That is also a possibility, as is a badly neglected cylinder arbor and cylinder that needs thorough cleaning. Old bullet lube and firing residue can migrate into the cylinder arbor through the gas ring and really gum up cylinder rotation.

Back in the late 1970s S &W received reports of the gas rings on K frame magnums (M13, M19, M66) seizing up and binding cylinders when they got hot from rapid fire of magnum ammunition.

The engineering fix was to move the gas ring from the cylinder to the crane, and a -dash eco was created. A few years later, for some reason, the manufacture of K frame magnums moved the crane-mounted gas ring back to the cylinder, and no more was heard of cylinders binding up.

Dunno if the original problem ever reared up again, or if it was resolved by changing manufacturing tolerances or materials.