Issue With my new smokewagon, Help!

[bisognor]

Hey folks,

Just getting into the game, and I chose Taylor's Smokewaxgons deluxe model.  One in hand, the other still on my waiting period.  I shot about 300 rounds through it, and cleaned it up, including taking out the cylinder.  Now the primer side of the case are slightly sticking as I turn the cylinder; mostly from 11' o clock to 12 oclock as I turn.  I have tried several rounds, and some barely catch, others a bit more.

Any ideas how to fix?  Could I have disturbed the clearance space when I put the cylinder back in? 

thanks for the help,
bisognor 

[Shotgun Franklin]

First take it back where you bought it. Let them look it over. Taking it apart shouldn't cause this. Did you change ammo? Are you using reloads? It MIGHT be an ammo problem.

[Mr Bear]

Bisognor,
              check the firing pin plate to see if it has been peened out a bit.  This happened on my Pietta at the same round count.  If so, gently remove the protruding metal with a small file.  All the best,
                                                                                                                Mr Bear

[Bibbyman]

Have you been dry firing it?  I'd think dry firing it would increase the chance of pushing out the bushing or peening a burr out the firing pin hole.

[Blair]

bisognor,

What caliber are you shooting?

If it is a large pistol caliber, make sure your primers are for large pistol and not "large Rifle".
They are not interchangeable!
The large Rifle primers will not seat deep enough into a large pistol case.
My best,
Blair

[bisognor]

Thanks for the help.
I am shooting a 38/357.
The seller is in NE, I'm in Ca so probably try local gsmith if need too.
I'll check my ammo, my reloads seem to have all the primers in ok.
I ll check the firing pin issue too.
Dry firing causing an issue would be disturbing because all the best shooters say it an important part of practice.

[Abilene]

Be sure that the cylinder bushing is inserted all the way into the cylinder. 

Does the dragging occur only with loaded rounds or does it happen with empty brass in the cylinder?  Are there scrape marks across the rims of the brass or on the primers?  This will all give some hint as to what is happening.

As for dry-firing, conventional wisdom is that Colts and clones should use snap caps to avoid problems.  Having said that, Evil Roy dry fires his Cimarron ER pistols (which are very similar to Smokewagons) many thousands of times without snap caps and has no problems.  But others have had some issues with burr at the firing pin hole as mentioned.

[bisognor]

Thanks for the reply.
I'll have to check for scratches when off from work.
I'll get some snap caps for sure.  I want to dry fire 15-30 minutes a day.  As I get faster this could add up.
I tried empty brass and it hung up less often but still sometimes.

[Bibbyman]

Likely ol'Evil encounters a burr on a newer gun but knows to stone it off and go on. 

I have a 30+ year old Cattleman that has raised a burr at the bottom of the firing pin hole a couple of times and I peeled it back in with a rounded end rod dropped down the bore rather than stone it off. Now the area around the firing pin hole is enlarged and you can see the raised marks in the spent primers what it flowed into the "pot hole".  It's not to the point where the primers rupture or flow back enough to hang up, but it leaves an impression.

Question.  Does the Evil Roy have a hammer mounted firing pin or a floating pin mounted in the frame? 

[Abilene]

...Question.  Does the Evil Roy have a hammer mounted firing pin or a floating pin mounted in the frame? 

Hammer-mounted firing pin, and no bushing in the recoil shield of the frame.  The ER pistol is based on the Cimarron Model P with different sights, grips, and a tune-up.

[bisognor]

Folks,
I will be heading home soon and looking at the gun some more.
If a bur is the problem, will it be on or around the firing pin itself?
Should I be able to use some sand paper or a dremil?
Thanks for the help.

[Bibbyman]

I'd use an Arkansas stone. Not having that, a small stone for sharpening knives would work.  If sand paper, I'd use fine emery cloth wrapped around something flat like a file.  The burr will be small. Maybe hard to see but you should be able to feel it.  Check around the hand opening too.

[Abilene]

Bisognor, the burr is not on the firing pin but around the firing pin hole in the frame.  The reason that this sometimes occurs from dry firing is that the firing pin goes further through that hole when there is no primer in front of it to stop it, and as it goes further through the hole it can push out a little metal from the edge of the hole.  If you find a burr there, remove it as Bibbyman suggested.

I can't think of anything you could have done to the gun while cleaning it to reduce the space between the cylinder and the frame.  But do check to see if only a certain brand of brass (if you have several brands handy) drags.  It is possible that the headspace on that pistola is very tight and some brass has thicker rims than others.

[Coal Creek Griff]

Do the rounds drop in freely?  It could be an issue with the sizing process. Try firmly pushing on each round as you load it and see if firmly seating it makes a difference.  I'd also make certain that the cases aren't over length. A couple more things to eliminate.

CC Griff

[Bibbyman]

On the same line of thinking,  I have found I need to run a brass brush through the cylinder to remove a crusty ring at the throat of the chambers where the brass ends.  This crusty ring builds up and makes it hard to chamber a fresh round.  You end up trying to push the cartridge in the last little bit.  It's probably not a problem with jacketed bullets. But I find it a common problem with cast lead bullets.

[bisognor]

Well guys its looking up.
I cleaned some residue from the frame around the firing pin hole,
and used a brush on cylinders and the problem seems solved.
My head was right cleaning it twice already, but needed to clean more completely.
I still will get the arkansas or light sandpaper around the firing pin hole.
the hole is slightly rougher than other holes I rubbed my fingers over.
thanks again for all the good trouble shooting.
I have a lot to learn about these guns.