I have seen gas rings mentioned in the descriptions of changes made from one dash iteration to the next one. However I could never could figure out what it looked like, what it did or why they moved it around.

Any information would be appreciated.

Joe

Late 66 no dash and 19-4 gas ring question?

Gas Ring Yoke or Cylinder?

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

All I can come up with is that scene from Blazing Saddles...

What you find in your shorts the next day after dining at a Mexican restaurant.

If you are going to shoot a hundred rounds or so I've found the yoke mounted gas ring allows enough residue into the cylinder to stiffen up cylinder rotation. Not a big deal as it's easily cleaned up when you get home or give it a bit of a spritz of light oil to soften up the crud whilst shooting.

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Stay safe people!

Oh, that is a gas ring! Now that splayns everything. I think?

Gas Ring
SMITH & WESSON K, L, N FRAMES $7.00

I have been confused about this back & forth gas ring thing as well. Seeing your thread here got me to follow all the other threads linked, and now I have a better understanding. Thanks.

Here's the post that helped me the most.

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-Roger

Now I understand also.

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I'm 67. I don't do timeouts.

Ahhhhh. Me thinks me learning.

Rodger, Thanks for the photos!

Eat a bowl of 500 HP Chili and check your shorts..........

MrTrolleyGuy, There's no telling how many thousands of people wanted to know the answer to that but were ashamed to ask. You have done S&W people a big service.

I have two 19-3s, one with the gas ring on the cylinder and one on the yoke.

It seems that a change of gas ring location would call for an engineering change, but apparently not always.

S&W started selling revolvers in 1853 with gas rings in their cylinders. K frames had them until 1975 -1976. For a year and a half or so that coincided with blued target sighted K frame dash 3 production K frames got a so called gas ring on the yoke. In reality that means no gas ring at all. Discontinuing a separate part and its installation was a cost saving measure. The gas ring in the cylinder is one of the features you pay more for when you chose a S&W over a Ruger. For most K frames dash 4 indicates a restoration of S&W's traditional gas ring. All N frames have gas rings in or machined as part of their cylinders. That was a 1990s change, machining a gas ring integral to cylinders. J frames are their own can of worms. Early ones had a gas ring in their cylinders. Many later Js have a "gas ring on the yoke."

Very nice information. Seems like it fits as of my two examples.

19-3 May 1973 gas ring on cylinder (Texas Ranger)

19-3 July 1977 gas ring on yoke. (Nickle)

So would you consider the ring on the yoke as being a extra wide spacer as opposed to a gas ring?

I enjoy getting both these guns out at the same time.Although the same model there are many options that make both guns very different from each other.

Unfortunately my information wasn't entirely "nice." Too bad I got quoted before I could edit. I seldom handle J frames so I never though about their gas rings. After following the links in this thread I learned most later ones don't have a gas ring in their cylinder. Now I'll have to get my Js out and look.

As far as terms and naming goes, IMO S&W named it a gas ring on the yoke and did not give it an engineering dash change to obfuscate what they'd done.

And why do I enjoy this website? Yep.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

You pray that it's just gas Here I sit broken hearted...