Apparently S&W fired my new revolver three times at the factory, because
it didn't bother to clean out those chambers or the forcing cone or the
crud the rounds tossed around. I looked at three of the other 686s the
dealer got in, and they were just as dirty.
So, the first step will be to clean everything, get the petrol-based
lube off with alcohol, and coat the works with FireClean.
That might not have been the factory. It may have been someone in the
supply chain getting those useless fired cases some backward states
want to file away.
Possibly but according to the guys on a discussion board on which I
participate, S&W fires each new revolver several times upon completion
of manufacture and assembly.