As I mentioned in another thread, I got a great deal on a used S&W 686 4" 6-shot, that looks to be in great shape. Took her on the range today... between my daughter and I we put 200 rounds of Speer .38 Special 158 grain Gold Dot, and 75 rounds of Magtech .357 Mag 158 grain hollow point.
Two rounds of the .38 Special failed to fire, so we compared these two rounds to fired casings from both the .38 Special and the .357 Mag ammo. On the two that did not fire, the primer caps were not deeply struck by the firing pin compared to the normal rounds. Also, it seemed that the primer caps were more deeply set (recessed) into the brass casing compared to the "normal" casings.
I've never really shot much .38 or .357 ammo, so I'm wondering if this is common, or should I keep a close watch on the 686 as the culprit? Other wise the gun functioned flawlessly, and was a real blast to shoot.
Don't think I have ever had a FTF with a center-fire revolver. So, yeah, that's pretty strange. Sounds like an ammo failure based on what you described.
It sounds like, by your description of the primer inset, that the primer pocket was too deep, the primer pocket was out of tolerance/too loose or the primer was fubar.
Thanks, all, for your replies. I too suspect the ammo was the culprit, but we'll see as we put more rounds through this revolver. Our other hand guns are semi-autos, and I have to tell you, shooting a wheel gun was a blast!
I'm really proud of my 14 year old daughter... previously the only "heavier ammo" she's fired were .38 Special range loads at an NRA Beginner's Hand Gun class a few months ago... otherwise, all she's shot have been her .22 Buck Mark and my Springfield Armory XD9 9mm semi-auto.
Right out of the box, she kept every .357 mag round on the paper at 21 feet, and even started to group toward the end of the range session. Her only "complaint" is she has to re-load after only six shots!
I can't add too much (aside from the fact that I really like the 686, although I prefer the 7-shot 6" barrel) aside from the fact that if the primer was recessed enough for you to notice that fact, then likely it was recessed enough to keep the firing pin from striking deeply enough.
I had a weird FTF my last time at the range with my Taurus 608 using .38 Special ammo. I wish I'd remembered the brand. It wasn't exactly a FTF either, it was a failure of the cylinder to advance. Turns out one of the .38 Special rounds had a bead of metal on the primer cap that caught in the space between cylinder and frame, keeping the cylinder from turning.
I couldn't say if this is just something with .38s or what, but I would have hated that to happen in an emergency.
But if your daughter likes the 686 but hates reloading after 6, you could always look into the 7 or 8-shot .357 Magnums out there. I'm a big capacity whore so I love my 8-shot 608. It handles very similarly to the S&W 686 (which is the most common wheelgun I rented before purchasing the Taurus 608).
I've shot my 686 over 5000 times but have had a few FTF with different brands of ammo (almost always with the cheaper off-brand stuff). In 99.9% of the time it was a primer seating issue. I've had my firing pin checked out to be safe (not worn) so I think I can say it is the ammo.
My wife and 13 yr old son (shooting since 11) both LOVE shooting .38's more than the 4 M&P's I have. Best guess is the accuracy factor but also just a fun gun to shoot as less recoil!
I can't get either to shoot my S&W 629 Classic .44 magnum though!
Can't get the Ruger Mark II away from either one either.
It could be that your used Smith has had a trigger job that was a tad too ambitious, that's not uncommon. Too light a hammer fall and you'll see primers sporadically fail to go off, which could actually be dangerous. I had a Colt Trooper with a horrible trigger that a smith put a lighter spring kit in, started having misfires. Sucked.
Last edited by Taurus Fan; 03-15-2008 at 07:04 PM.
I have a S&W 681 which is very close to a 686. I have taken 5 different women out to the range for "the first time they shot a gun" shooting. ALL of them liked the 681 .357 better than any other handgun they fired. They also shot an 8 shot .22, a 1911, a CZ 9. I don't know what else they may have shot. Too many guns to remember.
As I mentioned in another thread, I got a great deal on a used S&W 686 4" 6-shot, that looks to be in great shape. Took her on the range today... between my daughter and I we put 200 rounds of Speer .38 Special 158 grain Gold Dot, and 75 rounds of Magtech .357 Mag 158 grain hollow point.
Two rounds of the .38 Special failed to fire, so we compared these two rounds to fired casings from both the .38 Special and the .357 Mag ammo. On the two that did not fire, the primer caps were not deeply struck by the firing pin compared to the normal rounds. Also, it seemed that the primer caps were more deeply set (recessed) into the brass casing compared to the "normal" casings.
I've never really shot much .38 or .357 ammo, so I'm wondering if this is common, or should I keep a close watch on the 686 as the culprit? Other wise the gun functioned flawlessly, and was a real blast to shoot.
The .38 rounds had the primer set too deeply, is the impression I am getting. Shoot some more .357 in same grain and see if it happens again. If it works well, try some new 38's not reloads.
If it does FTF, take it to a qualified gunsmith and have him/her give your gun a good look over to see what the problem is.
"Why do I carry concealed, because the police are only 3-4 minutes away, and a cop is too heavy to carry around."
We did experience more light strikes on the primer, both .38 and .357 ammo... almost all in double action (only one in single action), so I had our local gun smith check it out... he thought the previous owner had adjusted the trigger to lighten trigger pull; so he adjusted tension back toward what he felt was more normal. We still need to get back to the range and check it out.
Check how much, if any, cylinder play/travel (back and forth) it has? It's possible it may have some play. If so, it is easily fixable. And it would explain the lack of strike on the few that didn't fire.
Obviously if there is no play/travel then it's something else. At least check it and eliminate it as the cause. Then inspect the hammer nose and hammer spring. Check the most obvious areas first. Good luck.
__________________ "My next door neighbors two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs then Obama has." - Gary Johnson
We did experience more light strikes on the primer, both .38 and .357 ammo... almost all in double action (only one in single action), so I had our local gun smith check it out... he thought the previous owner had adjusted the trigger to lighten trigger pull; so he adjusted tension back toward what he felt was more normal. We still need to get back to the range and check it out.
Q About Failed to Fire and new-to-me S&W 686 
