carbon ring in chamber

[Battis]

I put some heat on that black build-up ring with a woodburning iron and sure enough, it began erasing away. It's actually pretty thick. I'll finish it tomorrow with a different heat tip, then smooth it out.
I've been looking at the extractor and spring, and I'll probably replace the spring.
I just bought a replacement gas piston. The piston in the gun now is still within the correct specs, so I'll just keep the new one aside for now.
There's stories floating around about the gun being unsafe - people supposedly have shot themselves while holstering/drawing. If true, they probably did exactly what you described - their finger was on the trigger when they cocked the gun.

[elmacgyver0]

This is with factory loaded ammunition correct?

[Battis]

Yep, factory ammo.

[pworley1]

Have you tried Ed's Red. It has always worked for me.

[maddog13]

I shoot a Rossi 357 Mag levergun and there are times that I'll shoot 38 Specials in it. I bought this little tool from a outfit called Slixsprings. It's a little scraper that threads onto a cleaning rod to work from the muzzle or can be inserted directly into the chamber and turned with a blade screwdriver. Its made specifically to clean the carbon ring from a 357 chamber that you've been shooting 38 Specials in. I think it was $25 bucks. I like it cuz I can open the bolt, put it in the chamber,turn it a couple times with the screwdriver and follow it up with a brush and I'm good to go. I like being able to clean out the chamber without pulling the bolt every time I clean the gun. Works on revolvers too.

[Battis]

Got a bottle of C4 carbon cleaner and worked at the gun over a few days. The carbon build-up was actually in the flutes. Now they're nice and clean and the unfired rounds eject perfectly (that was the problem - unfired rounds hanging up the slide).
Apparently the ammo I've been using, Sellier & Bellot, is way too dirty for this gun. I went to the range yesterday and fired 25 or so rounds and the soot build-up was really bad. I bought a box of J word bullets and I'll load my own.