Spent Cartridges Hang up in the Cylinder

Sparty_76

I own a S&W 19-3, .357 Mag. At the range when I shoot it the .357 Cartridges hang up in the cylinder and I have a heck of a time ejected them after they are spent. When I shoot .38 Specials, they come right out. I do not see anything mechanical wrong, what is causing it? Thanks!

andrewsw16

Ah. That's an easy one. That has happened in EVERY .38/.357 revolver I own. The shorter .38 rounds cause a buildup of carbon/crud just in front of the brass. Then, you load up a longer .357 case and when you fire, it swells and is held in place by the friction from that crud. The solution is vigorous cleaning of the chambers after firing the shorter .38 cartridges before shooting the .357 rounds. [:D] I have gone so far as to put some fine steel wool around a cleaning brush, chuck it into a portable drill and polish the chambers. Then they really get shined up and the rounds drop right out. [:D]

Sparty_76

Thanks Andrew, I figured it was something like that, simple!!! I will give it a try!!!!

charliemeyer007

Proper cleaning of the chambers will likely work. Sometimes there is a burr on the back of the chambers or the star that will cause drag on the higher pressure rounds. Inspect your fired cases carefully for scratches, a hand lens will help.

beantownshootah

High pressure .357 rounds swell the cases more then .38s, and sticky ejection of spent 357s is fairly common from EVERY revolver. . .that's one of the recognized drawbacks of this cartridge

As already mentioned, .38s then .357s can cause cylinder chamber fouling, making this problem worse. Vigorous brushing/cleaning can help there.

Good technique in ejecting the brass also helps.

When ejecting, point the muzzle up (so gravity is working WITH you to help eject the empties), and give the ejector rod a good firm slap with the palm of your hand straight down. Don't hit it so hard you bend the rod, but you want to push that puppy like you mean it.

nmyers

I use J-B Bore Paste, a mild abrasive, to clean the chambers.

Neal

SP45

This also happens with the 2 1/2" barrel guns as the ejector rod is shorter. After the good cleaning when ejecting hold the muzzle end pointed straight up and snap the ejector rod sharply with your thumb to eject the spent cases. See if that helps.