Revolvers never malfunction!

[mcapo]

First of all, if someone tells you that Jeeps are reliable, that person is not your friend.

The tire analogy falls flat, because the tires are part of the Jeep. A better analogy would be if the Jeep might throw a rod if you use anything but gas from Speedway, which is not top tier, but gets the job done ok. That's just how the Jeep is, it's part of the design.

The part where the Jeep analogy really works is that it's not really the best daily driver, but you still see a million of them on the road. Probably 90% of them will never go off-road, other than jumping the curb at Walmart. So it doesn't really matter if it's good for what it was designed for back in 1940. People just like them because they like them.

Wait...I have a daily driver jeep....

 

[Basher]

OK, you pedants.

An ammo failure caused a revolver stoppage.

And care to guess what my new carry ammo for that sucker is?

If you follow the advice of modern revolver evangelists, it’s FGMM .38SPL 148gr WC, in something like your 642.

 

[BigMoose]

I get this. My old 1942 M1 Carbine will not operate on most 30-cal ammo made today. Reloads will run all day

Sounds like you have a leaking gas piston

 

[mcapo]

If you follow the advice of modern revolver evangelists, it’s FGMM .38SPL 148gr WC, in something like your 642.

I was a fan of wadcutters in my Model 60 for years and years - decades really. I started with them because my Dad said so....and they seemed to perform.

Finally, BBI supported my observations with his real world facts.

 

[LtScott14]

Have 2 revolvers made in the 70's. S&W M10, and an Astra 357 mag(6in bbl). They guard my home daily.
Oh Wifey, can you bring your Glock for dinner tonight? What, it's broke! Say it ain't so!
Ok, bring in my 1911A1. I know it isn't broke. It worked in 1945!!! Lol

Agree that some do break, just don't leave them broken! Fix them with repairs, new ammo, magazines, or springs. Give the Gunsmith a call and let him go through the works for a sure thing.
Pay him his due, might save your life one day.

 

[Route 45]

Wait...I have a daily driver jeep....

If it makes ya feel any better, if I had to choose between carrying an Airweight every day or driving a Wrangler every day, I guess I'd go ahead, buy the extended warranty and hope for the best.

 

[Aszerigan]

OK, you pedants.

An ammo failure caused a revolver stoppage.

And care to guess what my new carry ammo for that sucker is?

Hopefully something I loaded. :-D

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Since it's now a Jeep thread:

Wrangler/Gladiator (or Bronco) is the only way to legally drive high and topless.

I mean, the only way to have a convertible with a decent field of view and ride height. Is what I meant. Obviously. Not sure what you were thinking.

Not my thing, but I've rented them. Off road ability aside, they are ideal congested city vehicles. Small and manueverable = easy to park and you can hop a curb if you need to. Not really my thing, but I get the appeal.

 

[Squid556]

Honestly a pretty good awareness thread. Not talked about enough. Usually its handloaders I hear have the issue but it can happen in factory configurations too. Especially in lightweight magnums. Apparently its enough of an issue that smith puts a warning on their 340 to avoid bullet jump, or so I'm told.



It does make me cringe a bit from the other side of the counter when customers try to convince folks that revolvers never jam

Sometimes I find it appropriate to educate if I think they will listen. Other times its easier to let them enjoy living in ignorance.

 

[duanewade]

Honestly a pretty good awareness thread. Not talked about enough. Usually its handloaders I hear have the issue but it can happen in factory configurations too. Especially in lightweight magnums. Apparently its enough of an issue that smith puts a warning on their 340 to avoid bullet jump, or so I'm told.
View attachment 285674


It does make me cringe a bit from the other side of the counter. Customers will convince folks that revolvers never jam

Sometimes I find it appropriate to educate if I think they will listen. Other times its easier to let them enjoy living in ignorance.

I would think that warning would be on all S&W AirWeight pistols as my 360 doesn't wear that warning.

 

[Tactically Fat]

of note: I don't think I've ever read about it happening with measly .38 Special +p. almost everything I've read was with .357 Mag.

Above all, the lesson is: If you ain't gonna shoot your carry ammo, best inspect it.

I have no way of knowing if the case mouth was split before I began shooting or if recoil caused it.

Something resembling Federal Gold Medal Match 148gr WC resides there now. That ammo is was more accurate in my particular revolver than that old Rem/UMC is/was anyhow.

I USED to have a .357 wherein shooting .38 Special was quite nice. Boring, even.

I need to borrow someone's .357 and shoot up all my other +p ammo. :-D

 

[Jaybird1980]

Since it's now a Jeep thread:

Wrangler/Gladiator (or Bronco) is the only way to legally drive high and topless.

I mean, the only way to have a convertible with a decent field of view and ride height. Is what I meant. Obviously. Not sure what you were thinking.

Not my thing, but I've rented them. Off road ability aside, they are ideal congested city vehicles. Small and manueverable = easy to park and you can hop a curb if you need to. Not really my thing, but I get the appeal.

K5 laughing. I know it's hard to hear over the rumble of the V8.

 

[Bosshoss]

Since we have already went down the rabbit hole let go ahead and talk about bullet creep.
Before I start let me say that I don't really see where anyone said revolvers never fail and I don't really believe anyone thinks that.
I did say that revolvers fail much less than a autoloader and have way less things that can go wrong than a autoloader be it the gun the ammo or operator.
I shoot competition every weekend(99% of the time with a revolver) and I have seen 1000's of gun malfunctions and those that think a mag change or tap -rack clears a malfunction quickly would be wrong. Sometimes yes that works(I would guess about a third of the time) but usually it takes a lot longer to get back in the game and sometimes they are done and have to go to a safe area and take the gun apart and try to actually fix the gun to finish the match.

Anyway back to bullet creep.
A revolver is a very efficient bullet puller. Of course the hard kickers are worse than the milder caliber guns.
Some things I have seen or experienced that are relevant.
Many years ago a guy contacted me about a gun that was locked up. He brought it to me and it was a K frame that had a bullet protruding a bit out of the front of the cylinder. I got the gun opened and talked to him and he had just bought a case of .357 ammo and this was first rounds out of that case. He shot the gun more than most and usually put several hundred rounds thru it every year and had owned it for over ten years and it was stock. He had never had that problem before.
Looking at his ammo I showed him the difference in the crimp between his ammo and some random .357 ammo I had on the shelf.
It was very obvious the difference in the crimp. I put one of his rounds in my bullet puller and 1 medium tap on the floor bullet came out. I had 4 or 5 different partial box's of .357 and I put 1 of each thru the bullet puller and ALL of them took 3 to 5 hits to pull the bullet and one of them I had to beat the crap out of it to get the bullet out.
One of my Dillon press was set up for 38 so I swapped tool head to .357 and took one of his factory loaded rounds and run it thru my crimp die for my reloads. Noticeable difference in the crimp and it took several hits in the bullet puller to get the bullet to pull.
Nothing anyone could do to the gun would fix this problem.

Was shooting a match with a friend who was shooting a revolver I had worked over we were both shooting 625's that are .45ACP and shooting major power factor.
He was having bullet creep which is something I have never had even with a taper crimp. He came by the shop a few days later and we were looking at his reloads and he cast his own bullets. I measured some of them and some were undersized by a couple of thousands and some were even not round but a couple of thousands oblong shaped. I mentioned he might try backing off the bullet lube a little and see if that helps. I don't know which of those fixed his problem but he said he didn't have any more problems with that.

Bullet creep can be caused by several different things and I have already mentioned the crimp but the crimp is affected by other things like case neck tension and length of the case and not all cases for different(or the same) manufacture are the same length. A longer case will crimp tighter than a shorter case if you don't adjust your crimp die and I doubt the manufactures change the die for different lots of brass.
The bullet size(diameter) makes a difference but the hardness also comes into play a softer lead bullet will be easier to deform and slip the crimp. Jacket material also can affect this on jacketed bullets.
I have heard as many different solutions for bullet creep as I have heard of bullet creep it's self.
I have never had a problem with bullet creep, I load with Dillon dies which has the bullet seat and crimp separate so maybe that helps.
Bullet creep isn't that common of a problem but when it happens it is a problem and you should always inspect your carry ammo and shoot all but one shot out of a cylinder and pull the last one and measure it to make sure.
At a match earlier this year a guy on our squad was shooting a 9mm auto and factory ammo. He was having all kinds of problems with the gun running.
We looked at the ammo and it had NO crimp on it at all in fact it still had a slight bell on it and when he cleared jams several rounds had the bullets shoved deeper into the case. Some rounds left in the mags were also shorter from recoil pushing bullets deeper in the case.
Check your ammo!!!!

A side note if you think just make a tighter crimp and not worry about it, a crimp too tight will deform the bullet and is the cause of accuracy problems and 90% of bullets keyholing. This is for revolvers AND autoloaders. Isn't this FUN

 

[DadSmith]

K5 laughing. I know it's hard to hear over the rumble of the V8.

View attachment 285750

1979 International Scout

 

[Bassat]

I've had 2 revolvers malfunction on me. The first was S&W 57, but it wasn't the gun's fault. Shooting reloads, fired a round w/primer and no power. Bullet jammed in the forcing cone. Gun totally out of commission. The second was a Charter Arms Bulldog. Light primer strikes at least once a cylinder, no matter what I fed it. General POS.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Bosshoss: would you say, then, that crimpin' ain't easy?

 

[Bosshoss]

Bosshoss: would you say, then, that crimpin' ain't easy?

Actually it isn't that big a deal. It has been 4 or 5 years since a customer had said anything about bullet creep to me.
It does happen obviously but can be addressed.
Revolvers can have problems due to the nature of them but blaming them for many of user errors and ammo issues is kind of like blaming the hammer when you hit your thumb while driving the nail.

 

[natdscott]

When revolvers do fail - they fail really, really bad. It's usually not just a tap-rack drill. Anything involving the ejector star pretty much turns it into a paper weight for the moment.

The kind of stuff that really shuts a revolver down, is the kind of stuff an experienced user should notice and see coming. But - these are also the type of guns some experts say are ideal for inexperienced users, so it bears noting.

They tolerate neglect better than anything else, but abuse very little.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

K5 laughing. I know it's hard to hear over the rumble of the V8.

View attachment 285750

I'm aware.
Had one. Also a Scout II.

 

[Leadeye]

Never hurts to use good ammo.