Hey everyone, I think I have a problem with a new gun I just purchased, a Taurus .44 mag revolver.
Here is what went down at the range today: I figured I'd fire he new toy last, and put in four rounds, and fired them. Upon going to extract the brass, I noticed it was a bit tight. So tight in fact, that I had to hold the cylinder open, and tap on the extractor with an improvised hammer (my pocket knife wrapped in a cloth so as not to damage anything).
I have never owned, nor had really any experience with revolvers before, so is this normal? I understand that the fired brass can expand a little and get a bit tight, but these were flat out stuck in the cylinder.
It could be my ammo though, as it is somewhat old (at least 10-15 years, maybe more).

Any suggestions on what is going on?

Could be that the chambers are just a little tight, they have a rough finish in them, or just aren't clean. Try cleaning the chambers out good before you take it out to shoot it, and if that doesn't fix it, you could try polishing them with some jeweler's rouge on a mop in a drill.

Quoted: new gun I just purchased Taurus .44 mag revolver. I have never owned, revolvers before my ammo though, as it is 10-15 years, maybe more).

where did you get the ammo?
they sound like they may be HOT reloads.
check the primers.  if they are flattened or beginning to flow the ammo may be a bit hot.

given the cartridge cases are new clean and not corroded some people consider a light tap with a hammer to be max loading for the 44 mag.  was the ammo left in the sun?  temperature affects pressure so if you ammo has been "cooking" in a hot car it will show signs of high pressure.

Could be the ammo. I have seen brass case reloads as well as the CCI shell casings do some pretty weird stuff before in .44 mags. Clean the gun and if the problems persist, switch ammo.

Could be that the chambers are rough or oversized towards the front, which makes the empty case expand in a flared kind of way, which makes them kinda difficult to eject.
I've had the same problem with one of the chambers on my Dan Wesson.

When gun powder is manufactured they put chemicals in it to get the burn rate they want.

The way it was explained to me, after two years those chemicals start breaking down.  

It could be that those chemicals have broken down and are now allowing the powder to burn faster than it was designed causing more pressure.

I would stop using them until you know for sure what is going on.

Well, I definately think it is my ammo, good thing I didn't buy much of it. They are not reloads (I think), but are actually an old box of Federals.
As an experiment, if I try to reinsert the brass into the cylinder, only the front half goes in easy. They go in smooth right up to the point where the end of the bullet was seated, and then it takes force to get it to go any further. I guess the rear half of the case has expanded for some reason.
Thanks for the heads up about CCI Blazers, I'll definately try them with caution now.

DON'T TRY CCI BLAZERS!!!  Avoid them, period.

Besides, if you want to economically shoot your .44mag, you want to reload and CCI Blazer ammo does not have reloadable brass.

It definitely sounds like an ammo problem, although you should probably clean your cylinder chambers.  Older ammo was typically loaded hotter than today's factory loads because lawsuits have the manufacturers a bit scared.

I personally have never had a problem shooting old factory handgun ammo.  I still have a box of .357mag from the late 60's or 70's that I plan on shooting.   Those are definitely a bit hotter than today's factory loads.