LCR Unseating

[Praxidike]

I own a Ruger LCR .357 Mag. While at the range the other day, I shot some Winchester .38 and .357 mag that I purchased from Walmart almost a year ago.

I shot 5 rounds of the .38 without a problem, but after reloading and firing 2nd .357 rounds, the 3rd bullet became unseated which prevented the cylinder from cycling and from being able to be opened.

Any clues on what the problem could have been? I've shot the same ammo out of the gun about on 3 or 4 other occasions w/o any issues. This is my EDC weapon and I'd hate to have to pull it one day only to have the gun not only fail to fire, but also jam to the point where I can't easily open the cylinder to extract the spent rounds...

 

[fxstchewy]

Lightweight revolver and/or poor crimp on ammo. if it is white box ammo the QC can be suspect try a premium brand and check results, or use the WWB 38+p.

 

[tubeshooter]

Sounds like the bullets "jumped crimp". This is a phenomenon where the recoil from a fired round has unseated the bullet from one or more of the unfired rounds, just enough to where the OAL (overall length) of the round is out of spec and ties up the cylinder. Hence the term "jump crimp" (crimp is the seal of the bullet into the case).

It is mostly seen with powerful rounds and very light guns. Seems like I remember first hearing about it with the super-light scandium/titanium .357 snubs.

That's about the extent of what I know about it. If I'm not mistaken the LCR in .357 weighs in at 17 ounces. Might be a light enough candidate for this, although this is the first time I've personally heard about it specifically with the LCR in .357.

I think the remedy was to use a different weight of bullet, but I am not 100% positive. I also don't know if this more prevalent with a certain brand of ammo, or if you just got a bad box, or what.


I am hesitant to say any more, because my knowledge on the subject is limited. Just the same, I can imagine how unsettling it would be to experience in your carry gun, so I am trying to give what info I can to help you out. I don't think this is an issue with .38 or even .38+P, so you might want to go with those for carry until you get more solid info and narrow things down. Someone will be along soon to correct anything I have mis-stated. Apologies in advance for any inaccuracies on my part; I am not a guru or expert, so that is my disclaimer on this post. Good luck.

 

[Rule3]

It's not the "gun" it's the ammo.

Poor crimp, the gun acts like a inertia bullet puller. You say Winchester, which kind? What weight bullet?

Try Speer, Hornady or some other premium brand,

 

[CatManDo]

What Rule 3 said. I don't/haven't had that problem as I load ALL the ammo I shoot. I cast the bullet, prep the brass, yada,yada. The only thing I don't load is .22 and for some reason I was/am well stocked in that department.

 

[Squeaky Wheel]

Tubeshooter, thanks for the explanation. I've never heard of this until now. Anyone else experienced this before? If so, what model gun and caliber?

 

[Sunray]

"...38 and .357 mag..." You clean the cylinder after shooting the .38's? .38's will leave a lube gunk ring in the cylinders that needs to be cleaned out before shooting .375's. It's not a big deal. A .45 brush will take it out.

 

[The Teacher]

Ruger LCR Manual

On page 12 of the Ruger LCR manual it talks about this exact issue and gives a simple process for checking the ammo.

http://www.ruger.com/products/_manuals/lcr.pdf

AMMUNITION CHECK

Due to the light weight of the LCR, inertial forces to ammunition during
firing could possibly unseat a bullet from its crimp in the cartridge casing. The
LCR has been tested with a variety of popular ammunition manufactured to
SAAMI industry standards and has not demonstrated any tendency to unseat
bullets. However, before placing the LCR into service, it is recommended that
you:

1. At a range or other suitable location, fully load your revolver with the
ammunition you wish to test in accordance with the safety and loading
instructions in this manual.

2. Fire four of the five rounds in accordance with the safety and firing
instructions in this manual.

3. Unload the four fired cases and the unfired round in accordance with the
safety and unloading instructions in this manual. Closely inspect the
unfired round for signs that the bullet has moved forward out of the case.
For jacketed and lead bullets with a cannelure or crimp groove, check to
see if the bullet has moved forward enough so that the case mouth is no
longer located in the bullet cannelure or crimp groove. For lead bullets
without a cannelure or crimp groove, there should be no detectable movement of the bullet. If the bullet has moved as just described, do not
use that brand of tested ammunition, and repeat this test with another
brand until one is found that the bullet does not unseat during this test.

4. After the test is completed, unload and store the revolver in accordance
with the safety and storage instructions in this manual.

 

[Dr_B]

It happens as the result of lightweight gun and poor, or not enough, crimping. Its happened to me in my LCR .357 with reloads and once in an Airweight .38. I have never had it happen with factory made carry ammo.

 

[Jim K]

I wonder if that ammo might have been more than a year or so old.

A while back, when Scandium J frame .357's first came out, it was common for .357 factory ammo to have that problem. After that, ammo makers began to add heavier crimps and I thought the problem had gone away.

Jim

 

[Drail]

Common on flyweight guns. No amount of crimp will solve this problem. The crimp is not what holds the bullet in the case. Proper case neck tension is what holds it tight. This is one of the main reasons I will never own a flyweight gun. That and the recoil.

 

[Texan Scott]

Used to own a Taurus Titanium Ultralight. It did this ALL THE TIME with cheap 158gr lead 38s.

As noted above, heavy bullet, weak crimp, soft lead, inertia.

Never a problem once with hot, pricey 110gr jhp.

 

[gamestalker]

Just one more reason why I started reloading many years ago. I got sick and tired of factory ammunition failing for one reason or another. I can't say I've ever recall a factory wheel gun cartridge ever jumping crimp personally, but I've seen it happen some years back with a Ruger SBH 44 mag. with jacketed factory loads.

I had a buddy who bought some high end self defense .357 mag, I think they were Gold Dots. But they were expensive high end factory SD cartridges, and therefore one would feel they are reliable. But he had 3 mis-fires out of a box of 20 or 25 rounds. One could contend it was a problem with his firearm, but it ran flawlessly with my reloads, and also with some cheaper jacketed factory he had with him. And to further attest to possibly bad ammo, when I loaded a cylinder into my revolver, I experienced a mis-fire on the first round.

It's difficult to knock factory ammunition, after all, it is mass produced and in the millions too. But because my life may depend on it, I will not rely on factory ammunition for SD carry. In over 30 yrs. of reloading I have yet to experience a single failure with my reloads. It might be a good time to consider taking up reloading.

GS

 

[Steve C]

Heavier bullets have more tendency to creep forward under recoil. Go to a lighter weight bullet, 125gr or 110gr that has a good strong crimp. The other alternative is to get some Remington Golden Sabers that are loaded to a more mid range than the full powered ammo. These run at around 1,220 fps out the muzzle of a 4" barrel and should be 1,150 +/- out the short barrel of the LCR but are still 200 fps faster than a .38 spl +P. The full power 125gr JHP's by Speer, Remington and Winchester run at 1,450 fps from a 4" barrel.

 

[moxie]

Yup, and it's also called "Bullet Jump." The procedure in the LCR's manual is the best I've seen for making sure that a particular type of ammo will work in your gun.