Lock Up Issues

[GypsmJim]

I am having trouble with a S&W Victory. The Cylinder stop does not always fully engage. If I rotate the cylinder a bit it will pop right up and the gun fires OK then. The Stop itself does not look excessively worn and once its in place no problem.

I'm guessing that the Hand is not always turning the cylinder all the way. It is not limited to any one chamber, and if I work the action enough I might get it to lock up OK 10 times in a row. I oiled everything well and that has made a minor improvement, but its not the answer.

Before I take it to a Gunsmith, I thought I would ask if there is a simple fix that I might try to do myself.

[Protocall_Design]

Usually this happens when the ratchets get worn and the hand can't turn the cylinder far enough for the stop to engage. One backwoods way to adjust it is to get a hand window file from Brownell's and file the hand window wider towards the center pin. Make sure to file the lower vertical
surface to match. Then bend the hand inward very slightly (the pivot pin is the part that will bend). With a few tries you can probably get everything working nicely.