Problem with new S&W 642?

[MeanStreaker]

I'm just not sure. I'll preface this by saying I've always been a semi-auto guy and this is my first revolver.

I picked up a NIB 642-2 last week and took it to the range for the first time yesterday afternoon. As my wife came along, I tried to keep things fun for her and brought various firearms to keep it interesting. Thus, I only put 50 rounds of Winchester White Box through the little 642. I shot it really well and the recoil was more than manageable.

Anyway, it never experienced a Failure to Fire or any major malfunction, but it seemed like about ten of the rounds would fire after the slightest of delays. The majority of shots were fired just as I expected them to be, but there were just those few that I could barely feel the hammer dropping and "feel" a click just before the shot fired, rather than that happening simultaneously as I would expect. I'm not sure how else to describe it, but it was such a tiny delay that it couldn't be any shorter.

I hate to post with only 50 rounds fired of the same ammo, but I wondered if anyone else has experienced this. Problem with the revolver? Problem with the ammo? MeanStreaker going crazy?

 

[Master Blaster]

The delay in firing is a problem with the ammo its called a hang fire. As you said you can hear the click of the hammer striking the firing pin, and the indentation looks normal.
Try another brand of ammo, although you may never have this problem with winchester ammo again.

 

[Biker]

Maybe just a coinincidence, but after I bobbed the hammer on my old Charter Off Duty .38, I had a couple of light primer strikes, but only with Wichester ammo.
Biker

 

[MeanStreaker]

I, of course, always keep the handgun pointed down range for 20 seconds or so on any misfire in case it's a hangfire. (This has only happened with my Ruger 22/45 when it's really dirty and won't feed properly. I'm just not as diligent in cleaning the old .22 as I am my carry guns.)

I'm happy to hear you guys think it's the ammo, but I always imagined a true hangfire would take longer than the .000001 nanosecond this delay seemed to be.

 

[fiVe]

MeanStreaker: Sounds like it is the ammo.

As a point of reference, you might want to do the "dime test". Go to the Dime Test Link and read posts 39, 40, 41, & 45 (all on page 2). Keep in mind this is just an approximation (because dime thickness can vary).

Regards,
fiVe

 

[MeanStreaker]

fiVe, thanks for the link... good stuff. I'll perform "the dime test" when I get home, but after stewing all day I have to imagine it's the ammo. I can't imagine a short firing pin would create a very slight delay in firing. Either the firing pin makes enough of an indent to fire the cartridge or not... right? All cartridges fired after only one strike.

 

[.455_Hunter]

WWB Problems

MeanStreaker,

Where did you buy your WWB? What it the 130 gr. FMJ load with a flat nosed bullet?

I bought a box of the above mentioned load from Wal Mart to shoot in my brothers 649 (old .38 only model from the late 1980's) about 45 days ago or so.

I had one misfire that required a double strike to fire.

These J-frames might be vulnerable to primer difficulties, since the 649 also had trouble setting off some Hansen .38 Yugoslavian Specials in the early 1990's.

Just my 2 cents.

Hunter

 

[MeanStreaker]

MeanStreaker,

Where did you buy your WWB? What it the 130 gr. FMJ load with a flat nosed bullet?

I bought a box of the above mentioned load from Wal Mart...

Yes Sir, those exact rounds bought from Wal-Mart. This is my first .38 and I thought that was the only "Value Pack" Winchester makes in .38. True? All of my 9mm's love the 9mm WWB Value Pack. It's actually almost the best shooting ammo out of my XD AND Hi Power and I've never experience a failure of any kind... figured I'd try the same for the 642. Sounds like it's not the case.

What do you guys recommend for cheap target ammo in .38 Sp? (I just received my order of Speer Gold Dot 135gr +P today).

Edit to add: My 642 seems to pass the dime test with flying colors. The firing pin is nearly to the depth edge of the dime. I'm looking forward to trying different types of ammo based on your upcoming suggestions. Guess I'll be able to sleep tonight!

 

[.455_Hunter]

WWB

That misfire was the first problem I have ever had with WWB. I do not use their 130 gr load very much. My favorite .38 special loads for practice are UMC 158 gr LRN, AE 158 gr. LRN and WWB 150 gr. LRN. I favor heavy bullets in my guns, so I tend to avoid the lighter practice stuff. Unfortunatley, Wal-Mart does not carry these lead loads, so I usually have to buy them from a sporting goods store on sale.

My limited experience with the 130 gr. FMJs from all three makers is generally positive. I bet the lot or lots that Winchester sold Wal-Mart just happened to have some hard primer cups or low sensitivity primers.

Hunter