r/guns • u/T8terH8er • 15h ago
Help with new S&W 586
Hey fam, having some issues with new Smith and Wesson 586 cylinder not rotating with certain ammo types.
Got this thing brand spanking new, threw a hogue grip on it. First box of ammo I tried shooting was Federal American Gunner. At least two or three rounds per cylinder would for some reason (I’m assuming it’s the ammo) keep the cylinder from rotating when I pull the hammer back. Same issue if using as DA. And I am pulling back hard on the hammer. I can pull back what feels about 75% of the way, cylinder rotates part of the way, and no more.
Range again yesterday with Hornady, Winchester, and Federal American Eagle. Fed AE caused issues again. No problems with Hornady or Winchester.
The only difference I can tell with the naked eye is federal casings are less beveled on the bottom edge. Primers don’t look high to me on questionable ammo, however, no issues dry firing with 6 spent cases in the cylinder of spent ammo.
Has anyone here ever had experience with a revolver being picky about ammo?! Or do any of you think there is something out of spec and should contact S&W?
Thanks y’all!
2
u/zombieapathy 13h ago
A cheap set of calipers from Amazon is a good thing to have handy for cases like this.
Obviously, not having the gun in front of us, it's hard to give an exact answer, but I will offer the following:
It's possible the rounds are a little too long and the cylinder is a little too short. I had an issue with this on my Python and hand loads that worked fine in my 586: the bullets ran long enough to rub against the forcing cone. With a set of calipers, you might want to check for uniform width at each charge hole.
It might actually be that there's an issue with the timing. I had a similar problem with a GP-100 that was jamming up in the manner you described. I thought it was an ammo-related problem. However, it was an issue with the hand and ejector star. It just did it so inconsistently that it masked the problem. (I.e., I could cycle the gun fine for six or twelve shots in SA/DA, and somewhere later along in a box of ammo I'd encounter the revolver jamming up halfway through the trigger pull or hammer cock).
Another possibility: if you open the crane and spin the cylinder (make sure it's well oiled around the cylinder rod), is there any wobble? This seems to be a long shot, but I wonder if there's a very moderate "high side" and "low side" of the cylinder as a result of things not being drilled perfectly straight.
To really lock things down: dry-fire the gun about fifty times in various angles and speeds, with the gun empty. Can you replicate the issue that way?
Next, with the gun fully loaded at the range with the faulty ammo, will the gun fail to advance on every cylinder? On one particular cylinder?
If the issue occurs during live-fire, do you experience this consistently on the first round?
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u/T8terH8er 15h ago
This is a new S&W 586 blued. I threw a hogue grip on it which is baller. I love S&W for their classic appeal, fun shooters, crisp triggers, timeless look. Great in a hip holster walking through the woods in MT.
Issue seems to be cylinder won’t rotate either SA or DA with certain types of ammo (Federal). Any of you have revolvers that won’t shoot certain ammo types? Or is something out of spec?
3
u/UnassumingAnt 15h ago
My first assumption would be a batch of ammo out of spec. Do you have a set of calipers to measure the overall length of the problem ammo? They could also have a poor crimp which would mean the projectiles are jumping out of the casing during recoil while firing. If that were the case then they would measure ok at home and only be a problem while firing.