Revolver Abuse

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dawg23

New member
Saw an article in a magazine (or maybe it was a thread on a gun forum) that discussed the proper way to hadle a revolver to avoid damaging it. I seem to recall things like "Don't spin the cylinder with the revolver at half-cock" (or something like that).

Does anyone recall such an article ? Where might I find something like that ??

Thanks
 
Don't recall the article but I do know you should never force the cylinder closed. If it won't on it's own there's a reason. Never shut the cylinder with a flick of your wrist like they do in the movies. Never smack anyone up side the head with the right side of the cylinder, use the left side so you don't spring anything. Never use the butt for a hammer, (don't laugh people do crazy things). I've read articles where cowboys commonly used their Peacemakers to drive staples while mending fence. HTH
 
I believe the article was written by Mike Venturo in a recent issue of American Handgunner on the proper way to handle a SAA style single action revolver.
 
I went to the "gibralter" trade center here in Mich for a gunshow and my eye caught a nice 4" gp100 with fixed sights, stainless. the "knowledgeable" counter man open the cylinder first to see if the gun was empty before handing to me. (very saftey oriented) but when he was finished with inspection he flipped the revo in his hand sideways thus causing gravity to slam the cylinder closed. I then looked at this man as if he was the dumbest arse son of a gun I have ever seen. :) ty
 
I was told by a gunsmith

watch a cowboy movie and they wil show you how to tear up a revolver in a day. just use commom sense. revolvers should last longer than you. :) :) :)
 
The "spinning the cylinder" thing really applies mostly to collector's pieces. It can leave a drag mark on the cylinder. Not an issue for a used shooter, but a bigger issue for a new gun, and a HUGE issue for a true collector's item. The best rule of thumb on collector's items is this. If you're not a knowledgeable collector of a particular class of collector's items, DO NOT HANDLE ONE--NOT AT ALL.

As for flipping the cylinder shut here's a funny(?) story. B&S Guns in Garland has an employee that primarily handles handgun sales. They've taken down the sign, but they used to have a picture of this guy's face with a caption labelling him the store handgun expert. The last time I was in there, he was showing a fellow a snubby, and when he was done, he smugly flipped the cylinder closed and put the gun away.

I didn't know whether to laugh because he was such an idiot or cry for all the revolvers he's probably damaged in his life...
 
According to Venturo's article, spinning the cylinder is also hard on the internals and can, if I remember correctly, cause the timing to be off.
 
You can spin a ruger super blackhawk at half cock all day I guess. I have one and that is how it is recommende to load it. Half cock and advance to the next chamber, close the loading gate and then you can shoot it.
 
A friend of mine, trying to be a smart ass, flipped the cylinder shut on my 042.

He didn't think it was so funny when I dragged his sorry butt around the living room by his goatee.
 
HA HA HA HA HA!! I can just picture it: some guy with a goatee and a monacle in a lab coat with a german accent going: SHTOP! Ay am en EEMPORTANT zientizt! Do not hendle mee dis wey! Something like the...what is that company...Drain doctor or Roto rooter or something. Same guy that came out in bugs bunny movies switching brains with a chicken.
 
...it looks really bad when you have a well-worn one and you turn the gun sideways and the cylinder shuts by it's own weight alone...

"I *swear* I didn't flip it shut, honestly! Put down the gun! Look, it shuts real easily, it fell in!" :-D
 
I'm curious. Why is flipping a cylinder shut on a D/A revolver so bad. Competition shooters slam their cylinders shut all the time. Is this because they can afford a new one every couple of months? This is bad to do even in the "mighty" X frame? :confused:
 
Twisting your wrist to shut the cylinder, vs slapping it shut with a hand supporting it, puts TREMENDOUS torque on the cylinder and crane assembly.

In really bad cases, you can actually bend the crane.
 
I've heard this don't flip em shut it seems like forever, but never had anyone explain to me why it's bad if you flip it shut just hard enough to shut it..
Yea fliping it so hard that yu would knock out a bull elephant should it slip is one thing but just enough to shut it is completely different. just enough flip that the wheels weight shuts and locks it..
And in games my wheel guns get poped shut with both hands alot faster and harder and there aint' any support other than shovein it shut with the off hand..
and after shooting a couple thousand rnds thru one I can lay one over and close the wheel so easy it just closes and that's alot easier than alot of shooters can with both hands.
No I don't do this on anyones piitols but my own, and only then after I have several hours of shooting experience with that pistol..
I have never seen the harm that we all seem to have heard about but never seen..
 
"And in games my wheel guns get poped shut with both hands alot faster and harder and there aint' any support other than shovein it shut with the off hand.."

It has everything to do with the direction in which the force is applied.

As I noted in my earlier post, you're putting tremendous outward, or rotational, torque on the crane when you wrist flip.

You're also virtually ensuring that the cylinder doesn't enter the frame window squarely, remember, it's only supported on the crane on one end.

In essence, it's a situation of not only how much force is applied, but HOW it is applied.

When you lay your revolver on its side and let the cylinder slide home under its own weight, what's missing?

That's right, the rotational torque. Because the cylinder is falling under its own weight, it's chances of being lined up with the frame window are a LOT better than if you were to sit there and practice the Hollywood Shuffle closure.


Oh, and I thought I had made this clear, but I guess I didn't.

I HAVE seen the bent cranes and peined cylinder bolts caused by this foolish mistreatment of an expensive piece of precision equipment.

Will it happen the first time you're stupid enough to pull this stunt?

No.

But the damage is cumulative.

The real question is, then, why would anyone be stupid enough to mistreat their revolvers in such a manner?

Do you give your expensive stereo a kick every time you pass it?

Sort of like popping the clutch on your car, as opposed to releasing it incrementally.
 
Competition shooters DO replace their guns often, or have them repaired. In training, you might use your speed-loader and close the action as fast as possible.

For most of us, there's no good reason to mistreat a gun. I treat my revolvers like watches. They are precision machines that depend on very small tolerances between metal parts to work correctly. You want them to work correctly when your life depends on it.
 
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