Strange 460 S&W issue

[Cuda440]

I was shooting my 460 in the desert last weekend, and after about 20 rounds the action became very hard to re-cock after a shot. The gun was pretty hot at that point, because it was about 110 degrees out. I checked the brass and found some interesting issues:



That hard line in the case seems to have been formed against the frame of the revolver, here:



And this is the case deformation it caused:



Turned 180 degrees:



I know this is a high powered load with a ton of case pressure, but this deformation seems a bit excessive. The first 15-20 rounds I shot worked great and don't have any marking on the case head or stretching of the case.

Could this have been caused by the heat build-up in the cylinder? Or is there something else I should look in to?

BTW- these are factory load Hornady 200gr SST

[Doheny]

Being hot sounds like a good guess. If you want a good gunsmith to look at it, consider Will's Gunsmithing. He works on everything, but he specializes in 1911's and S&W handguns. He's in Corona, so he's close to you.

[P5Ret]

Did you continue to shoot it, or was it it's sticking I better stop? Did the case stick in the chamber?
The case may be just a hair out of spec, and it caused it to back out of the cylinder just enough to hang up. Heat build up is a possibility though I would think it would take a lot more heat then the ambient temp plus the firing of the previous rounds to cause an issue. Don't take these as definite answers, that is just what popped in my head.

[ehair]

If you dont mind the drive to OC (westminster) from Corona, drop your 460 off at Bolsa gunsmithing. Its an authorized S&W service center. That what i did with my 460 and other SW's. Given the extreme pressures of the 460, let them look it over at no cost to you for peace of mind.

[Cuda440]

Did you continue to shoot it, or was it it's sticking I better stop? Did the case stick in the chamber?
The case may be just a hair out of spec, and it caused it to back out of the cylinder just enough to hang up. Heat build up is a possibility though I would think it would take a lot more heat then the ambient temp plus the firing of the previous rounds to cause an issue. Don't take these as definite answers, that is just what popped in my head.

Shots 1 through 15 all worked great. Shots 16 through 20 were the problem, all of them looked about the same as the one pictured, and they were hard to extract.

I let the gun sit for about 20 minutes, then shot 4 more through it, and they worked great. But, they were from a new box, too (same Hornady load.)

[ehair]

BTW, nice cuda. I recently sold my super bee

[Cuda440]

And I'll definitely look into Will's and Bolsa, as I've fallen in love with the wide serrated trigger on my model 29, and I'd love to have one on my 460

[Cuda440]

BTW, nice cuda. I recently sold my super bee

Thanks, and I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll be back in a sweet mopar soon. I'm heading to the Mopar Nationals in ohio in two weeks, cant wait!

[walmart_ar15]

Heat will increase the case pressure. Same reason you don't want to put ammo in direct sun light. Principle of thermodynamics.

It looks like the round was over pressured. (gas blew out around the primer). May want to check the cylinder make sure it is still ok.

[dmcmillenfv]

I would take it anywhere but bolsa! Have had some shoty work done by them.

[swifty]

Be sure to clean under the extractor, excessive fouling will make the cylinder hard to rotate.

[Munk]

Heat will increase the case pressure. Same reason you don't want to put ammo in direct sun light. Principle of thermodynamics.

It looks like the round was over pressured. (gas blew out around the primer). May want to check the cylinder make sure it is still ok.

Bolded in agreement.

The crazy starburst around the case-head's imprint definitely looks like leakage around the primer. The crazy extra amount of residue may account for the difficulty in cocking.

The tilt to the case also makes me think you got a gun with some poor cylinder alignment or the cylinder wasn't fully locked into position when fired (which may also explain the cocking issue).

It's definitely worth having a smith look at. If it didn't have a problem before, it has one now, and needs a thorough cleaning.

[bug_eyedmonster]

I've had this problem with one of my SW 500s, it needs to cool down and be cleaned. I gave the gun about 20 minutes in shade to cool, and then wiped it down with some solvent on a clean rag. That fixed the problem right away. You'll notice your action goes back to normal after cooling down, and as a J.I.C. I wiped it all down. Good luck, I hope this solves your problem sir.

Jerry

[Cuda440]

Bolded in agreement.

The crazy starburst around the case-head's imprint definitely looks like leakage around the primer. The crazy extra amount of residue may account for the difficulty in cocking.

The tilt to the case also makes me think you got a gun with some poor cylinder alignment or the cylinder wasn't fully locked into position when fired (which may also explain the cocking issue).

It's definitely worth having a smith look at. If it didn't have a problem before, it has one now, and needs a thorough cleaning.

Thanks for the info, I purposely posted the case with the most noticeable marking on the head and stretching on the side of the case. This is also the only case I've seen that dark ring around the primer. I have kept every case that I've fired out of this gun, and most of them look perfectly normal. It's mainly just the third cylinder of rounds in a short amount of time (about 5 minutes) when it started to become hard to turn and I felt how hot the cylinder was. Those shells were hard to extract, and the one pictured was the worst of them.

I have fully detail stripped and inspected every piece, along with removing the internal lock before this range trip so there was only 10 rounds through it before the issue arose. I have also inspected and checked the timing very closely on all five chambers, and tested multiple times to see if I could get the hammer to drop when it wasn't quite locked up. It has never happened while testing, but that doesn't completely rule it out, either. I believe that the relief cut in the frame is allowing the case head to stretch backwards, causing the mark on the head and stretching one side of the case so that it sits at an angle. I imagine that's what is causing the binding when I tried to eject the shell.

I appreciate the feedback, and I have found that Will O'Hara gunsmithing is less than 5 miles from my house, and only a half mile from my parents house, I'll definitely be giving him a call. Thanks.

I've had this problem with one of my SW 500s, it needs to cool down and be cleaned. I gave the gun about 20 minutes in shade to cool, and then wiped it down with some solvent on a clean rag. That fixed the problem right away. You'll notice your action goes back to normal after cooling down, and as a J.I.C. I wiped it all down. Good luck, I hope this solves your problem sir.

Jerry

That's exactly what I experienced as well. Even though it was still hot out, I let the gun sit in the shade for about 20 minutes then shot one more cylinder full without any problems. Thanks.

[mattt]

Had same issue was crap under extractor as Swifty pointed out .Crap gets blown under there and can jam make cases drag. Shot hundreds of 460 loads and this happens alot.When I shoot the hornady you can read the case around firing pin as yours look. I havent got any of my own loads to fire that hot.