no that's not normal in a revolver. you also should put a small roll crimp. a lot of that is powder that hasn't burned offMy cases come out looking like that on the outside. I just took it as normal in a revolver.
Ok, I've got a little update. I took 5 of the rounds with primer strikes that did not fire in the handi rifle, and tested them in my dads .38 revolver. All 5 functioned flawlessly. Even the one which had been struck 5 times. I also tried shooting some factory .38s through handi... Nothing. Just a dented primer.
So now I know there is no issue with my ammo, but all problems are coming from the gun. I'm not one to make "special" rounds for a faulty gun by switching primers and special crimps and other sorts of things, because if I have a gun, I want to know I can drop any round in it and it will go bang.
I'm going to continue my research on fixes for my problem, will probably do a chamber casting. If all else fails and I find that the guns chamber is just too big, I will probably ream it to .35rem, or .358 hoosier if it will handle the pressure.
another possibility would be to bore it bigger, then make a sleeve, either soldered or welded in place and rechamber that. Its not an easy project, but I know guys who have done it. Heck, one of my buddies did it to a DeWatted Lahti 20mm anti tank rifle! He made the insert a few thousandths big and heated the chamber with a torch and froze the insert with liquid nitrogen. Slipped them together and they were locked solid once they equalized temps! I know it worked because I shot it!!
Contact David White, of D&T Custom Gunworks. Custom Gunwork by David White
Nobody on the planet knows more about fixing an H&R than he does. He'll give you options on how to fix the existing barrel, which I'm almost certain has been reamed badly off-center. Good luck and let us know how things go.
Thanks for that link