Quality

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andre1

Inactive
When you speak of high quality revolvers,to many names like colt, S&W, ruger etc come to mind. All american. I can tell you that German pieces are also excellent. High quality will take into account the workmanship, material of construction, reliability, repeatability etc. Of these the material of construction play a dominant role together with workmanship. Starting with 1. Barrel specifications: It should be of good steel material with high schedule and high ultimate tensile strenght in the range of 1500MPa( 1MPa=10kg/cm2=@150psi) depending upon the composition and heat treatment.Also grooving/rifling plays a very important role where accuracy is desired (10 rooves is excellent but could lower the life expectancy down to about 40.000 rounds). Normally it is threaded into the frame with a very slight float and anchored through a lock pin.2.The cylinder : Material of construction (moc): High grade alloy steel. 3. Frame: (moc): Alloy steel with high ultimate tenslie strenght and Brinell Hardness>140. This includes the crane too. 4. Firing train assembly comprising of hammer , pin, trigger mechanism, main spring assy etc together with the cylinder actuating mechanism should all be of alloy steel. For workmanship and reliabilty the repeatabilty of the rotating mechanism should be zeroed at all times with the barrel axis and the hammer actuating assy should be synchronised with the rotating motion 100 % at all times.in other words "Timing". Keep cylinder to barrel gap at < 0.3048mm. Also check for cylinder minimum movement (transverse and lateral). If you use the recommended loads (within the limits setfor by SAAMI etc ) for that model (refer your manual) you should have absolutely no problems in achieving in excess of 40k rounds. One word of caution-Avoid dry firing because it tends to wear out the firing mechansm thereby affecting repeatability. Never also fan the hammer for the same obvious reasons. Avoid using home made reloads if you are unexperienced in loading. Lastly maintain your handgun well and give it due respect when it comes to cleaning, lubrication and proper handling.
I guarantee you that if you are within the above recommendations , shoot all you want.

al pac
 
I believe there are three major components to every fabricated hard good: quality of material, workmanship and (the one you left out) design. As important and desireable as fine workmanship and the best in material are, IMO good design trumps all . The best steel available and the choicest of wood is all for naught if they are saddled to a poor design. The converse, however, is not always true. The best example I know of is the AK47: stamped,welded steel; gaps everywhere but impeccable design. This sucker always works.And it's a long way from being pretty.
 
I think finish is also important on a high quality product, it takes a lot of man hours to highly polish metel, stainless or carbon steel. This is where a lot of the imported guns fall short.
 
1) Rifling in most barrels are of a 6 groove construction. S&W was the only maker to pin the barrels in place. Most other makers relied on a crush fit. Dan Wesson was unique and used a nut threaded on the muzzle end of the barrel to provide support by way of the barrel shroud.
2) Cylinders today are also made of exotic alloys for weight saving.
3) Frames and cranes have also been made of aluminum alloy since the 1950s. Today they to are also made of exotic alloys.
4) 3.048mm or 0.12" is quite excessive for a B/C gap. Most factories have the gap maximum at .008" or 0.2032mm.

Dry firing is not recommended for only a select few revolvers (mainly rimfires). Most centerfires can be dry fired for a lifetime with ill effect. Dry firing adds no more wear than live fire except maybe to the firing pin (on some models).
Whether or not to use home made reloads depends on your trust of the reloader.
 
4) 3.048mm or 0.12" is quite excessive for a B/C gap. Most factories have the gap maximum at .008" or 0.2032mm.
Hi DJ/Majic,
I do agree with you that design is very important when it comes to revolvers. However I deliberately left that out because by default as a thumb rule no irons should be circulating in the market with faulty designs. Therefore in a gun country like the USA, only those which undergo stringent standards as laid down by your auditing agency and recognised by your statutory authority should be sold. As far as barrel to cylinder gap is concerned I did mention it as < 0.3048mm @ = 0.012" max.I think SAAMI permits this limit. S&W specifies .002", whereas taurus is .006-0.007". Of course higher the gap, larger will be the power lost and greater will bethe drop in muzzle velocity(fps) . By and large if the gap is too small then the wheel tends to get jammed after about 20 rounds of rapid fire ( 357 mag rounds) even with S&W models. But yes experienced shooters do prefer tight gaps. But standards take into account the entire gamut of performers.

alp pac
 
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One of the two best revolvers made is produced in Germany. It is of course Korth (I'd rate it as the second best). The absolute finest revolver money can buy is built oddly enough in France. The gun is the Manurhin. It's as strong as a Ruger, amazingly accurate, has a better trigger than a Colt Python, and the MR73's even have the good looks of a Smith. My oh my what's not to like?
 
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