Question about timing

[flabbydan]

Is it normal for a properly timed revolver to occasionally spit lead?  I have a S&W 617 that sends little particles of what I assume is lead back at my face every once in a while.  By once in a while, I mean maybe once every 50-75 rounds or so.  I have about 2000 rounds through the gun so far, and there doesn't appear to be any unusual buildup at the forcing cone & barrel/cylinder gap area.

[unspellable]

There are other causes than poor timing to cause spitting.  Such as, poor chamber cylinder alignment, excessive cylinder gap, oversized chamber throats, improperly cut forcing cone, etc.  Check for all these.

If everything is perfect, I wouldn't go so far as to say a revolver will NEVER spit barring a Nagant gas seal revolver.  I've known self loaders to spit.

[Mohawk]

If it is the timing it should be much for noticable in single-action. Unload gun and cock very slowly. If the cylinder does not align with the forcing cone without you manully rotating it, it will be a timing problem. The cylinder stop should go in place everytime. Probably needs a new hand if it is the timing.

[Iowegan]

Timing gets blamed for a lot of things. Actually, timing is nothing more than a sequence of events starting when the hammer moves back until the gun fires. Cylinder lock-up is part of the timing cycle but I doubt it has anything to do with flabbydan's problem.

617s have a stainless steel barrel that is just porus enough where soft lead from 22 LR ammo will start to build up. At some point, a round will be fired that blows the forcing cone residue out, thus cleaning it. This will make the gun spit and will probably be a "flyer". Then the process starts over until enough residue builds up to cause another spit.

There's really nothing wrong with the gun nor is there any mechanical "fix". About all you can do is experiment with different ammo and find the one that gives best accuracy with minimum spitting.

Some stainless steel revolver owners have tried reaming the forcing cone to smooth it up. This may help a little but the properties of stainless still cause them to spit now and then.

[Mohawk]

Good point, Iowegan, however all I shoot is swaged lead and I've never had a problem with spitting even with .357 hot reloads of SWC at 1,350fps.  By the same token, I don't own a stainless gun. He might want to check and see if his bullet holes are round, as in the forcing cone shaving the bullet. I once qualified with a guy shooting a Colt Python and it was spitting lead about every fifth shot. The poor shooter next to him was catching it on his cheek. Each time the lead would spit the bullet would "banana" on the paper.

[Iowegan]

Mohawk, I doubt Flabbydan's bullets are shooting keyholes or even shaving lead. It's just a normal thing with 22 Rim fire revolvers. Mostly it has to do with soft lead and porus stainless steel combined with wax and powder residue. The residue will build up then blow out. Quite a bit different from a 357 mag at high velocities.

If the gun was spitting every shot, then I could see a mechanical problem such as cylinder-to-bore alignment or a rough forcing cone. With his "once every 50-75 rounds", it's nothing more than a little build up.

[Mohawk]

Ah, there is my answer. I have zero experience with .22 revolvers. Gotcha, Iowegan.

[flabbydan]

Thanks for the help, guys!
Dan