position, and firing in an unlocked condition.
A classic symptom of throw by is off-center primer hits.

This is usually caused by the locking bolt failing to lock into the locking notch on the cylinder.

The cause could be as simple as a dirty, gummed up action, to any number of problems.

Take it to a gunsmith. He'll find and fix the cause of the failure to lock.

 

[gfen]

I had this problem on a well aged and used S&W.

Most people suggested the cylinder stop or its spring was damaged; a few suggested that S&W's weren't built for "rapid" DA firing.

The first line of repair was to give the gun a major, major cleaning. I did this by removing the side plate and hosing the entire thing down with brake cleaner.

This had some affect on it, but, in the end.. I sent it to the smith.. who replaced the cylinder stop and spring.

 

[omegapd]

The first line of repair was to give the gun a major, major cleaning.

Exactly what I was thinking too.

Is there noticeable wear on the locking bolt or the notches in the cylinder?

 

[dallasconundrum]

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. I've cleaned all the surfaces and such several times, but haven't taken it apart to clean it. The locking bolt and notches don't seem to worn. After cocking it, then decocking with the trigger still held it still locks up pretty tightly there is a little play but not much.

The shop I usually buy from (where I bought this one actually) will take them apart, clean them them inside and out, and resight them for ten bucks. They'll also do some minor repairs, so I'll probably drop in there the next chance I get to let them look it over and clean it really well.

If it is something too major though, I probably won't worry with it as I don't want to end up paying more or even close to what I have in it. And that's only $150.

As a side note, other than this problem, I really like the gun for a beater. It seems pretty well made and it's pinned and recessed. It's a big gun though. Certainly bigger than a K frame. I would say that it is close to as big as a N frame.

 

[dakotashooter2]

Had a taurus do the same thing. When rapid fireing the cylinder stop was hanging up allowing the cylinder to over rotate. Polishing the sides of the stop and slot thru which it feeds corrected the problem.

 

[gfen]

Don't even worry about popping the side off it, just buy some aerosol brake cleaner from the autoparts store and commence saturation.

Then, do it again. All the filth should just come out the bottom, and you won't kill it to work the action a few times, even without the lube; if the problem is resolved, well good. If its not, well, then you can back burner it until you have more time to devote and try to see iff you can replace that stop and spring on your own.