Does this look like flame cutting? Pics. Ruger LCR. little help?

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Thats just the beginning. I had about 400-500 rounds through mine and the flame cutting was severe. Ruger is replacing the revolver as we speak. I just sent in the paperwork to confirm.

After 80 rounds you should barely be able to tell a revolver was fired after a good cleaning. There may be rings around the face of the cylinder throats but little else. Im hoping the new LCR coming my doesnt cut again.
 
akadave, can you tell us what kind of rounds produced the flame cutting?
 
The LCR I sent in had about 400 or so swaged lead wadcutter target rounds. 50 or so ball target rounds. Two cylinders of Gold Dot +P. A couple of cylinders of Buffalo Bore Heavy 38 SPL+P. And about 30 or 40 Winchester hollowpoint +P.

Thats it.

Not only did the top strap cut badly but the outer edge of the cylind had been marred up by the blow by of the molten metal hitting it. It happened fast. I didnt notice anything with the first few hundred target rounds. All these rounds were not shot in one sitting. It was over a number of range visits. I shot about 100 rounds on the last range visit when I noticed the cutting.
 
Wow. Now it is beginning to sound like maybe there is a problem with Ruger's choice of frame material. As others have stated, flame cutting is pretty much an accepted phenomenon with revos but it normally takes considerably longer than these cases are showing and it usually happens with hotter ammo than WC loads and a few Gold Dots. If anyone hears back from Ruger please let us know what they tell you.
 
I won't comment on the flamecutting aspect and whether or not it's normal, as I'm no expert.

I've got about 200 rnds of standard and maybe 25 rnds of +P through mine and there's no marks, dimples or divots.
 
Since the vast majority are saying that they are not having any problems. Im sure this is a metallurgical issue on a small batch of guns. If Ruger did a 10,000 round test on the LCR without issue it has to be a bum batch. Im sure it will subside.

Believe me, in this day of trip-and-fall-litigation-gone-wild, Ruger has surely dotted I's anc crossed T's on new gun development.
 
Heard back from Ruger this morning by Phone (see above OP posts for what led up to this). They said it should be sent in. They're scheduling a UPS pick up.

- I'll continue to keep you posted.
 
I just got my new LCR from Ruger as a replacement for the one that was cutting. It doesnt appear tha they have made any changes to the top strap so Im going to assume that the cutting will either not occur under certain circumstances or perhaps the cutting will abate after a certain point. I wish Ruger would have clarified this for me. I really expected an stell insert avove the forcing cone in the topstrap. Its my main carry again. I have placed the M&P 340 back in the safe. I like the trigger on the Ruger so much better. I havent taken it to the range but I will make sure that I have a cameral handt and frequently check for cutting and report back.
 
It probably won't erode any more than that small amount you have pictured. Shoot it, but monitor it. Very highly unlikely it will pose any kind of a problem at all.
You have a good revolver........be happy and shoot it.
 
I really do hope that mine was a rare ocurrance. I have seen pictures of 3 other LCR's and reports of a couple of more so that would be 6 that I know of. The majority of others dont seem to be having much of an issue but I believe that is due too those people not shooting nearly as much as I and others do and have purchased the LCR as a first gun or home nightstand gun. Those historically get little or not ammo through them.

I suspect that Ruger will eventually change the design.
 
I really do hope that mine was a rare ocurrance. (sic)
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I seriously doubt that.

Dave, I would just not worry about it.

That pictured amount is just minuscule and has no measurable impact on frame strength or durability. Another thin is that flame cutting is self-limiting - it goes to a certain amount and then stops; the flame-front can't cut any deeper. Drail has already explained the physics of it pretty darn well.

old-school revolvers carried over a tradition from black powder days in that they continued the pattern of a "fouling cup" cut in the top strap. It was an oval dish made just above the b/c gap to let bp residue accumulate and not block or "foul" the cylinder rotation. It had the added benefit of preventing flame cutting with hotter smokeless loads. As soon as this was abandoned in the 20's, flame cutting became a normal part of revolver wear. It's just no big deal.

And if it become one, Ruger has an 800 number. So don't sweat it.
 
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I have to agree with Oro, it's not any worse than many revolvers I have seen and it will most likely stop eroding after it reaches a certain point. I wouldn't worry abut it. My belief is that all of the small flyweight snubs currently on the market now are in the same class as the Charter Arms revos - they are made to be carried constantly and shot occasionally. They will wear out faster than a Redhawk or a S&W N frame.
 
I shot mine, for the first time, over the weekend and noticed yesterday that it has the same type of mark after going through only 50 rounds of Rem. +P. I haven't cleaned it yet, which may be a good thing, so I can get before and after pictures. I'll clean it tonight and see what it looks like. I really hope this isn't an issue......
 
I asked the guy at the shop, who I trust, to get me a box of ammo that would be good for breaking it in. I sure hope he didn't grab the wrong thing. I trashed the box when I left the range. I am absolutely going to start keeping a log of what I shot on any given day.
 
I just looked at a new LCR and it had "the mark". Now I'm curious if mine always had the mark in question. I am going to keep shooting it to see if it gets bigger. I'm hoping that it is a tool mark, or something that I shouldn't worry about. None the less, it gets cleaned tonight with before and after shots.
 
I agree that in some revolvers the cutting is self limiting. Ive seen this mostly in steel framed revolvers. The LCR I sent back to be replaced had siginificant cutting much like the one shown in the original Youtube vid of the cutting after 500 rounds. Ruger replaced it without issue or comment. I will assume it will stop and I plan on putting about 500 rounds per year through it.

Looking closely at my new LCR, there is a small divot where the cutting ocurrs. Its possibly from the testing that the revolver underwhent. I could tell that all the cylinders had been fired when I inspected it and cleaned it for initial carry.
 
I love Ruger. I have a couple of very expensive customs built on Ruger single actions (500 Linebaugh, 475 Linebaugh). Both of which handle the big calibers just fine. The 500 will do 2 inches at 50yd over a rest all day with its pet load.
 
I'm the OP.

Here's the final tally:

Ruger reported back to me that the LCR needed to be replaced.

You'll find the replacement offer below (with sensitive info edited out).

I had the brand new Replacement LCR (with new serial number) on July 1st. I made my original inquiry with Ruger on June 7th. So, there's your turnaround time.

Here's the kicker: The brand new, fresh off the line replacement LCR seems to have the same divot (or very very similar to) as the one I sent in. And this new LCR has NOT yet been fired.

Conclusion:
Everyone here who said that it was not flame cutting, was no big deal, and/or was probably just a tool mark from the factory was absolutely correct and gave solid sound advice.

Why Ruger deemed that it needed to be replaced, I don't know. They were not forthcoming with an explanation.

In any event, Ruger provided excellent customer service and bought themselves a very loyal customer for years to come. I know if the customer is unhappy they will see to it no matter what.

I'm only sorry that Ruger needed to replace a revolver that was probably fine to begin with.

If I had it to do over again, I'd I've taken the majority of the advice that I received on these forums and left it be.

So for the next person who has this "problem" (or lack thereof), if your divot looks like mine did/does, worry not. Everything's fine.

Pics below of the old frame and the new frame. I had said originally that my original frame was smooth upon my initial inspection (prior to firing the first time). I now believe that I was wrong and did not inspect the revolver as accurately as I had remembered. I apologize for the selective memory.

Thanks to everyone for their solid and sound advice.

I hope this post is helpful to someone in the future.


ASSESSMENT AND OFFER OF REPLACEMENT FROM RUGER:
RugerAgreementReplacement-resized.jpg

ORIGINAL LCR THAT WAS REPLACED:
Flacecutclean1.jpg

REPLACEMENT LCR:
P1070327.jpg
 
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FirearmsInPhoenix, you just made my day with your results. Thanks to you, I have piece of mind in my LCR. You probably helped out a few more folks in the process.

Happy shooting!
 
FirearmsInPhoenix, you just made my day with your results. Thanks to you, I have piece of mind in my LCR. You probably helped out a few more folks in the process.

Happy shooting!
Click to expand...

That's awesome. Very glad this helped.
 
Could it be a tool mark left by the facing cutter used to set the barrel/cylinder gap?
 
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