Cylinder play

D

DamonC

Inactive
Hello everybody,

I've got a layman's question: My Ruger SP101 has about 1000 rounds through it (about 400 357s and about 600 38s). I've noticed it doesn't seem to lock up quite as tight as I remember it doing when new. It seems to shoot just fine (better than fine, actually), but when I dry fire it and keep the trigger back it can be shaken a little bit. You can actually see the cylinder move very slightly. Is this something to worry about? Like I said, the gun shoots fine, so I don't want to fix something that isn't broke. But I also don't want to keep shooting something that IS broke or will be soon. Any comments appreciated.
 
Progressive increase in cylinder play is part of the wear process. There are two kinds:

1) rotational

2) end shake

Rotational is due to wear at the various points of lockup (cylinder cuts/stop latch, hand/frame slot, hand to star). Gradual increase over time is going to happen. Be sure to grease the hand, slot, stop bolt, and star ratchets to minimize wear.

End shake is going to develop fast if you don't clean and lube the end of the crane tube where it hits the inside of the cylinder. I clean this spot every time and lube it with tetra grease. End shake should be less than about .002". If it goes beyond that, it should be shimmed back in. If the cylinder is loose, it hammers against the recoil shield on the breech face during recoil.
 
also, there are microscopic "burrs" for lack of a better word on the mating parts and they get settled are hammered a bit flat with early firing. It is not unusuall for a tightly fitted gun to show some additional end-float after a bit of shooting.

Custom gunmakers just make the cylinder fit as tight as possible with the realization that it will loosen up when the gun is fired a bit.

A while back, a friend ran onto two k 22s at a gun show and bought them both. He kept the one with the least rotational play for himself and gave me the one that was a bit looser. Turns out mine proves a bit more accurate. It is, in fact REAL accurat and even Hamilton Bowen remarked " ...she's an accurate old girl...."
 
Thanks guys

It sounds like it's nothing to worry about yet. One thing - I do keep this gun CLEAN. After every range session, and probably every week to ten days if it hasn't been shot. I guess I'll just keep on doin' my thing with it then.:D
 
My GP-100 loosened up just a little in the first few hundred rounds, but then it stopped and has not gotten worse in the past thousand rounds or so. I think your gun is ok, a little loosening is normal in all guns.
 
And a third would be...
Lateral play.

Worn latch hole in recoil plate,
Worn front latch.
See diagonal below.
etc.

Fourth would be...
diagonal play.

Worn interfaces between the pivoting and fixed members in the center of the cylinder. Usually includes lateral.

Sam
 
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