My 686 is spitting at me!

[bernie]

I have had a Smith 686 for several years now, but I have never really shot it, I am more of an semi auto guy. But today I took it out to shoot. After several shots, the left side of my face was absolutely peppered and bleeding.

Now for the specifics. I was shooting handloads using a 158 gr. JHP, with 17.0 gr. of Winchester 296. The wind was also blowing left to right at a really strong clip.

I have fired this gun a few times in the past and never had this problem.

This is my theory, tell me if it makes sense:

The cylinder gap and lockup seem tight and right.

This is a pretty large load of a relatively slow ball powder. It also gives quite a muzzle flash (even in daylight) out of a 4" barrel. I think that some of the unburned powder that normally goes to the side was being blown back onto me by the strong wind. Am I goofy or is this a reasonable guess?

 

[RyanM]

Sounds like timing to me; the lockup might be solid, but if it's locking just a fraction of an inch in the wrong direction, you'll have lead shavings flying out the side at extremely high velocities, like a mini-shotgun. You definitely want that thing looked over by a gunsmith before firing it any more.

The sticky at the top of the forum also details how to check the timing for yourself.

 

[1911austin]

Sounds like timing to me; the lockup might be solid, but if it's locking just a fraction of an inch in the wrong direction, you'll have lead shavings flying out the side at extremely high velocities, like a mini-shotgun. You definitely want that thing looked over by a gunsmith before firing it any more.

Agreed.

 

[Majic]

The unburnt powder will burn, but it won't cut you to cause bleeding. That would be either lead or jacket material shaved from the bullets.
Check the forcing cone for buildup and the timing.

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

also look down on the topstrap and make sure the cylinder is square with the forcing cone... push and pull it from side to side to check for movement..

if something is bent, or not locking up right the cylinder will cock sideways when firing..

 

[sc1911cwp]

Call S&W and tell them the problem. They will have you send it back to them, their nickle, and repair it. I know because it happened to my 610. LIFETIME WARRENTY Actually, they took the barrel off and recut another thread, replaced the barrel and adjusted the B&C gap. No problems now, just alittle short of 6.5".

 

[dasmi]

My Ruger Service Six does the same thing. I got a nice blast of lead in my left thumb. Anyone know if Ruger will fix them for free also?

 

[Highland Ranger]

Technically Ruger doesn't have a warranty per se: http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/SE-Warranty.html

They do stand behind their products so I'd call and check.

I've also heard that they put the gun back to factory spec - so if you had a trigger job or changed springs or did anything to cause them perceived liability, they change it back to factory specs.

(That, Bill Sr.'s comments, and the manual printed on the barrel is why I'll never buy one . . . . )

 

[red raider]

You might want to look at your forcing cone and check it for cracks or any chips. Also look to see if the cylinder latch has a bad edge or is ringing the cylinder . Check the lockup of the cylinder to the frame for excessive crack where they mate in front of the trigger to see if someone may have slammed or forced it shut and sprung the crane. Also look at the walls of the cylinders themselves for cracks. The other guys are right it sounds like a timing problem. Good luck.

 

[molonlabe]

That is a hot load near max, I think I use 16 gr of 296. I think it cause strech in my 586. I now shoot them all day in my GP100.

 

[medmo]

1st put on a new face and sample at least a couple of different boxes of factory loaded ammo. If you have no problems than assume it is a hand load issue. If you have similar problems with the factory loaded ammo then call Smith to get info on shipping information. Spitting is usually a forcing cone problem, (inspect and clean if necessary), or an alignment problem. You can have a gunsmith check the alignment with field rods. Sorry.... sounds painful.