Reloads good in one but not other pistol

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Went to the range today with 200 38 Special reloads I did for a friend and can not figure this one out. The loads were Ramshot Silhouette powder, Berry's 125gr plated flat nose with a load of 5.6gr powder. He pulled out 6 rounds and put them in his S&W 38/357 revolver and shot all 6 then reloaded and shot all 6 again. He then gave me 6 rounds and told me to try them out in my Ruger Security 6 38/357 revolver. The first shot produced just the primer firing and pushing the bullet just about 1/2" into the barrel. Taking the spent case out it appeared that the powder was a golden color as if maybe it got hot. So I took a rod and pushed the bullet out of the barrel and grabbed 6 more rounds and guess what, same thing happened again. My friend took the ones I had in mine and put them in his pistol and shot all 5 with no problems at all. After clearing my pistol I proceeded to load some factory rounds and all 6 of them fired.

Anyone have any idea why these reloads would shoot in one revolver and not another?

 

[finnaddict]

Don't know but thankfully you didn't attempt to fire another good round behind the failed half way down the bore shot. Would have been catastrophic for you and others.

Reminds me off the two recent "selling reloads" topics.

Pefect example why you shouldn't sell reloads or even let someone else "just" use them whether its your firearm or not.

 

[AckleymanII]

Welcome to the real world, now you know why we reload!

Good luck!

 

[bigedp51]

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Did you or anyone else do any trigger or hammer spring work to your revolver, it sounds like a light or weak hammer spring. If not, something is binding or restricting your hammer and preventing a solid blow to the primer. Your transfer bar could have dirt and debris under it and not allowing the firing pin full movement, or your firing pin could be binding. You might be overdue for a good cleaning and giving it a good once over..

 

[Cort]

I wonder if the bullets are oversized for the forcing cone/barrel on your pistol. I had a .38 super that was showing signs of excessive pressure with my cast bullets. It turned out that I was not sizing them small enough to function in that particular revolver. Once I started sizing them a bit smaller, all was well.

Cort

 

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bigedp51, as for my pistol, I bought it brand new in 1983 and it only has about 100 rounds fired through it. As for my friends, I would not know if any work was done on it. I thought about the weak hammer but the primers were firing or are you saying that with a weak hammer that the primer will not fire as hot as it should? Like I said in the original post, it fires the factory loads fine. I'll do a good cleaning on mine.

I did shoot some reloads I did for myself just for testing but I used my powder(Unique) instead of his and the same CCI 500 primers and they all fired great. I took a look at the fired primers that I had in my gun and the strikes seem to be just as deep as his was and even more centered.

 

[dan06]

CCI primers are not double action revolver friendly. If you have anything less than factory new springs your revolver probably will not work reliably. The primer cup on cci is thicker and harder than some. Use some federal primers they are much easier to set off it is an old trick that PPC shooters and Bianchi cup competitors swear by. If you don't have any federals then winchester are a close second. Make sure you get them seated to the bottom of the pocket.

 

[Dans40X]

A thorough cleaning of the Ruger is in order-inside & out.
Add no oils.
Have the cylinder "End Shake" adjusted in your 80's vintage Ruger Security Six.

 

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dan06

I do have some Federal and even some Winchester primers I can try but that still doesn't explain why the both guns fire the primers but only one will burn the powder, makes no sense.

On the good side though I can always use what has worked with mine which would be the Unique powder.

 

[jonbearman]

I have a security six in .357 mag and I put a spring kit to lighten it up and it will fire anything.Now what kind of powder and primers did your friend use? How old were the primers? How are the primers stored he was using,in a damp celler or hot garage.Truthfully you may have gotten the only 2 primers that fizzled.I would seriously take a look at the components and check where he store's stuff.Secondly it is pure conjecture that lighter springs will cause the gun to malfunction.I have thousands of rounds down my 1982 security six ,still works perfect,still looks like new.

 

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I have a security six in .357 mag and I put a spring kit to lighten it up and it will fire anything.Now what kind of powder and primers did your friend use? How old were the primers? How are the primers stored he was using,in a damp celler or hot garage.Truthfully you may have gotten the only 2 primers that fizzled.I would seriously take a look at the components and check where he store's stuff.Secondly it is pure conjecture that lighter springs will cause the gun to malfunction.I have thousands of rounds down my 1982 security six ,still works perfect,still looks like new.

Mine is also a 357 magnum. The primers(CCI 500) and powder(Ramshot Silhouette) are both new from the store, I was there when he bought them so storage or age is not the problem unless the warehouse stores them improperly.

I checked the "End Shake" or cylinder gap and a .002" gauge is too loose while a .006" gauge fits but really tight so I would say it is around .004" to .005". I have no idea if that is good or not.

 

[rogn]

IF, your s-six cylinder has large chambers and loose throats, then the loads may not light off. They need to get enough heat and pressure to get there fire going. Lacking that the fire fizzles and you've got a squib. This is especially true w/ slow powders and minimum loads.Ball powders also can be hard to get or keep going. You may want to slug you revolvers chambers and throats and see if they are on the maximum end of spec. Also if the chambers are longer in the Ruger than the S&W then the cold start problem is accentuated.

 

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Thanks rogn,

I'll compare the two pistols and see what the differences are. I was reading the label on the Silhouette powder and it says that it's for larger caliber pistols so that may be something to look at also. Like I mentioned before, I have no problem with my Unique powder at all.

 

[jonbearman]

Try magnum(550) primers or a different brand.I find it hard to believe that the ramshot powder is not for your gun.Did you use a hard crimp with this load? I looked at their load imfo and they dont list this load for a plated bullet.It appears I was wrong as they only list one load for a barnes bullet period.Back to unique.

 

[Jdne5b]

Are you 100% sure those rounds had a full charge of powder in them? What press are you loading on?

 

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Are you 100% sure those rounds had a full charge of powder in them? What press are you loading on?

I'm using a Hornady L&L AP press and a Lyman digital scale. As far as I know the amount is right on give or take a few .01 grains. I checked each load when I was loading them to make sure they were right on.

I'm thinking it may be the crimp is not enough. It is adjusted to what Hornady says in the initial set up and it just may need more. I can understand if there's not enough crimp that the bullet may be coming out before the powder actually burns.