Revolvers never malfunction!

[Basher]

Well here we go again.
Yes revolvers can fail just like autoloaders.
This is NOT a revolver fail this is a ammo fail. When you have a autoloader that won't feed a certain brand or style of ammo but feeds a different brand or style of ammo it is NOT the guns fault if you try to use the ammo it doesn't like.
If your autoloader has malfunctions with one particular magazine then DON'T use that magazine anymore. It's not the guns fault it's that magazines fault.
Op found a cracked case mouth so that is certainly not the revolvers fault and maybe not even the ammo makers fault as it happens some times(I wouldn't condemn a ammo manufacture for one bad round). I always check the primers and crimp on my carry ammo for revolvers and autoloaders.
If you are getting bullet creep with a certain brand all the time DON'T use that brand of ammo in that gun.

I've said it before and here it is again. A revolver can fail but it is many times less likely to fail than a autoloader and that includes actual gun failures(parts breakage) and malfunctions either operator induced or gun induced.

Carry what you are comfortable with and know how to use it.

I guess in my mind an ammo failure that produces a total stoppage is the same thing as a firearm failure in how it affects me, the shooter, in that moment. Yes, the AMMO failed here but in doing so, by their design, this kind of ammo failure usually leads directly to you now holding a paperweight with regard to revolvers.

So from a functionality standpoint, and a “am I holding a lifesaving tool or a paperweight” standpoint, the mode of failure is irrelevant. To me, in that moment, all that matters is that the tool I brought with me is useless. Thus, while I wouldn’t call up S&W to complain, I WOULD consider the firearm an element in the failure chain.

I’m not at all saying people shouldn’t carry revolvers. Far from it! But if they’re going to do so, they should be aware that they’re not immune to being rendered useless in a defensive situation, only that their mode of being disabled is likely to be different from an autoloader. That’s all my post was getting at. In the infinitely small chance that a round jumps the crimp in an autoloader, 99/100 times I can switch mags and be back in the fight pretty quickly. Not so with a revolver. In contrast, I can limp wrist a revolver all I want and not have problems, but I’m not guaranteed that ability in an autoloader. They’re just different animals. Learn what your specific tool needs/wants, then train to that standard.

 

[diver dan]

I like SPEER GOLD DOT 147 GRAIN , quality is VG. for my 9mm.

 

[NyleRN]

Bullet jump is a real thing in lightweight snubbies

 

[Bugzilla]

I have broken revolvers in half. (Ok, it was one)

And I have broken a revolver without shooting it.

 

[Creeker]

Mechanical things do well you know

 

[DadSmith]

So Remington isn't putting a crimp on their revolver ammunition?

 

[DadSmith]

I have broken revolvers in half. (Ok, it was one)

And I have broken a revolver without shooting it.

You are not touching my revolvers ever.


Kirk

 

[04FXSTS]

I have a S&W337PD, 38 Spl and weighs in at 10.6 oz. On the barrel it says 38 Spl +P jacketed which made me actually read the manual. +P jacketed only because recoil may cause lead bullets to jump crimp because lead has less tension to the case.
I shoot IDPA with a S&W625JM in 45 acp and I had lead bullets jump crimp during a match. These were my own reloads done with a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I shoot my reloads in the 625 and in several SA's also so now I take the rounds I will be using for the 625 and run them through a roll crimp die. I have not had any rounds jump crimp since then. Bonus, the roll crimp smooths the case mouth so they drop in better in a moon clip. Jim.

 

[Pepi]

Say what you want but I don’t carry anything I don’t load myself. Most “factory” ammo is barely up to spec.

It’s like calling something ‘military grade.’ Most of it is the cheapest materials available.

I get this. My old 1942 M1 Carbine will not operate on most 30-cal ammo made today. Reloads will run all day

 

[Leo]

Since light revolvers jump so much in your hand, they will quickly show a poor crimp on Ammo. The rearward force that is not absorbed by chassis weight acts like an inertia bullet puller.

I have my favorite Bullseye load, 148 gr lead wadcutters gently crimped that shoot just fine in my heavy 6 inch full underlug bullseye revolver. In light little pocket revolver, the bullets will start to slide out of the cases. The heavily crimped, Jacketed bullet rounds are no problem.

Just a matter of using the proper ammo in the firearm.

I know I will jinx myself saying this, but I have never had any problem where the empty cases did not fall out when I hit the extractor. I am in the habit of holding the muzzle up before I hit the extractor, as that is how I was taught in 1967 and it has always worked.

 

[Ark]

Bullet separation and ejector rod unthreading have both been a chronic revolver problem for me. It's why I crimp the absolute living crap out of my .38 loads.

 

[tcecil88]

I have had crimp jump on my 340PD when shooting Magtech 158 gr. .357 Mag ammo. But as I understand it, it is a fairly common problem with lightweight revolvers and +p or magnum loads. As said above, it's an ammo problem that leads to a revolver problem when the cylinder locks up.

 

[Tactically Fat]

OK, you pedants.

An ammo failure caused a revolver stoppage.

And care to guess what my new carry ammo for that sucker is?

 

[Jaybird1980]

OK, you pedants.

An ammo failure caused a revolver stoppage.

And care to guess what my new carry ammo for that sucker is?

 

[crookcountygo]

OK, you pedants.

An ammo failure caused a revolver stoppage.

And care to guess what my new carry ammo for that sucker is?

I see what you mean, but I still don't see it as pedantic (thanks a lot for making me use a dictionary this morning!).

You tell someone that Jeeps (or pick some other make) are extremely reliable. I pop in and say "Hold on. I had a Jeep once, and got stuck on the side of the road with three flat tires."

You might say that the Jeep was operating as intended, and that the tires are a separate issue from the vehicle's inherent reliability. Then I'll come back at you with "It doesn't matter. Either way, I'm stuck on the side of the road."

 

[Jaybird1980]

This is why I always chuckle when I hear someone say my (xyz) never malfunctions.

Every brand, model, type can and will malfunction. It doesn't matter the reason when it stops. Yes this was caused by bad ammo. Nobody makes a gun that can run on bad ammo or bad magazines or broken springs.

The only thing you can do is try to eliminate as much as possible. Some designs are more simple than others and that can lower the risk, because there is less to go wrong. The more intricate the design, then the more possibilities of something going wrong.

A Glock is a very simple design, and I have seen them fail. That does not mean I shouldn't trust one.

 

[Route 45]

You tell someone that Jeeps (or pick some other make) are extremely reliable. I pop in and say "Hold on. I had a Jeep once, and got stuck on the side of the road with three flat tires."

You might say that the Jeep was operating as intended, and that the tires are a separate issue from the vehicle's inherent reliability. Then I'll come back at you with "It doesn't matter. Either way, I'm stuck on the side of the road."

First of all, if someone tells you that Jeeps are reliable, that person is not your friend.

The tire analogy falls flat, because the tires are part of the Jeep. A better analogy would be if the Jeep might throw a rod if you use anything but gas from Speedway, which is not top tier, but gets the job done ok. That's just how the Jeep is, it's part of the design.

The part where the Jeep analogy really works is that it's not really the best daily driver, but you still see a million of them on the road. Probably 90% of them will never go off-road, other than jumping the curb at Walmart. So it doesn't really matter if it's good for what it was designed for back in 1940. People just like them because they like them.

 

[Rookie]

Say what you want but I don’t carry anything I don’t load myself. Most “factory” ammo is barely up to spec.

It’s like calling something ‘military grade.’ Most of it is the cheapest materials available.

I ran into problems with hornady factory rounds in my 6mm creedmoor. I would cycle a round and the projectile would jump out of the brass. It's pretty annoying to eject a round and have a bolt full of powder. I had to crimp every factory round.

 

[Jaybird1980]

I ran into problems with hornady factory rounds in my 6mm creedmoor. I would cycle a round and the projectile would jump out of the brass. It's pretty annoying to eject a round and have a bolt full of powder. I had to crimp every factory round.

Wow. Did you contact Hornady? I would assume they would want to know which lot that is from.

 

[Dog1]

I never understood when people say revolvers never fail. Everything fails at some point in time, if it's made by man it can fail.

I had a Smith & Wesson model 627 performance 8 shot. I used it for a year in USPSA. It had been worked over by BossHoss... loved that revolver but it kept breaking firing pins. It would get to about 900 rounds and then it would break a firing pin. We really couldn't figure out why it was doing that.

After it broke at the Bluegrass blast USPSA State match, I started looking at it and realizing that it looked like the firing pin was coming out at an angle before it lined up almost like it was cammed into place.

BossHoss looked at it and said it does look a little weird. So he changed out the firing pin channel cup.

Never broke again. After looking at the channel cup, the hole that the firing pin had to go through was cut wrong.

So yeah revolvers can fail just like semi autos