Restoring a Single Action Army after a blown case.

by RK Campbell

I have dealt with projectiles lodged in barrels and the occasional stuck case in a chamber. Recently I had my first experience with a jammed up single action revolver cylinder. It could have been avoided on the shooter’s part with a bit more research – and truth be told he knew better, but forgot. There are times when a cartridge case will stick or rupture because of excess pressure. Most shooters know about this type of thing and avoid overly-hot handloads. An improper cartridge loaded in a chamber may also cause problems. As an example, one time a gun scribe in the popular press noted that the 9mm Largo could be fired in the 38 Super. At least he warned about doing the other way around! While perhaps this is true to an extent, the unfired 9mm Largo cannot be extracted from the chamber as it is too long, however, the spent case may eject. By the same token, attempting to fire 32 Smith & Wesson Long in older 8mm Lebel and similar caliber European revolvers can lead problems. Even with the proper caliber and cartridge case, a too-light “puff” load may result in the case not adhering to the cylinder wall and backing out due to no case expansion, pushing out against the recoil shield and tying the gun up. This seems most common with 9mm Luger and 45 Automatic Colt Pistol revolvers when used without moon clips.

On that subject, for many years since their invention there has been a general warning not to use 45 ACP shotshells in 45 ACP revolvers. Without proper case adhesion to the chamber the case may…

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