I took my new to me 65-5 to the range yesterday and it had some issues. I first shot 12 rounds of 38 WW box ammo with no problem. I let my buddy try it with 6 rounds of his 357 reloads which sounded pretty hot, also without any problems. When I went back to the 38's, the 2nd or 3rd round the cylinder locked up. Could not pull trigger or hammer, so opened the cylinder to inspect and rotate, and was able to finish the rounds. Reloaded and same thing happened again. When I got home, cleaned and lubed, the gun was filthy. Ejector rod seems tight as well as lock-up which is tight. What else should I look for if it happens at next range session?

This is bugging me! Although, I got it for a good price.

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Same thing happened to me although mine was a 65-3. And the culrpit was Winchester White Box. It's very dirty. Check underneath the ejector star. Lots of powder and fowling get caught in there and will bind up the cylinder. Also, if you're going to switch from .38 to .357, make sure the cylinders are clean. The .38 is shorter and it leaves a crud ring in there that will bind the gun up if you switch to .357. Same thing would happen with any .357. I chuck a cleaning rod and brass brush to a drill, dip it in Hoppes, and let it spin for about 20 seconds each cylinder hole. Then follow up with a normal Hoppes soaked patch and then a clean one. Chambers will be spotless, and it doesn't hurt the gun since the cylinders aren't rifled. Don't do it to the barrel

You might want to check the ejector rod hasn't loosened up on you. Caution! They tighten up with a LEFT hand thread and don't overtighten. A small drop of blue Loctite also helps.

Thanks for the suggestions. I talked to a gunsmith this morning and explained what happened and he suggested I let him take a look at it. He thought that if it was just dirty or junk under the star, the cylinder would be hard to open. The cylinder opened normal when looking for a cause for the lockup. Like I said, gave it a good cleaning, w/o removing the sideplate. I think I will take it to the range and see if it happens again, then off to the smith.

All newly acquired guns, old or new, should be detail stripped, cleaned and lubed.

+1 for what Buck45 says. This happened to me recently with a Model 15.

LT

Possible the trigger is slipping pass the cylinder locking bolt because a weak locking bolt spring or a "Kitchen Table" action job that took metal off the front of the trigger.

Good news. Monday night I removed the sideplate to inspect, which is only the second sideplate I have removed on a Smith. It was very clean inside, so I gave it a couple of good blasts of CO2 and put a little oil on the parts and put it back together, while a bit nervous, it went back together well. Took it to the range today and shot a box of Remington 38's thru it without any problems. Don't know what the problem was but it seems fine now.

Now try it with Winchester White Box. Something tells me the problem will return. My 65 would lock up on them. Very dirty ammo. Now I spend a buck for for something else.

Can't say for certain, but it sounds like a classic case of crud under the star.

Glad you're back up and running.

To avoid this in the future, point the barrel straight up and use a forceful single quick push to remove empties. This reduces the chance of crud finding its way under the star.