S&W extractor problem ?
- Thread starter Dickie B
- Start date
The center pin is not supposed to "push the cylinder" forward. It is supposed to push the bolt (the part the thumb latch attaches to) back so it itself can push into the hole to keep the cylinder in place.
If the cylinder won't fully close because the extractor hits the frame, there may be dirt under the extractor, or there may be something else wrong. Hard to tell without seeing the gun.
Jim
If the cylinder won't fully close because the extractor hits the frame, there may be dirt under the extractor, or there may be something else wrong. Hard to tell without seeing the gun.
Jim
Bob Wright
New member
Check under the extractor for powder particles or other gunk. Make sure the extractor seats corectly when the cylinder is swung out. Does you gun have aligning pins in the cylinder to align with holes (two or three) in the extractor star? If these are bent or unseated they may not allow the extractor to seat flush.
Bob Wright
Bob Wright
The first time this happened to me (gunk under ejector star that simply won't allow it to sit flush), I was completely blown away by how WRONG the entire revolver was while having the problem.
If you've never experienced this, it's an eye-opener. The fitting is monumentally precise. I had just enough crud under the ejector so that I could close the cylinder, but not easily or naturally, and it would bind up horribly. It was a sickening feeling, like something went HORRIBLY wrong and wasn't likely to be fixable. You only sit there and imagine WHAT you did, which part got warped or bent or what you may have "blasted" out of shape to almost kill your prized revolver.
Well, not only was there no "fixing" of anything and absolutely nothing broken or bent, it was simply getting the offending crud out of the way. So slight that with the untrained eye, you could never see anything wrong.
Cleaned it out and back to "bank vault" kind of lock up and function. Like a Smith & Wesson is supposed to feel like. Precision mechanical operation with all parts working in full harmony.
If you didn't realize how much needs to be "in order" to allow a quality revolver to function as well as it does, you will learn something the first time it happens to you. And you'll forever laugh, maybe just quietly inside, every time you see someone talking about the "will always work, can't be stopped, ain't never ever gonna malfunction" nature of a nice revolver.
Man, I absolutely -LOVE- my revolvers. But I know far better than to think they are simple devices that can't or won't ever "stop." I know that it just doesn't take much at all to really stop one, and it isn't a simple tap-rack-bang to get running again.
If you've never experienced this, it's an eye-opener. The fitting is monumentally precise. I had just enough crud under the ejector so that I could close the cylinder, but not easily or naturally, and it would bind up horribly. It was a sickening feeling, like something went HORRIBLY wrong and wasn't likely to be fixable. You only sit there and imagine WHAT you did, which part got warped or bent or what you may have "blasted" out of shape to almost kill your prized revolver.
Well, not only was there no "fixing" of anything and absolutely nothing broken or bent, it was simply getting the offending crud out of the way. So slight that with the untrained eye, you could never see anything wrong.
Cleaned it out and back to "bank vault" kind of lock up and function. Like a Smith & Wesson is supposed to feel like. Precision mechanical operation with all parts working in full harmony.
If you didn't realize how much needs to be "in order" to allow a quality revolver to function as well as it does, you will learn something the first time it happens to you. And you'll forever laugh, maybe just quietly inside, every time you see someone talking about the "will always work, can't be stopped, ain't never ever gonna malfunction" nature of a nice revolver.
Man, I absolutely -LOVE- my revolvers. But I know far better than to think they are simple devices that can't or won't ever "stop." I know that it just doesn't take much at all to really stop one, and it isn't a simple tap-rack-bang to get running again.
Years ago, I had a nickel 6-inch Model 57 that would bind up after less than 12 rounds of ammunition loaded with 2400 unless it was a full on top-end charge...and then it would do it within 30 rounds...from just a few unburned powder grains. Oddly, 2400 was the only powder that it would do this trick with. Because it was wicked accurate with cast bullets and 2400, I used a lot of it, but I always included a mil-spec double-end toothbrush in the old kit bag, and just cleaned under the star after every cylinder full.
I love 2400 and I'm very comfortable using it and likely won't ever be without a few pounds of it at the ready. With that said, it's definitely a part of the package that 2400 often leaves unburnt granules and it quite noticeable and often generates questions in the handloading forums about folks new to that particular powder.
2400
Oh, yeah. 2400 is the only slow "magnum class" pistol powder that I use. My other go-to powder is Unique. Recently, I've been using a little Bullseye after a 20-year hiatus.
None of my other revolvers has ever given me a problem with 2400, but it does tend to leave a lot of those little discolored granules unless loaded up hot.
Oh, yeah. 2400 is the only slow "magnum class" pistol powder that I use. My other go-to powder is Unique. Recently, I've been using a little Bullseye after a 20-year hiatus.
None of my other revolvers has ever given me a problem with 2400, but it does tend to leave a lot of those little discolored granules unless loaded up hot.