I bought this gun (never fired) on-line from an out of state dealer. Upon inspection of the gun at my FFL dealer I discovered that the Cylinder is very hard to open. My FFL thinks that the
Cylinder Release mechanism is the culprit.
Can someone give me some insight as to what the problem is?

Very likely the ejector rod has unscrewed a bit.
Backwards threaded.
Lefty tighty, righty loosey..

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

That was the first thing that we checked......but that is still not the problem......thanks!

Simple things first..

Does this one have a "floating" screw to retain the cylinder?
If not, then the sideplate screws may have been switched. The front "retaining" screw is fitted to toe yoke.
or..
If a replacement ejector rod has been installed, the end may not have been shortened to match the center pin.
The overhang will make opening difficult.

Will save the bad things for later.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

The EJ may be the wrong length. The front latch may have a Burr on it. Study it closely while operating the mechanism and see where it's hanging up. DON'T force anything!

There are several reasons why the cylinder may be hard to open, some even feel different than others. Even debris under the extractor can do that. None are serious or hard to fix.

The best thing would be for you to find someone who can work on Smiths to have it fixed.

If you are just wanting it for reasons other than shooting, I wouldn't worry about it.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

Center pin may have been trimmed a wee bit short and not pushing the locking bolt far enough to clear the extractor rod.