my s&w locked up twice.

[cajun47]

s&w model 29 .44 mag locked up twice with wwb ammo.

i didn't oil the gun for a couple weeks. i used break free. it did feel...not right when i cocked the hammer back.

should i use a thicker oil like 3 in 1?

 

[ZeSpectre]

Hrmmm, You have a .44 Magnum that "didn't feel right" when you cocked it and yet you fired it anyway? More than once? I'll leave you to think about that for a bit.

Rather than give advice that might lead you to worse consequences I'll simply recommend that you take it to someone who knows how to check out that gun, preferably a gunsmith.

 

[svtruth]

My Redhawk

has locked up a couple of times. Cleaning under the ejector star fixed it.
Good luck.

 

[Master Blaster]

Locked up how exactly?

The trigger stuck halfway? The cylinder refused to turn and the trigger wouldnt cycle?

Or did you have a problem opening or closing the cylinder?

 

[ryan b]

lot of possibility #1 have it checked to be safe but it may be as simple as a primer not seated properly but if it didnt feel right DONT FIRE IT TILL CHECKED

 

[rcmodel]

i didn't oil the gun for a couple weeks.

Hopefully, you don't oil it internally every couple of weeks!
Once a year is probably more then plenty with normal use.

1. Check for unburned powder under the extractor star.
2. Try another brand of ammo.

If it isn't either one of those, you need a gunsmith.


rcmodel

 

[Master Blaster]

A very common problem on N frame smiths, is that the ejector rod unscrews itself from the star, whenever I get an N frame I always check and most of the time it unscrews easily. So I remove the cylinder from the crane and unscrew the rod and disassemble. I degrease the threads on the rod and the star, add a little blue locktite, reassemble the plunger springs and star to the cylinder, and rescrew the ejector rod snuggly into the star. This can solve many binding problems permanently.

 

[MR.G]

My S&W 686 locked up when I tried firing some blanks. I pulled the bullet and removed the powder from some ammo to test fire the gun with a light mainspring. The primer fired and the cylinder locked up tight. Evidently the primer blows back if there is no bullet in the shell? Only other things that have caused my revolvers to lock up when firing was crud under the star or an ejector rod unscrewing.

 

[Roswell 1847]

Evidently the primer blows back if there is no bullet in the shell?

Unless primers are staked or crimped in they will back out a hair when fired then the pressure of the burning propellent pushs the case back which seats it flush again, the case then springs back into shape and rebounds a hair from the breechface. If theres no bullet or powder then the primer remains backed out and will rub against any tool marks or the firing pin hole in the breechface.

PS
Later N Frame magnums have the thread direction reversed, or so I've heard, in order to correct the unscrewing rod problem.

 

[Starter52]

Probable causes, first things to check (as mentioned above):
1) under the star
2) ejector rod
and
3) check to see all of the screws are tight. They do work loose on a .44