possible issues with a S&W 29?

[coosbaycreep]

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top pic: duds
bottom pic: duds, and primers that went off

I took my old 29 out shooting yesterday, and had some issues with light primer strikes/duds. I shot a cylinder through it and had no problems. I loaded it up again, fired a few rounds, then got a dud. I waited a minute in case it was a hang fire or something, then shot the rest of the cylinder with no issues.

I shot a few more cylinders, and had two more duds as well. I also tried shooting one of the duds twice, and it never went off at all. These were all reloads too BTW.

I switched to some different reloads, and out of about 60 more rounds I fired, I had about 5 more duds. All of them that I looked at had weak strike marks on the primers (see pics). I had duds in both single action and double action mode.

I've still got a lot to learn when it comes to reloading, but I don't think any of the duds had high primers. Until this, I had only had one dud/misfire out of all my reloads, and it was with a different caliber.

You can look at the pics and compare the primer strikes of the duds to the rounds that went off. If there was something wrong with the firing pin, I'd expect all the rounds to have light primer strikes, but most of them look good and shot fine.

This gun also has had a trigger job. (Don't know who did it, that's the way it was when I got it).

Since I've had this gun, I would guess it's had around 600 rounds through it, and never an issue except sore wrists and a sore wallet until now.

Any ideas on what the problem could be? I've heard of people using certain brands of primers with guns with light triggers because they won't set them off otherwise. I'm thinking that maybe the springs or something (I know nothing about the inner working of revolvers....I'm just throwing some words out there right now because I'm clueless) have just become too worn out, but I don't know.

thanks

 

[Walkalong]

Will they go off if tried again? If so, the first strike seated them fully and the second one set them off. If not, I would look at a weak spring or loose tension screw first.

Federals are what you want for those guns with really light pulls that need real sensitive primers, but sounds like it has been setting off any primer before.

 

[Oro]

This gun also has had a trigger job.

That's going to be the likely cause, and the process would be to:

1) check the mainspring screw (on the grip front strap) for tightness. If it's tight, back it out and examine the tip for filing. Reinstall it until it bottoms; don't leave it loose.

2) With the grips off, just look at the mainspring and see if it's aftermarket (ribbed). Should be flat steel, not ribbed, if stock.

3) Check for push-off with an empty gun. Cock the hammer and try to push it off the SA notch with your thumb, and your finger away from the trigger.

Those are the first things to check and easy to do.

 

[coosbaycreep]

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The mainspring screw was tight. I took it out, and it hasn't been filed down.

The mainspring is flat steel with no ribs.

How hard am I suppose to push on the hammer when it's cocked? I used a fair amount of force and it didn't move off the cocked position, but I didn't push super hard on it.

What else could be wrong?

thanks

 

[MachIVshooter]

What else could be wrong?

Well, what generation is it? Fixed firing pin, pivoting pin or frame mounted pin? Is the hammer stop bar OK? Dropping all the way when the trigger is pulled? Is there a ton of crud built up in the firing pin channel?

Take some pictures of the hammer, focused on the FP (assuming it's hammer mounted).

And check (with the gun unloaded) that the FP protrudes far enough when the hammer is down with the trigger pulled. The tip should come out about two thirds of the distance between the frame and empty cylinder. On my 629-2, there is only 0.018" of space between the FP and the cylinder.

 

[Oro]

I used a fair amount of force and it didn't move off the cocked position, but I didn't push super hard on it.

That sounds fine and it's unlikely it's slipping off early. Check what MachIV said, in profile is the hammer consistently coming down and the nose intact?

It may well be some high or bad primers. A high primer can look like a light strike after the pin expends it's energy seating the primer and then fails to ignite it.

 

[TonyT]

First I would ensure that the primers were fully seated. Then as other have suggested check the mainspring tension screw to insure it's fully tightened and has not been shortened. If the gun is equipped with the original mainspring and still misfires I would install an extra length firing pin from either Apex or Cylinder & Slide. As an aside Fedral primers have softer cups and ignite easier than most other brands.

 

[eastbank]

send it to me and i will make sure it will not get into anyones hands who may hurt then selfs with it. eastbank. ps i would make sure your primer pockets are clean and you are useing pistol primers or you may need a new mainspring.

 

[Snowbandit]

Is there any chance of rifle primers getting used instead of pistol primers? Rifle primers are harder and would be less likely to ignite in a revolver.

 

[David E]

It looks like you're shooting releoads.

Check the quality of those loads ! If the primers are high, it'll cause misfires. Run your finger over them and see if they are slightly below flush. If not, then they are highly suspect.

If the gun worked before and now suddenly doesn't work, it's probably not the gun.

 

[Mad Chemist]

You should rule out ammo as the cause of the malf before you start troubleshooting the gun.

Swallow your pride and buy a box of factory ammo.
Shoot and see if you get any FTF.
If you do not get any FTF then the problem is most likely with your reloads.

Troubleshooting your handloads:
Are your primers stored properly? Are they free from moisture or solvent contamination?

How are you seating your primers?
Are you visually inspecting primer seating depth on all your brass prior to charging and seating the bullet?

Are you using mag or reg primers? Does powder/primer combo need mag primers to properly ignite?

Are the flash holes on all your brass free from obstructions esp. xs media?

Is this a new load recipe or a tried and true one?

 

[coosbaycreep]

"Well, what generation is it? Fixed firing pin, pivoting pin or frame mounted pin? Is the hammer stop bar OK? Dropping all the way when the trigger is pulled? Is there a ton of crud built up in the firing pin channel?"

It's a 29-2. I don't know what kind of firing pin it has, and I don't know what a a hammer stop bar is either. There's not much space between the cylinder and the frame to see real well, but the firing pin looks like it goes far enough to not have any problems. The firing pin channel doesn't have any crud built up either.



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I shot 18 rounds through it earlier today, and had no misfires this time. I checked all the primers before shooting this time to make sure they were all flush, so it's possible the other misfires might have been high primers.

Most of my ammo is 130 miles away, so that's about all the ammo I could spare at the moment to test it out again.

I'm trying to get rid of this gun anyhow, as I've only shot it a few times since getting a 629, so unless it fails to sell within a reasonable amount of time, I'm probably not going to mess with it a whole lot more.

Thanks

 

[Confederate]

Sounds like you've checked everything. One last thing is to unload the gun, dry fire the gun and see if you can push the hammer further into battery. Watch the firing pin and see if pushing the pin in causes it to protrude further out the hole.

 

[BCRider]

The others have covered much of the possible causes. To their list I'll just add that you should clean and re-oil your internals. And when you re-oil the hammer and hammer pin/screw be sure to use only a light film.

I've found that the hammer SPEED is more important than the actual energy of the hammer spring. The primers ignite best when struck with a FAST SHARP impact. Grunge and dried oil can act like a viscous shock absorber (think swinging your arm fast through water as opposed to through air) and old sticky oil or powder residue mixed with oil can create a viscous "grease" that slows down the maximum achievable hammer velocity. Even too much oil can act as a viscous damper to the maximum velocity of the hammer and dull the firing pin's impact. That's why it's important to use only a thin wipe of oil and even then blot away any excess.