Question on Dan Wesson 44 mag

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
I had some primers not go off in my 44 mag .That big click is not much fun . It was ammo I received when I bought it way back when . The dent in the primer seemed to be a little shallow . It was hand loads . I don,t know if they might not have been seated properly or in some other way defective . I would like to eliminate the revolver as the source of the problem . Is there an easy way to clean the firing pin mechanism and whatever else might gum up the works ? Is the revolver likely to be the problem . I can,t go back to the range easily as I must receive a written invitation and a lot more red tape that you would not believe .
 
You can check how well the firing pin is working by putting a pencil with a rubber eraser (eraser down) into the barrel and dry-snap at the ceiling. If the firing pin bounces it up at least a couple inches your gun is fine.[/QUOTE]

REPLY . You never told me to unload it first ! My upstairs neighbour now has a pencil stuck in his ceiling ! L:O:L

Your rubber projectile test sounds great . As long as it is acoupla inchesits O:KAY ? Even if the pin has been blunted somehow ?
 
cliff355 said:
Well, that is true but I did say "dry-snap" which is a synonym in these parts for "dry-fire" which is a colloquialism around here for no ammo in the gun, but I'll admit it was unclear. :D Anyway, after the neighbor cools off try it again with an empty gun and if the pencil moves pretty well than the handloads were the problem.

Firing pins come blunt from the factory and if the dent in the primers was smooth and round it is in good shape.
Click to expand...

Buddy I,m on another forum where "dryfire" has a slightly different meaning ! L:O:L
Its no biggie as my neighbour was looking for something to write with and clear out their eardrums all at the same time ! Mission accomplished ! L:O:L

I just have to wait for the timelocks on my carrying case to unlock and I have to have three government certified witnesses to acknowledge I do not intend to harm anyone by removing my firearm from its case . L:O:L
Now you know why I,m thinking of selling it !
 
Most likely the problem is the handloads. It's always possible too, someone took too much off a spring before you owned the revolver.
The pencil test is not always conclusive. There are firearms/firing pins/hammers that will send a pencil along fine with this test but still will not properly reach the primer- headspace problem.

I had a Ruger that would zing a pencil but fail to reliably contact primers.
munk
 
munk said:
Most likely the problem is the handloads. It's always possible too, someone took too much off a spring before you owned the revolver.
The pencil test is not always conclusive. There are firearms/firing pins/hammers that will send a pencil along fine with this test but still will not properly reach the primer- headspace problem.

I had a Ruger that would zing a pencil but fail to reliably contact primers.
munk
Click to expand...
Is that on a recent model with transfer bar and separate firing pin ?
I wish I had worked at the gun range longer . I honestly think that you would see the widest range of problems there and so have tofigure out the greatest number of solutions . .
 
Yes.

Kevin, most likely, the primers were simply not seated completely, or the primer pockets were overly large in the brass due to use or some other reason. If a primer is not seated, the pin may actually drive it further into the cup without detonation.


munk
 
I am sure Munk is right, but I have also seen this on Smith revolvers with lighter aftermarket Wolff rebound spring kits, and with all things being equal think it might be more common for that to happen than a primer problem. (?) Although you said they were handloads, so I guess checking with factory stuff would tell you.

I have seen some folks reduce these springs to as low as 8 pounds. You get a great trigger pull, but also a reduced hit on the primer that can lead to misfires. It can also make the gun unsafe with the hammer sometimes falling inadvertently. I changed this out in my 629 3" and was congratulating myself on doing a great job when I had two failures to fire. I subsequently still did decrease the spring weight, but only just below the factory setting and have since had no problems at all with misfires.

Norm
 
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