Funny enough, the chambers in my Trooper 357 are a bit crude looking. In fact, when I bought the gun I negotiated it at a price assuming I was going to have to pay a gun smith to work on the chambers.
The gun was a security guard gun that I think was carried a lot a rarely shot. I've yet to throw a 357 load at it that I couldn't eject with one finger on the rod. Yes, some take a lot more force than others, but it ejects reliably every time even shooting a full Keith load(168gr LSWC over 13.5gr 2400) or "obnoxious load"(125gr JSP over 22gr 296). By contrast, most of my other 357s-even with clean chambers-take a gentle "pop" on the rod to break some of the hotter 357s loose. After getting all the chambers as close to spotless as could be and swearing to never again shoot specials, all I ever need is the initial "pop" with my palm, but they're still not as good as the Colt. To be fair, I think the Colt was a security guard gun, as it has a decent amount of holster and grip wear but came to me with 6 1960s vintage 357 magnum cartridges in the cylinder
. It wouldn't surprise me if the gun had never actually been shot before I bought it.
Contrast all of that with the brand new Ruger Single 7 327 Magnum I bought. I unboxed the gun and walked out to the range with a single box of factory ammo(at that point, I hadn't even managed to find any brass to load). Even at that, of the half dozen commercial loadings for this caliber, this one was one of the "lightest"(Federal 85gr JSP, intended to replicate the ballistics of the 85gr Hydra-Shock). I had a bunch of issues with the gun, and after shooting the first cylinder had to pull it out of the frame and use a hammer and dowel. Fortunately, I sent it back to Ruger and it came back perfect in less than two weeks.
I'll also so that I've thrown together some loads for my 45 Colt Blackhawk that are in the range of "Let me stand here and watch you shoot them." It never takes more than a firm push on the ejector rod to get them loose. My S&W 629(the only 44 Mag I own) is the same way. Since it IS the only 44 caliber handgun I have(not counting 44-40), it sees Specials sometimes although I'm careful to keep it clean.
The gun was a security guard gun that I think was carried a lot a rarely shot. I've yet to throw a 357 load at it that I couldn't eject with one finger on the rod. Yes, some take a lot more force than others, but it ejects reliably every time even shooting a full Keith load(168gr LSWC over 13.5gr 2400) or "obnoxious load"(125gr JSP over 22gr 296). By contrast, most of my other 357s-even with clean chambers-take a gentle "pop" on the rod to break some of the hotter 357s loose. After getting all the chambers as close to spotless as could be and swearing to never again shoot specials, all I ever need is the initial "pop" with my palm, but they're still not as good as the Colt. To be fair, I think the Colt was a security guard gun, as it has a decent amount of holster and grip wear but came to me with 6 1960s vintage 357 magnum cartridges in the cylinder
Contrast all of that with the brand new Ruger Single 7 327 Magnum I bought. I unboxed the gun and walked out to the range with a single box of factory ammo(at that point, I hadn't even managed to find any brass to load). Even at that, of the half dozen commercial loadings for this caliber, this one was one of the "lightest"(Federal 85gr JSP, intended to replicate the ballistics of the 85gr Hydra-Shock). I had a bunch of issues with the gun, and after shooting the first cylinder had to pull it out of the frame and use a hammer and dowel. Fortunately, I sent it back to Ruger and it came back perfect in less than two weeks.
I'll also so that I've thrown together some loads for my 45 Colt Blackhawk that are in the range of "Let me stand here and watch you shoot them." It never takes more than a firm push on the ejector rod to get them loose. My S&W 629(the only 44 Mag I own) is the same way. Since it IS the only 44 caliber handgun I have(not counting 44-40), it sees Specials sometimes although I'm careful to keep it clean.
