Shooting some reloads(mine not 3rd party) and had couple rounds in few cylinders lock up and not want to eject! Four rounds would be free and would slide out with muzzle up but the 2 would haver to be drove out with punch. The muzzle blast and recoil was consistent with all rounds and accuracy was great. All brass was same brand and all trimmed to book length, The measurements were .385-.388 after firing and the rounds that cycled were spec at .379-.380. The load was far from max since i was only loading 14 gr of H110 under 158 jhp. I weigh about every 5th round to insure scales and dump are on and never got more than 2 tenths of a grain off. Cylinder had been mic'd and was great shape. Wondering if it may be issue with the nickeled brass or the crimp but all loads were crimped same and majority showed no issue. Someone give me a clue.Going to shoot some factory ammo and compare soon as I get back out!

What bullet? What firearm? Shoot a cylinder then mark the chambers that are sticky. Repeat. See if it's the same two chambers every time despite being mic'd. Also, H110 is not the best choice to down-load. If you want reduced loads you need to try A2400 or for even lighter loads, Bullseys or Unique. H110 is a magnum powder suitable for .44 .454 .460 .475 .480 .500 and does fine in full .357 loads. 14 grains with a 158 bullet is almost 10% under starting load depending on bullet style.

I have had same result with other hand guns shooting cast bullets. This was my Python but haver had stuck cases from my Ruger single action. Don't recall which book I got info from but showed the H110 in mid range load and max up in 16 grain area so I settled on 14 when it showed good accuracy. Will mark cylinder and test other loads and see what I come up with.

I seem to remember Hodgdon having warnings to not reduce H110 loads more than 10% off of Max charge though I see lots of other data out there that does just that.

A couple of basics that you have probably already considered: If you have been firing .38 Spl ammo, you could have carbon buildup/gunk at the front end of the chambers that just need a good scrubbing. If your crimp has any bulge at all, it could fit very tight, but likely wouldn't even chamber.

My thoughts

They are tight removal the entire length of case so build up I don't think is the issue and seeing the case expansion being .004-.005 more than the free ejecting rounds is issue. But will try cleaning cylinder real well anyway. Loads aren't reduced so discounting that. Will try some newer brass and try to see if problem is random or repeated in cylinder position and various ammo. The "good" ejecting rounds slide in and out freely and the tight rounds will not go back in cylinder and have to be forced out even beyond extractor range.

I chased this problem a few years ago. I would trim my brass, but evidently, not very accurately. Some cases would be just .010 too long, and this would cause those cases to bulge at the crimp. I would end up with the exact same situation that you are describing. They would slide into the cylinder just fine, but after firing, would be seriously tight.

According to Hodgden it is a reduced load. Still don't know what bullet is being used.

158 Speer JHP

Measured the trim length and they were at recommendation and the none sticking cases were same measurement. This has me scratching my head...going to do lots of measuring now for peace of mind!

Sounds light on the charge for H110
Wonder if your crimp is creating a small bulge that’s hard to see or pick up by naked eye..
does all of your Bullets drop into the cylinders flat and level.. I recently had some varying rim thickness issues with one of my revolvers caused some sticky issues.

Yes sir they did, loaded ammo was all straight walled and zero issue chambering. Mics showed no bulge prior to after firing and cases all showed straight measurements length of cases on both stuck cases and good one. Has me scratching my head.

I'm showing about 15 to 16 grains as max with a 158 grain JHP and H110, with normal brass cases. When you use nickel cases, they are much thicker and have a reduced case volume. This reduced case volume will increase pressures, so you have to reduce the max charge some. The book max of about 15-16 grains would be less. With the brass being thicker, if you apply a heavy crimp, the pressure will build up even more due to a heavy crimp. Combine these 2 items together, and your pressures will go up. I would drop the 14 grains even lighter. I'm showing data as low as 12 grains. But, if you are wanting a reduced load, H110 is not the powder to use. I'd switch powders to a faster burning powder for that. I run Blue Dot in my dad's plinking loads for lever guns and revolvers. It works very well. He didn't want the full power loads of a 357, which have a noticeable increase in recoil with full power H110 loads.

RLoving1, do you have one of these in 357? I check every round after I load them to make sure that all is well.

I’ve loaded 16.2 under jacketed 158’s in nickel cases with no problems. My first move would be to scrub out the cylinder. You may either have leading from shooting cast or carbon from the H-110. H-110 works best with close to max loads.

he lives !!! Welcome back Chad !!

Good info thanks Chad

Thanks Chad and I may grab a gauge suggested by Uncle! Going to scrub cylinders and check brass conditions, hard to get away from nickel cases in 357 but may load some closer to max and see how cases perform. Gives me good reason to burn some ammo and work back up. Have lots of bullets and powders to work with!

This
For the record I have better luck with yellow brass in nearly every way, even for full loads.