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I went the range today, and while I was trying out my dad's new Rossi 357 mag snub I had something strange happen. After about 30 rounds(38spl LSWC, commercial reloads) , I squeezed the trigger and when the gun fired I felt a hot piece of metal strike me directly below my left eye. I stopped shooting and removed the (very hot) chunk of metal and looked at the gun, which was fine. It was a lead shaving about 1x3x6mm, presumably from the last bullet. Is it normal for lead to be shaved off of the bullet by the forcing cone?(I'm assuming that's what happened). The cylinder lockup is tight and the timing seems perfect. I haven't shot revolvers much, but Longtooth's wheelgun didn't do that to me.

As a side note, the Walther P1 still shoots 10" low at 7yds Anyone know where I could find a lower front site blade for it?
EDIT: At least I don't shoot the coat hangers that way

No, it's not "normal" but it happens sometimes. How did the forcing cone look? Could have been a sliver of the bullet was in the case when it was loaded.

I could see this happening if the bullet wasn't sized enough or seated deep enough.

I have a Model 29 .44 magnum that sometimes spits tiny fragments out the sides, but they are really tiny. In fact, they might be unburned powder, for all I know, because sometimes you can see a yellow flash, just like a muzzle flash, coming out the sides too if the light is right. But I've never had it spit any metal pieces rearward back into my face. What happened to you seems weird, because I don't see how it could. When the hammer strikes the primer, the cylinder is not rotating. You have the backs of the chambers covered by the shields which protrude from the frame on either side, and with either empty cases or cartridges blocking up the chambers. You would think that all that metal would block anything from flying back toward your face. Now you've got me intrigued and I've got to go dig my revolver out of the safe to see if that could happen to me. Is it possible that the piece that struck you was part of a ricochet off of the backstop or something? That's a real noodle twister.

I'm sorry, but it sounds like the cylinder is not aligning properly with the forcing cone.

I would have a gunsmith check it.

Agree w/ Mike check for sloppy lockup.

with the above. A revolver that is shaving lead is not going to get better all by itself. This was your early warning of something bad waiting to happen.

Get it checked out by a reliable gunsmith BEFORE you take it to the range again.

Mike1951 wrote:I'm sorry, but it sounds like the cylinder is not aligning properly with the forcing cone.

I would have a gunsmith check it.

If all of the holes are misaligned the same way by the same amount, a gunsmith should be able to adjust the alignment of the lockup point and you'll be good to go. If only one hole is out of alignment, you'll probably need a new cylinder.