lead splatter

[zeus100]

hello ,
a revolver of interest was described as having the following condition

"I primarily shot lead cast out of this gun and had problems with lead splatter because the cylinder throats where too tight. I reamed the cylinder throats and want to hone them before I sell. I've got the hones on order from brownells."

I am assuming he was using selfie loads and got them a bit too big. What kind of repercussions to the firearm could I expect? just cosmetic?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Lead splatter from the b/c gap can have several causes. I'm no expert but it could be a timing issue or a too large b/c gap. I'm not sure about throats needing reaming. I would be skeptical.

 

[Carry_Up]

All revolvers "spit" to some extent even if everything is lined up correctly. The first thing to do is to confirm if it actually spits out pieces of lead. Take an old white dish towel and cover the b/c gap area. Fire the gun with the ammo that is supposed to cause the problem. Look at the results. The blackened areas should be equal on both sides. Any visible lead shavings or bits on the towel indicate a problem, especially if they are only on one side.

Lead bits appearing on one side only indicates b/c alignment problems, not b/c gap. If the forcing cone has become leaded or has been machined very roughly, it will spit back like this also. Honing the chambers won't accomplish anything. Reaming the throats to the diameter of the bullet you are using is what you want.

You don't say what kind of revolver this is. If it is a single action, many people can cause this problem by installing a tight-fitting base pin that won't allow the cylinder to self-align with the forcing cone. Photos?

Carry_up

 

[rugerguy]

yes, there is a difference from "blow by" and "lead splatter''......BEST to use a clean piece of thin cardboard, like what they used to use in new shirts, and curve it over your revolver, make like a tent, and with the gun under this "tent" you shoot it and compare like carry-up noted above, gives you a far more "exacting" sign of what is going on ( out) and where................try it with different ammo and loads, they will all act a bit different..................and if needed, recut the forcing cone, doubt its the throats of the cylinder........

 

[GP100man]

First , WELCOME to RUGER FORUM.com !!!!

Befor I`d lay $$$ down I`d have to have a 3 day inspection to do some measuring & shooting.

Reamers are cutters & if not used properly can make a mess of cylinder throats in short order .

I`ll say this ,when the blades are sharp i& properly aligned, lubed & cleaned when the blade gets full no honing is needed, maybe a bit of polishing .

Anyways as stated all revolver "spit" to some extent, powder residue at least , but when bullet material comes out I PROMISE you WILL know it !!!

GP

 

[zeus100]

hey yall, thanks for those insights. I am a real novice with revolvers and/or gunsmithing. This sounds like a good purchase for someone who knows more than I or who is really into gunsmithing.
Its a security-six 357.
I guess for the right price it could be worth it as a learning oppurtunity. But for now, I really want something I dont have to worry about or tinker with for performance.
I have had my hands on a speed-six 38 and like that so was looking for something similar for my own.

 

[Brules]

As Dan said, it's probably the forcing cone. Cleaning up the forcing cone has always worked for me. It's very simple to do with the correct tools.