Hey all,
Im new here, just bought a new 66-8 with the slightly longer fatter barrel and such. Well i've been hollywooding the **** of the revolver with the flicking of the cylinder quite a bit.(ive pissed myself off because I usually baby all my guns) How bad did I mess up? can I fix it/correct it? also if anyone has a suggestion of a holster. I bought a 6 inch and thought of stuffing the bottom but that failed.

Badly unfortunately. Take it to a gunsmith or send it back to smith and Wesson for repair. Flicking the cylinder open or closed can damage the crane.

Did you bend the yoke??

Brownells sells the special tools for realigning the yoke, but if it were me, I'd send it back to S&W.

First determine if you actually caused any damage.

If you flick the cylinder the crane can bend and go out of alignment. If you can't determine if it has or has not find a smith familiar with revolvers (important) and have him inspect it.

It might be damaged, it might not.

Your gunsmith should have a tool that will check alignment of the cylinder with the bore. If it is out of line get it fixed. Your gunsmith may be well capable of doing this, if not return to S&W for repairs.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

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Keep on Chooglin'

Get it fixed, then sell it to someone who understands that firearms are NOT TOYS to be played with....

It appears "flicking it", for you, is more fun than shooting it.

Keep flicking...just don't shoot it. Get yourself a Glock for shooting.

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A real sucker for the J-frames

It might be helpful if we knew what the damage was. How about a pic or a description?

You guys are being awfully hard on someone who was simply treating the revolver the way he had seen it done numerous times. Not all of us were born knowing how to do everything in the world properly. I'd venture to say few were.

He finds out he has been doing something wrong and has guts enough to come here asking for advice and instead of being generous and giving it to him you're mocking him--at best.

Not a great way to welcome someone to the community. Frankly it stinks.

HKjoe, the tool used to check alignment is called a "range rod". Find a smith that has one. The revolver could very well be just fine.

Mr. Brown you are correct, and I for one offer an apology to the O/P.


My updated post: O/P if needed have your revolver repaired as needed. Then DON’T flip the cylinder shut again, as doing so can cause serious damage to a quality product.

I've inadvertently done that a few times on my current revolvers (collectively...not on each one), but luckily no harm was done. So you may be OK. The worst thing you can do is spin the cylinder, and THEN flip it shut. This can ruin the cylinder stop.

Hey, it's a learning experience. Don't feel bad.

Like I tell my kids / grandkids. Listen to what old people tell you, because you don't live long enough to make all the mistakes yourself.

Of course none of those old & wise folks ever made any mistakes.

But us old graybeards have at least had the good sense to not make fatal mistakes or else we would not have made it to gray beard status.

As stated in previous replies have the gun looked at by a smith or someone with gun knowledge to see if in fact damage has been done. It is hard to determine what is going on by just reading the op. Flicking the cylinder is never good for a gun. Hopefully this lesson will not be a really expensive one for you. But with that said make sure that you learn from this experience and don't repeat it again. Posting pictures here can get you some help, good advice and possibly a solution to your problem.

Like the others have said, flicking it open can cause serious damage. Closing it hard is not as bad, but still not great either.

A picture would help. If in doubt, let S&W check it over.

You said you usually "baby" your revolvers. I assume that means you do not engage in this "hollywooding" behavior with other guns?

Or, does that mean you were not aware this was a problem until recently, and have done the "flicking" with other revolvers?

You don't have to answer, just consider this: If you are not sure whether there has been damage or not, then let S&W look at EACH revolver that has been "flicked," not just this new 66.

HKJoe... for a holster suggestion, we need more info about your gun such as barrel length (you mentioned buying a 6" and stuffing it, I guess that mean you gun has a shorter barrel than the holster you bought?) and what the primary use will be for the holster... concealment or just a general "I need some place to put it instead of holding it my hand" use.

There just are too many styles out there give you a recommendation.

Holster types... inside and outside the waist band holsters, shoulder holsters, ankle holsters, pocket holsters, etc.

Holster attachment (to yourself)... removable paddle, belt slide, belt loop.

Holster materials... leather, Kydex (plastic), ballistic nylon, etc.

Holster position... high ride hip, forward cant, cross draw, etc.

You get the idea.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

A six inch revolver sorta screams Open Carry in my mind, although a shoulder holster could fulfill a Concealed Carry need under a large jacket a la Dirty Harry Callahan. Sorta depends on the purpose you have in mind. I use an Alaskan Hunter, made by Diamond D Leather for my 6-inch M686. They also make a high quality tanker style holster called the Guide's Choice chest holster that I use when I'm carrying my M66 hiking with a day pack. Lots of good quality holsters to choose from. These are just a couple with which I have personal experience. Good luck.

When I was conducting shooting classes for uniformed folks, and when I worked in the gun business, this was one of the most commonly encountered mistakes new gun owners would make. I think we should cut the OP a lot of slack and gently provide some edu-macation on the topic.

If you insult somebody when you are correcting his error he will always remember and hate you. If you gently educate him, he will look upon you as a hero.

I had an experience in a gunshop one time that I still remember. The guy behind the counter took a Ruger single action, opened the loading gate, then "spun-up" the cylinder by dragging the cylinder down his sleeve. What came next still hurts to think about today. With the cylinder rotating at high speed, this rocket scientist flipped the loading gate closed causing the cylinder to slam to a stop. I'm afraid I did not offer gentle education about his actions.

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"Sacramento" Bruce Conklin

"HKJoe... for a holster suggestion, we need more info about your gun such as barrel length (you mentioned buying a 6" and stuffing it, I guess that mean you gun has a shorter barrel than the holster you bought?)"

He has the new M66. It only comes in one barrel length, 4.2 inch. Hopefully, they will make a snub soon.
I don't know if the makers like Lobo and Simply Rugged have tooled up for this new M66. It has a "fatter" two piece barrel and this might make a difference.

Best,
Rick

Okay, I've never done this with my guns, but I'm thinking that this is a piece of equipment that can contain a small explosion in rapid succession and flicking the cylinder into position is going to hurt the gun? Seriously? I can imagine that this would be like shooting full load magnums out of a M29. Sure, it will wear the gun quicker than normal, but damage it in the short term? Really? Can someone please explain how this would damage the gun?

Oh - and be nice. I'm serious about this question. I don't know enough about guns to understand how this can actually damage the gun. Where's the force and what is the weak link in the assembly that will be damaged?

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18-4, 15-4

I know almost everyone on here knows this but here goes.

The proper way to load/unload a revolver:**

*Place the revolver in your left hand facing up.

*Use your right hand thumb to push/pull(depending on make) the cylinder release.

*Using either 2 or three fingers on your left hand swing the cylinder out.

*If unloading upend the revolver and push down on the ejector rod with your left thumb.

*Tilt the revolver down and reload using your left hand fingers and thumb to rotate the cylinder while reloading with your right hand

*Ease the cylinder back in with your left hand and check to make sure it locked in place.

I hope this helps anyone unfamiliar with revolvers.
Jim

**At least this is how I was taught.

I owned 8 and in the 19 years since my first I've determined GLOCKs are shooters!!!

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

Minor additions:
1) No need to change the revolver to weak side hand. That is a wasted motion. You can work the cylinder release with your right thumb, then push the cylinder open with your forefinger.
2) Reload with your left hand (assuming right is strong side)
3) Reduce cylinder stop wear on the cylinder by aligning the cylinder at 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock if a 6 shooter, or 8:00 and 4 if a five shooter, then gently closing. Its the rotation of the cylinder after closing that contributes to the drag line. Check it out.

Another reason to dislike Hollywood. Like I need one.

Why a revolver designed to shoot high pressure cartridges, like the .44 and .357 Mag, is so prone to damage from the relativity benign practice of just flicking the cylinder shut?

It's due to direction. What engineers would call the vector. The forces of recoil occur inline with the bore. Call that the "x" direction. Revolvers are designed to take thousands of cycles of these high forces in the x direction.

When slamming the cylinder shut the forces are not in the x direction. The forces are 90 degrees sideways to the bore. Call this the "y" direction. Smith & Wesson didn't design the revolver to take a high forces in the y direction. Thus, the relativity "weak" yoke is prone to damage from y direction forces.

The real, quality lessons of life are expensive. I am so glad everyone refrained from the dogpile that most of us would get. Hopefully HK will share more of his experience with "remediation" (personal and mechanical) and continue his education on this big blue bus of enlightenment. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Peak53:
I'll give your changes a try!
My point was to get information out that will reduce
"Cowboying" a revolver.
Jim

I never flick a cylinder shut. I moly the yoke, the lock pin and star wheel on the rear of the cylinder and the extractor nose chamfer. It locks up silky smooth after that.

O M G---READING THIS THREAD IS MAKING ME WANT TO CRY………

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

I instructed for several years and this is definitely not how double action revolvers should be reloaded (I know this has become popular with some competitive shooters in the last few years but it is still bad practice).

Why? Well, you either still have to use your left hand to activate the extractor or you have to turn the revolver upside down and shake the rounds out (I have seen this done in competition).

Then, when you reload with your arguably less steady left hand, you are dropping rounds into the cylinder over three or four feet of open air. Fumble the round and it is on the ground. Do you stop and retrieve the dirty round to insert in the cylinder? Does the BG give you the opporunity to do so?

Cradling the gun by its cylinder in your left hand allows fumbled rounds to land in your palm to be reinserted. This is especially useful in the black of night. When you do not know where the BG is. The left-hand cradle allows you to completely reload in pitch black with no visual reference, I think that skill is kind of important.

Am I telling you that you must do it this way? No, you are free to choose you own path. But it makes good sense to use the best of knowledge gained over decades when the objective is saving your own bacon. (Don't ask how long it took me to learn that simple fact).

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"Sacramento" Bruce Conklin

And look at the bolt and the notch into which it fits. These are probably the most carefully machined parts of the gun. The slamming motion starts to elongate the notch which will lead to running our-of-time.

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"Sacramento" Bruce Conklin

We all make mistakes, Lord knows I've munged up my share of guns by "tinkering" thankfully nothing collectible ....

The "police" training method of reloading is to open the cylinder, cradle gun in left hand, use the left thumb to eject empties while the gun is pointed up to reduce unburned powder under the star....., point revolver down, still in left hand......reload with right hand (individually , speed strip, speed loader) close the cylinder with left hand.

It's been done this way for over 100 years.

To the original poster: Relax, it's a new gun so you probably haven't had enough time to do any damage. Guns are metal, and this country has many great pistol smiths who can fix a problem, as well as S&W. I would stop, and close the cylinder properly for now on, and maybe have a smith inspect it if you're worried. I promise there are probably thousands of revolvers out there who get flick-slam shut their whole lives without issue. I'm not saying you should continue, but just stop and move on. Your revolver is tougher than you think.

Yeah, it's like slamming a 1911 shut by releasing the slide stop on an empty chamber. Fun, but not a good practice.

Yeah, but when I spin the open cylinder on my Smiths (muzzle down) they don't make that cool buzzing/ratcheting sound like they do in the movies.

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semper metallum vincet

HKjoe,

Check your yoke alignment. It way not even be bent, but no more 'flippin.' If it is bent...send it to S&W.

Look for a holster that is made for your 66 in the proper length. It will retain the revolver the way it should.

And....
Don't follow any advice Hollywood provides about firearms. As a group, they are completely ignorant of such things.

My wife hates watching movies with me. When that ratcheting sound comes on I invariably do a facepalm and "Doh!"

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"Sacramento" Bruce Conklin

Did you say Hollywood is ignorant about firearms? That is so true. They are also ignorant about a lot of other things.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER