bullet lodged in LCR38 special

The only modifications to the LCR38 was the front sight. I assume Ruger would not change out the front sight?

YES, those sparks that flew out do make me think I should return to Ruger. I'll call for an RMA on Monday; better safe than sorry.

I've noticed everyone assume I was shooting reloads; is it really that uncommon that factory ammo has squibs? Even Remington seemed in disbelief that their 38 special had a malfunction.

Primers shoot out sparks to light the powder. Perhaps the very small load of powder allowed some of the primer sparks along with unburned powder to exit the B/C gap.

Send it back and have it checked out, can't hurt.

Agree with the posts who say gun the problem its ammo. It can be punched out it may not be easy but most gun guys could have it out in minutes.
MTCW

Contender,

Among other presses I still use my old blue 450. I've used it since buying it used in the early 1990s without loading one squib so I know it is all about paying careful attention to the operation. The high percentage of the progressive presses that are blue could account for the majority of squibs coming off blue presses but I believe lack of automatic shell plate rotation contributes.

I should have included a sentence that showed I under stood the original poster's squib was a factory cartridge.

Okay. I'll get a Ruger RMA tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback. I'll let you guys know what Ruger and Remington say.

Go ahead and call Ruger and explain what happened. They will probably send you a shipping label and fix the gun for nothing. They may want to see the ammo box label and an empty shell. When you get it back all fixed up you will feel better about it.

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Good advice...while I've driven several lead alloy bullets out of several pistol and one rifle barrels, I've not been successful with a jacketed bullet.

I did, however see a gunsmith drive five (5) .38 special military FMJ bullets out of a S&W M15. The gun was not damaged either and shot just as well after the incident as it did before. A new shooter was involved and we surmised that he'd had a squib on the first round. He stated that all felt normal, but the recoil from the succeeding rounds got progressively heavier. Rod

Well I received a voicemail from Ruger; they will replace the LCR38 for FREE. Problem is we keep playing phone tag on who will be the FFL.
Still have not heard back from Remington.
I'll keep you updated. Have a nice day, Bill

I picked up my replacement LCR38 tonight. Fast turnaround; less than two weeks. Also impressed that Ruger returned the sight I had installed on the gun I returned.

The new LCR is different; looks as if the barrel is thicker gauge than before, and the cylinder gap between the barrel is much narrower.

I wonder if my returned firearm really had any issues, or if Ruger just swaps out the early build LCRs automatically with updated guns?

Still no word from Remington.

I'll keep you updated. Take care, Bill

Another score for Ruger CS

billccm said:

Contacted Remington this morning; very nice lady on the phone claimed it is very unusual for 38 special to have issues. She took lot number information and said Remington will decide if I should just get a refund, or need to send the ammo back for inspection. She said it should be three, or four days for me to receive an email.

I hope this is truly a rare occasion as I have quite a few boxes of this ammo.

Thanks again for the info and support. You guys are great!

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That lady is lying I work for NYS and we get squib loads all the time in our 38 specials we get from Remington also we got a few boxes with a few shells missing and these are factory sealed boxes

I shot my LCR 9mm at the range recently, and went to reload with a new moonclip -- and it wouldn't go in.

The bullet from one of the rounds was sitting in the cylinder.

It had crimp jumped all the way out of the case. Not enough to tie up the cylinder.

When shooting the previous moon clip, I didn't notice that one round had less recoil. The range was so busy that I didn't hear the difference in noise.

It worries me this could happen without my noticing it. I will be more careful in the future.

It was with some reloads bought several years ago, and up until now they worked fine.

I'm sticking with name brand factory ammo for this LCR from now on.

Well I received a voicemail from Ruger; they will replace the LCR38 for FREE.

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Wow that's above and beyond the call being it wasn't their problem. Ruger ROCKS!

Very nice to hear. I wouldn't have thought that.

I have had that happen a coup;e of times and a Brass Rod is just the thing to push the Bullet back out.

Received a voicemail from Remington. They fired the remaining 27 rounds without a malfunction. Although no problem found, I am getting a check for $25.50 as a refund from Remington.

I'm a little 'concerned' that this might happen again. Just going to pay attention closely.

Thanks again for all of the replies. Have a nice Thanksgiving, Bill

You have a great Thanksgiving also.