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Have you been shooting 110-120gr .357 loads through it?

I have a taurus titanium that did something similar... but mine look like deposits in the same pattern as yours except mine are raised. I assumed it was some bad combo of the titanium and Corbon's powder primer combo. I shot a single cylinder of corbon 357 through it and that was the result. Several years and many rounds later, the marks are the same- no better or worse. I have since only shot .38 and .38+p through it. I haven't found a cleaner yet that will cut it, and I'm not brave enough to try to sand/file it off.

I don't plan on ever selling that little snubbie so I'm not concerned over the looks... yours is substantially more $$$$ than mine so I might send it back to S & W if I were you.

My guess is that it is slightly out of timing and some of the projectile is getting shaved off and splattering back, hitting the cylinder when firing.

The timing might even be correct but possibly the cylinder itself is turning at a slight angle from the face of the forcing cone causing this to happen on only a few cylinders.

I would definitely send it back for evaluation/repair.

What do you use to clean the face?

Almost looks like the coating has been damaged on the fact of the cyl and the titanium is eroding.

glock27 wrote:i hadnt cleaned it since last session. it was like this at the end of the day

I've heard that there are people who have had it happen with 125gr magnum rounds as well.

Does it look like the beginning stages of the damage in this thread?
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolv ... ndium.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you haven't cleaned the face with anything abrasive or shot any super lightweight rounds, the coating was probably flawed from the factory. Just call or e-mail S&W with pictures and I'm sure you'll take care of you. Likely by replacing the Ti cyl with a Stainless or carbon steel one.

7075-T7 wrote:

glock27 wrote:i hadnt cleaned it since last session. it was like this at the end of the day

I've heard that there are people who have had it happen with 125gr magnum rounds as well.

Does it look like the beginning stages of the damage in this thread?
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolv ... ndium.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you haven't cleaned the face with anything abrasive or shot any super lightweight rounds, the coating was probably flawed from the factory. Just call or e-mail S&W with pictures and I'm sure you'll take care of you. Likely by replacing the Ti cyl with a Stainless or carbon steel one.

I have the M&P340, which is essentially the same pistol (scandium framed), but with a melonite coated stainless steel cylinder. The front face of the cylinder displays some of what I would call "scorching" around the chamber mouths, but no actual damage to the metal. I have fired 110 grain .357 loads in it, as well as my 125 grain Critical Defense carry load, AND a 158 grain white tail hunting load (and that's a story in itself) though this gun, and it has held up very well. Initially, I was disappointed when I wound up buying this one because I really wanted the extra 2 oz more lightness in the gun (11 oz for the PD versus 13 oz for the M&P), but in hindsight, I'm glad I got the one I did. 2 oz doesn't make a practical difference in carrying, and the cylinder has held up well. You can see the scorching in this picture. It's really nothing more than slight damage to the melonite:

It is called "flame cutting" and is normal on a lot of the titanium cylinder revolvers. It will stop and just becomes visually distracting. The more serious flame cutting to be concerned about is the cutting that occurs on the forcing cone or above it where the top strap meets the front of the frame (should be a little shield installed there). Firing heavier grain bullets are better for the flame cutting and helps keep the other rounds from jumping crimp (the reason for the 125 grain requirement).