Model 29-2 jamming/stripping jacket...

[Squall67584]

I took both my 6 1/2" model 29-2 and my 4" 29-3 out to the range today with some LAX Ammunition 240grn fmj rounds. The 29-2 is new to me as of last month, and appeared to have been either never shot, or at least only a few times. I had previously put 100 rounds of some American Eagle 240grn, and some old Winchester white box 240grn rounds through it without issue.

The LAX ammo was recently purchased and this was the first time I shot it. After a few rounds, the action jammed, so I swung out the cylinder and emptied the brass and unshot rounds. A sliver of the copper jacket also fell out. Afterwards, it would function okay for a few rounds before doing it again. I thought it was the ammo (which I believe were reloads) but after getting through 50 rounds I switched over to the 29-3, which ran through the other 50 without a hiccup.

When I got home I disassembled the 29-2 and while the inside was dirty with an oily black residue from old lubricant, everything else looked fine. The bottom surface of the trigger return piece was a little rough where it slides against the frame, but not enough to make me think that could be causing the issue.

Could this be caused by it being out of time? Or something else? Any slight movement of the cylinder was the same as the 29-3, so I can't see a difference between the two as far as function goes. Anyone have any ideas? I'll be going to the range again here soon to see if I just didn't clean it properly after the first time I took it out.

 

[Twiki357]

It could be just slightly out of time. Just enough that when you fired jacketed American Eagle and Winchester white box it wasn’t a problem but the LAX maybe reloads with thin plated bullets that resulted in the shaving. This is just a guess on my part but I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly.

 

[rcmodel]

Buy some decent ammo instead of gun show reloads.

They are using plated bullets, and either driving them too hard, or crimping them to hard and cutting the plating.

Just a minor difference in forcing cone cuts could shave plated jackets like that.

Not a gun problem, it's very likely an ammo problem.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree, you said American Eagle ammo was fine in the revolver and the gun show ammo jammed the revolver. Why would your first thoughts be the revolver is bad instead of the ammo?

 

[Squall67584]

Thanks for the replies! I was about 90% sure it was the ammo causing the issue, but what fed my doubt was how it fed through the 29-3 just fine. I had bought that ammo cause it was cheap, but obviously I got what I paid for. Oh well, live and learn.

Now I'll be in the hunt for a cheaper factory ammo to throw down range. Any suggestions? Is the Blazer HP's in the non-brass casing any good?

 

[Reloadron]

Thanks for the replies! I was about 90% sure it was the ammo causing the issue, but what fed my doubt was how it fed through the 29-3 just fine. I had bought that ammo cause it was cheap, but obviously I got what I paid for. Oh well, live and learn.

Now I'll be in the hunt for a cheaper factory ammo to throw down range. Any suggestions? Is the Blazer HP's in the non-brass casing any good?

There is good ammunition and there is cheap ammunition but I have yet to see good cheap ammunition. I have used Remington UMC and Winchester USA in my S&W Model 29 without any problems but I simply view that as a source of brass when I don't buy Starline. The same is true of 357 Magnum, 38 Special, 45 Colt and a few others. My suggestion is use good ammunition and eventually start rolling your own.

Ron

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Now I'll be in the hunt for a cheaper factory ammo to throw down range. Any suggestions? Is the Blazer HP's in the non-brass casing any good?

CCI claims their blazer ammo is full power but when shot side by side with other factory ammo it's clearly not. If you want to learn good recoil management it might not be the right choice.

Fiocchi, Magtech, PMC, Win USA, Rem UMC and a few others are all less expensive and will be good as range ammo.

Have you considered reloading? Cartridges like the 44 Magnum and 45 Colt are extremely expansive to buy but cost no more than the "Specials" to reload. You can save a lot reloading those cartridges.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

... or crimping them too hard and cutting the plating.


rc

I like this as the first suspect.

 

[TomADC]

Double check the ejector rod make sure it's screwed in tight and didn't back out a tick. That will make them lock up.

 

[Walkalong]

Buy some decent ammo instead of gun show reloads.

They are using plated bullets, and either driving them too hard, or crimping them to hard and cutting the plating.

Just a minor difference in forcing cone cuts could shave plated jackets like that.

Not a gun problem, it's very likely an ammo problem.

rc

I had a Blackhawk in .357 once that shot jacketed great, but would keyhole a plated bullet load that shot fine in other revolvers. That may have been it.

 

[bainter1212]

Try Freedom Munitions. They are my go to for inexpensive plinking rounds.

 

[joem1945]

I don't and will not shoot other peoples reloads. I reload and shoot what I know is safe because I made them. If someone give me reloads I tear them down and save the brass and bullets only. The powder gets dumped.

 

[Combat Engineer]

"After a few rounds, the action jammed..." [Squall67584]

"When I got home I disassembled the 29-2 and while the inside was dirty with an oily black residue from old lubricant, everything else looked fine. The bottom surface of the trigger return piece was a little rough where it slides against the frame, but not enough to make me think that could be causing the issue. " [Ibid]

Had a similar thing happen with one of my newly acquired 29s that had been sitting around for 20+ years. I did not take it down, just lubed it in the usual places, it jammed at the range.

Took the sideplate off and there was a small line of dark grease around the area of the hand. I cleaned everything up, gave it a gentle fluff and buff and it has become a favorite carry. That bit of dark grease did not look like much, but since cleaned up it has been 100%.

Best to you.

 

[Squall67584]

Thanks for the replies guys! I'll look into getting some magtech rounds and a few others to see which ones I like. I've saved about 300 spent brass so far. While I don't have any reloading gear at the moment, I plan to at some point.

 

[BLU]

Whatever you do, let us know the results, (it was ammo related, too much internal 'grease', ejector rod loose, whatever!). Okay?

 

[rcmodel]

A loose ejector rod has nothing at all to do with whatever it is stripping copper off the bullets.

rc

 

[Jim K]

As I have written before, the only reloads I use are my own. That way if there is a problem, I know the name of the guy who goofed and I can slap him upside the head.

Jim

 

[Squall67584]

Whatever you do, let us know the results, (it was ammo related, too much internal 'grease', ejector rod loose, whatever!). Okay?

Will do!

 

[gamestalker]

Reload, or buy better ammunition.

But do yourself a favor and at least get a single stage, you'll not regret it.

GS

 

[evan price]

Spend how much money on a nice gun then put cheap ammo in it...
If you buy a Ferrari would you fill it with 85 octane?
Yes 44 ammo isn't cheap. But how much shooting will you do?
I learned this lesson myself with my Colt back in the day with Ultramax reloads.
Save your brass, consider an inexpensive Lee turret and reload your own.
Consider that once fired 44 mag brass is worth at least a dime each. Thats $5 a box in brass if you buy good ammo.

 

[Squall67584]

Thought I'd give an update. Went to the range today and put 50 rounds of 240grn JSP Magtech, and 25 rounds of Blazer HP through the 29-2. It ran flawlessly. The Magtech's felt pretty warm, and the Blazers felt pretty light in comparison as was mentioned previously. I also shot some Barnes 225 grain HP, which seemed slightly milder than the magtechs. I also shot a cylinder of Hornady 240 grain XTP's, which were pretty hot (at least to me) but manageable.

I used the other 25 rounds of blazer in my 29-3 that I had recently put some Miculek grips on and practiced speed shooting with a quick reload with a safariland speed loader. After about 3 cycles, the cylinder got pretty hot and somewhat burned the palm on my left hand while ejecting the empties, but that's the price of doing business I guess.

So I can rule the ammo as being the reason for the earlier problems I had with the 29-2. I still have about a hundred of the reloads, but at least the 29-3 can eat it up.

 

[rcmodel]

Imagine that!

Glad it worked out to be the ammo as I suggested!!

rc

 

[Cee Zee]

Those 29-2 models were well known to have timing issues if someone fired rounds that were too heavy for the gun. The +p and +p+ rounds can cause a very quick failure from what I've seen people say on the S&W forum. These were people that had the problem personally. Some said it took less than 10 rounds to cause the problem.

But of course if you can fire factory ammo through your revolver then there is not much chance there a problem with the gun. There could be many reasons why a reload wouldn't work well. I have stuck with the ammo designed to work with .44 magnums when that gun was designed. The cast Rugers etc. are capable of firing much more powerful rounds. You could get away with shooting the really heavy loads in a S&W but then again you might be the one that gets burned quick too. And someone could have sold you a gun they knew had problems.

Try shooting a few hundred rounds of factory ammo through the revolver and see if it still has an issue. And FWIW it's a good idea to avoid the heavy duty stuff.