Ruger LCRX 357 Mag. problem

mtrman56 said:

Contacted Ruger they said clean my gun.

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Good advice. Don't shoot .38spc first before shooting .357mag. The 38s will leave residue in the forward part of the cylinder where the 357 cartridges extend. That could cause enough drag to make ejection difficult. Clean the cylinder chambers thoroughly and shoot 357s. They should eject with little drag.

Agree with the others. Shooting a box of .38's and going to .357 will give some extraction problems. .40 Cal bore brush is the ideal solution. What ammo did you use?

filthy ammo, probably lead with lube grooves that smokes and turns the gun black with soot
find some cleaner ammo

"Don't shoot .38spc first before shooting .357mag. The 38s will leave residue in the forward part of the cylinder where the 357 cartridges extend. That could cause enough drag to make ejection difficult."

I have never found this to be the case with my revolvers. I shoot way more 38's out of my 357 revolvers than 357's. The same is true for 44 special and 44 magnum. I frequently mix and match during a range visit.

My friend carries his 357 LCR a lot. When we go to the range he normally puts most of a box of 38's through it, then a few cylinders of 357. He never has any problems.

I am guessing dirty ammo, cylinders not quite wide enough, or some other non-typical situation.

Unless you are buying the more expensive 38 Special ammo, this is common enough. It is the ammo, not the revolver

That's why I shoot 38s in my 38s and 357s in my 357s.
However when I only had a 357 it did get shot with both and I never had a problem.

This probably doesn't pertain to the OP, but I never shoot steel-cased ammo out of revolvers.

It only happened once, and maybe it was an anomaly, but a friend shot a box of steel-cased ammo out of his SP101, and it stuck in the cylinders badly. The revolver had never given him problems before or since.

I had a similar incident when shooting dirty ammo from my from my LCR22WMR. Empty cases stuck in the cylinders so bad I had to put the ejector rod against a post to eject the empties. Changed ammo... end of problem.

mtrman56 said:

Thanks again for all the information not really been much of a wheel gun fan. But now I do concealed carry this pistol serves a purpose for certain situations, Now I know after I shoot 38spl at the range to clean cylinder then try running some 357 mags to make sure they clear. I've been in touch with Ruger and they have been very prompt about getting back to me and offered to let me send it back to them to be checked out but I feel that isn't necessary now.

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Yep, this is pretty common. Common enough that it's worth trying a thorough cleaning before too much worry is expended. You might have tighter than average cylinders but that's not a big deal if you're diligent about cleaning.