New Colt king cobra won't eject certain casings

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Roger519

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I recently bought a new colt king cobra 357 mag. I first shot 200 rounds of federal 158 grn fmj through it no problem. Then I purchased 1,000 rounds of Geco .357 magnum 158 grn fmj from aimsurplus, my friends purchase from there all the time but for different calibers. These rounds are almost $10 cheaper per box of 50 and had good reviews everywhere I looked.

I cleaned the Chambers well after the first 200 rounds with #9, didn't use any lube just the cleaning solvent. Today I shot 100 rounds of the new Geco ammo and they shot just fine, not noticably dirtier than the federals, however they were very difficult to eject. I had to gently bump the ejector rod on the table to pry them loose so I could pull them out. The federals didn't give me any problems ejecting even after 200 shots. I've never shot 38 special through this gun either, and I'm sure I cleaned it well, especially since I only shot 200 rounds prior to this issue. I'm going to try and return the last 900 rounds if possible and use better rounds.

Could this just be a cheap ammunition issue? If I'm stuck with this ammo do you recommend I use it but eject it differently if it sticks, or can I bump the ejector rod? Do you recommend I swallow my losses and use a different ammo? Any ideas on how to avoid this issue?

I appreciate any help, thanks!
 
It should only require a firm thumb press on the ejector rod to get the cases out with the gun held upwards.
I think it is a cheap ammo problem. Federal and Winchester make great quality brass.. never had a problem with those brands when I reload. However I've had oversized rims and tighter than usual primer pockets with other brands. So it might very possibly be a problem with the brass here. You cleaned the gun even after 200 rounds, could still be quite dirty I'd clean it again just to be sure.
COULD also be that that ammo is shooting too hot... When you shoot over pressured ammo, it'll expand very tightly and be harder than usual to eject. Check the spent primers and make sure they still have smooth rounded edges around them. If it's pounded flat, then it's running hot. If there's black rings around them, then it's way too hot and shouldn't be fired in that revolver.
 
Try loading and firing each hole one at a time, then checking for ejection binding. You may have one charge hole that is bored too tight, out of round, or has a burr.

I would also check the ejector rod for concentricity, and the cylinder endshake.

We had one member here who had a brand new Cobra with a bent rod from the factory, though it would eject fine, but the star would not retract all the way automatically.

If all this checks out, then its probably just the ammo.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! BTW we love pictures......:)
 
Thank you everyone for your input the welcoming into the group. Unfortunately I don't have another 357 to test this out in. If I can return this ammunition I'll do that and not be so frugal on ammo moving forward. If I can't I'll try shooting one bore chamber at a time, and bring it into my gunsmith friend to check the rod and endshake but looking at it closely now it doesn't appear to be anything wrong knock on wood. I'll also check the empty casings for signs of a hot load as mentioned above. If that's the case I'll definitely send pictures. Seeing that I don't have the empty casings now the only thing I could send everyone is a pic of a stock king cobra bathing in some ballistol.

I think moving forward I'll buy boxes of 4 or 5 different ammo and try them out before committing to 1000 rounds. Right now after reading reviews I'm seeing good things about magtech, American eagle, fiocchi, cci blazer, and s&b. Obviously these don't compare to Winchester Remington and federal but they look like good bang for your buck and I'm not seeing anything about stuck brass. Any other suggestions? Lucky Gunner seems to be a good online forum to buy bulk ammo...any other suggestions?

Thanks again!
 
Just for fun I checked the chamber diameter on a few 357s handy. A model 19 smith measured right at. 382, a new model blackhawk was. 379 as was a colt trooper. My new model king cobra was the tightest at a shy .378. I've had a few reloads that wouldn't chamber right at the base of the shell in the cobra, probably the result of a hot load sometime and the dies not resizing to the bottom of the case.
 
Try to localize which chamber is out of size, if any.
Then, inspect in detail with a magnifier looking for a small burr or tooling marks.
If you find it, cross a yarn through it and send to Colt with a note.

CZhen
 
That ammo is hot. To me it feels hotter than any other factory ammo. Just the sound tells you something is up with those rounds. Even my hottest reloads don't feel like that when shooting. My neighbor bought some when he bought his Taylor and Company 357mag. We had to beat on the ejector rod with a wood block to get the empties out. They drop in fine, but once you fire them they are hard to extract. They were hard to get out of my Ruger Vaquero also. Same thing, beat on the rod. They came out a little easier than his but not by much.
 
Sounds like one or more of your chambers has some finish roughness. Pretty typical of current mass-production revolvers, unfortunately. I’d ask Colt to complete the work that should have been done before your gun left the factory.
 
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