Ever have a revolver jam or lock up on you?

F

FM12

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I haven't, but a buddy's did, a Smith and Wesson m19. While shooting some magnum loads, the back came off of one of the "S&W" grip medallions. It wedged at the mainspring and wouldn't allow the gun to be fired, either single or double action. A minor fix, but scarey, none the less.

Ever had a wheelgun fail with you? Please share it with us: make, model, ammo being used etc., and the repairs required. Thanks in advance.
 
Yes, a couple times while shooting and I once had one that sat unfired for nearly a year freeze up on me. Two Taurus revolvers and one Rossi.
 
I've had more problems with revolvers than autos. Smith & Wesson revolvers are bad about the ejector rod loosening and backing out under recoil. When this happens you may have to resort to using tools to open the cylinder.

Unburned powder or grit under the extractor will cause the gun to bind and the cylinder will not turn.

Once with a reloaded .38 the person reloading apparently forgot to add powder. The primer detonated and the bullet wedged halfway between the cylinder and barrel. Required a cleaning rod down the barrel to force the bullet back far enough to open the cylinder.

Generally speaking revolvers need to be kept cleaner than autos because they have more moving parts with tighter tolerances where a little grit can mess things up. Most of the time if an auto messes up it is ammo or magazine related and the problem can usually be fixed in a few seconds by clearing a jam or changing mags. If kept clean revolvers will almost always work. But if they do mess up it is usually more difficult to get them working again.
 
yes

Two KGP-141 Rugers; light strikes.

Same with 5.5" Redhawks in 357, 41, 44, and 45, and one 7.5" 357.

Oddly, had a Charter Arms Undercover (in the 70s) that was flawless and stunningly accurate; one RG in 38 that never failed (but spit like a chewer); one S&W M67 that always worked, and numerous Security Sixes that went bang every time.
Wife has a S&W M38 that works.
 
Had a distinguished combat S&W go out of timing, a few parts fixed that. Wish I hadn't sold it a few months later:(...nice revolver.
 
Yes.

S&W 686 -- once due to faulty AMERC brass from factory reloads which I was able to force clear myself, once due to a reloading mistake that I made -- no charge, bullet jammed between the cylinder and the forcing cone and had to be cleared with a dowel and a mallet. Note that both issues were ammo related, I can't fault the gun for that.

S&W 15 -- light strikes due to backed out main spring tension screw, fixed by tightening the screw. Ejector rod backed out, repaired by tightening the rod and applying some locktite. The gun is now 100% since those repairs were made.

And -- just yesterday with an old Taurus model 80(?), had numerous "lockups" in the action that I just forced through -- apparently it was just a crappy revolver. What a POS!
 
Couple of times when the bullets weren't in flush with the cylinder - now I check before I close the cylinder, press each round in, 'specially if I've been shooting a lot, gunk or heat can make the fit in the chambers tighter. Alternately, let the gun cool a bit and run a bore cleaner thru the chambers if you've really been shooting a lot. Then you're set again.
 
Smith & Wesson revolvers are bad about the ejector rod loosening and backing out under recoil.
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I've had this happen a number of times. It was usually corrected with my fingers, but I learned my lesson, every guns ejector rod gets loc tite right out of the box.

Unburned powder or grit under the extractor will cause the gun to bind and the cylinder will not turn.
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Had this happen a few times too. Proper reloading usually stops most of it. You always dump the empties "muzzle up", otherwise, your asking for troubles.

Once with a reloaded .38 the person reloading apparently forgot to add powder. The primer detonated and the bullet wedged halfway between the cylinder and barrel. Required a cleaning rod down the barrel to force the bullet back far enough to open the cylinder.
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Been there, done that and I'm starting to think jmr and I are related. :)


My worst example of revolver failure was with a couple of S&W 940's, which are basically a 640 in 9mm. Both guns broke internal parts totally tying the gun up to the point it had to be disassembled to get the remaining live ammo out. This happened on both in the first 200 rounds of being new guns.
 
Iver Johnson 55A Cadet (.32 S&W Long)

The hand was pushing the cylinder before the little cylinder locking tab under the cylinder was retracted. Thus, the cylinder did not move. I filed the hand for 45 seconds and it's fine now.

Sometimes I appreciate those simple, ol' reliable clunkers.
 
Ruger Security Six 357 would bind up after about 40-50 rounds of lead bullet reloads. Sent it back to Ruger and they said they reset the barrel cylinder gap.

The only gun I ever had that had to be worked on.
 
Ever have a revolver jam or lock up on you?
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Taurus Model 66, The firing pin spring got mashed into uselessness. Firing pin stuck forward, jamming the revolver. Fixed it by pointing the gun upward and letting gravity pull the firing pin back.

I used up two or three more springs before I traded off that gun.
 
Yes, S&W model 49, agency issue. I was shooting it and the mechanism locked up tight. Cylinder would swing out, but the lockwork was frozen. I had it sent in for repair, but never followed up since it was not my personal gun. Best guess is one of the leaf springs in the mechanism probably broke off and jammed the works: cylinder bolt spring or trigger return spring or something. Revolvers usually don't go bad, but anything can break.
 
Many years ago, I picked up a Dan Wesson fresh from the armorer at a large police department. He had set the cylinder gap too closely and the silly thing wouldn't fire more than two cylinders in succession. Resetting the gap back to specs fixed that.

Pops
 
Had a piece of powder get under an extractor and make things too tight to rotate, figured it out fairly quickly. Otherwise the revs here are kept cleaned and lubed and otherwise they live up to their rep. for reliability under those circumstances. Maybe they would not tolerate as much mud and grit as a 1911 loose issue gun is claimed to do, but you know if your life depends on the gear, you better keep on top of it.
 
My Linebaugh/Seville was always going out of time with heavy loads, until Jack Huntington fixed it. Linebaugh called it a 'safety feature'.:rolleyes:

Recently had my 360PD go out of time with Federal 'low recoil' self-defense ammo, in 357. WHAT a joke that stuff is.

Broke a part on my Ruger Maximum recently, locking it up.
Don't know if it was the part, or the 60 ft lbs of recoil the gun was taking...:eek::rolleyes:
 
Three:

A 1st series Colt Detective Special - timing problem

A S&W 15-4 -timing problem

A S&W 18-4 - cylinder gap was too small and the revolver would bind after about 50 rds due to powder residue on the front of the cylinder


nero
 
Yes, hard even for me to believe, but my GP100 locked up due to the cylinder latch spring ball (plunger) tip coming off. It fell into the works. Easy to fix, just ordered a new plunger part from Ruger. I was willing to pay but Ruger shipped it free...no charge.

A GP100 failing..now that's something to write about!:D
 
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