Sticky extraction?

[Mikey]

Last night at the range I kept getting sticky extractions with some factory reloads, what is the most common cause of this and is it bad for my gun?

They were .357 mag 158 gr swc in a S&W 620

 

[Cross-X]

Suggestions:

-- Give the chambers of the cylinder a really good cleaning. The cleaner I prefer is M-Pro 7. Make sure to scrub the shoulders of each chamber, especially if you've been shooing lots of .38 Special.

-- Change brand and type of ammo.

Assuming the reloads are standard pressure loads, there should have been no damage to your gun.

 

[Mikey]

I did go stright to the mags after shooting about 100 rounds of .38 so it was dirty, but it is the higher pressure that causes this correct? and if it happens with a clean gun then is the ammo to blame?

 

[Cross-X]

Part of the problem may be that you are not striking the ejector rod briskly enough. If you give it a good whack with the blade of your hand rather than jabbing at it with your finger, the fired cartridges will usually leap out of the cylinder.

Since the .357 mag cartridge is higher pressure, the brass will expand more than the .38 special rounds will.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I did go stright to the mags after shooting about 100 rounds of .38

This is the reason. The .38s are shorter than the .357s so when you're shooting .38s, there's about 1/8" of freebore space in the cylinder that gets lined with a ring of crud. When you then shoot full length .357s, the case expands into the crud ring, making extraction difficult.

I bet your problem would go away if you fired the same ammo, but went with the .357 first and then switched to .38.

 

[Jay G]

This is the reason. The .38s are shorter than the .357s so when you're shooting .38s, there's about 1/8" of freebore space in the cylinder that gets lined with a ring of crud. When you then shoot full length .357s, the case expands into the crud ring, making extraction difficult.

I bet your problem would go away if you fired the same ammo, but went with the .357 first and then switched to .38.

+1. Eddie speaks the trooth.

I try to only shoot .357 Magnum in my .357 Mag-chambered firearms for just this reason...

 

[Mikey]

Thanks guys, I will try skipping the .38's and find a better cleaner to attack the crude ring. I will try that M-Pro 7 it seam popular.

 

[EddieCoyle]

There's no reason to skip the .38s.

Just keep in mind that with some ammo, you may get difficult extraction when firing .357 after .38 until you've had a chance to clean the cylinder.

 

[Mikey]

Ya your right, I just thought that the difficult extraction could cause
damage to the weapon which I know now is not true.

 

[walta44]

If lchamber end is badly fouled, may have to use reamer ( carefully) I have one @ Bob`s Tact if wish.