# Issues with S&W 28



## SFW (Jan 16, 2008)

I have an old Model 28 that I have shot for years. Within the past year, I have moved to shooting 1911s primarily, so the 28 hasn't seen much range time. on a recent trip to the range, a friend asked if I would bring the 28 so he could see if he liked the .357 round. He purchased 100 rounds of ammo to shoot, and off we went. He purchased two boxes of Monarch .357s. 

After he had shot maybe 25 rounds the gun seized up and would not fire. Neither the trigger or the hammer would move more than 1/8 of an inch. The cylinder wouldn't come out either. After several minutes of "man handling" the gun, I was able to get the cylinder to come free, and unload the gun. Reloaded and once again the gun froze up. 

Now I will say that when cleaning the gun after the range trip, I noticed that there was much more powder residue and gunk on the gun than when I run WWB through it. Could the dirty ammo have been the cause of this mishap? I have cleaned the gun, but am unsure if I should just go buy some good ammo to test it again, or if I should bring it to a smith to check it out. Looking for some advise. Thanks!


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## Baldy (Jun 21, 2006)

Well it never hurts to have a good smith check out your gun. If this gun was running fine on WWB and not on this Monarch stuff I would say that's the problem. Cheap reloads. The primers will back out and the bullets will reset from the recoil of a .357 if there is not a proper crimp. Then the cylinder locks up. I would try another box of WWB through it and see what happens. Good luck.


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## Captain Crunch (Jul 4, 2006)

Unburned powder & assorted grit and dirt underneath the extractor star will cause it to not seat flush with the rear of the cylinder, thereby tieing up the gun.

A good cleaning will solve the problem.


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## Mike Barham (Mar 30, 2006)

Captain Crunch said:


> Unburned powder & assorted grit and dirt underneath the extractor star will cause it to not seat flush with the rear of the cylinder, thereby tieing up the gun.
> 
> A good cleaning will solve the problem.


Yes, I agree completely. This is very likely the root of the problem.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

You should also check the extractor rod to make sure it is not loose. If it starts to unscrew while the gun is being shot, it can also mimic some of the problems you described.

Most of these are left-hand threaded, so if it IS loose, tighten it in the opposite direction that you'd normally tighten a screw-threaded part.

M28s are great guns. :smt023


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## SFW (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, I have completely cleaned the gun twice now. I plan to take it to the range this weekend. I'll report back on the results.

Thanks for the replies!

Joel


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## forestranger (Jan 20, 2008)

Ditto on extractor star and loose extractor rod. Had both happen to Smiths and a Ruger.


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## SFW (Jan 16, 2008)

Went to the range today. Shot 200 rounds of .357 and 200 rounds of .38 +P throught the gun. Everything appears to be fine now. Not a single problem at all. Thanks for the advise guys!


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