I encountered an interesting shooting problem. Normally, I shoot my Smith and Wesson Model 19 .357 magnum. It is a classic police type pistol, old style at least. I had started to get some misfires. I had some old components (primers and powder, 35 years old) that I started using to reload. When the misfires started, I went and got some new primers and did some reloading. Still had some misfires. So now I was beginning to wonder if it was reloading technique. Were the primers seated all the way? Did some solvent fumes get on the primers? Were there other things that were causing the problem, like the pistol. I noticed that the primer strikes seemed a little light. The best way to check that out is to try another pistol on the same ammunition. My Ruger Blackhawk was the perfect choice (besides it is the only other .357 in the arsenal.) Sure enough, the Ruger ate right through the same ammunition without a single misfire. That sealed it, the Model 19 needs attention.


Now it was on to Bing to see what I could find out. As with anything, there are lots of "experts" out there so you must keep your guard up. Wade through the crap and glom onto stuff that makes sense. I was worried that the firing pin had been worn down. There was a bit about seeing if the firing pin was extending far enough, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I came across a number of things that made perfect sense to me. First thing was to do a good lube job. That pistol had been sitting for about 35 years, so some TLC, cleaning and oil might go a way to help. The spring, however, could also be the culprit. I did some checking and found that the tensioning screw was all the way in. There were several articles about increasing the pressure from the spring by building a shim for the end of it with a spent primer. I installed that and put the gun back together and oiled it all up. It cycled very smoothly. Unfortunately, I am going to have to wait until we get back from Kennett Square in late February to check it out.

Today's photo is from the range during my testing. The pistol on the left is the Model 19. The pistol on the right is the Ruger Blackhawk. I burned through 150 rounds of ammo and had a great time while I did the experiment. Life is good.