What condition would cause the ability to rotate a cylinder out of index with VERY SLIGHT finger pressure ? This is on a 625-3 with a very low round count. Otherwise, function is perfect and the revolver is very accurate. Should I send it back to S&W ? It's a ''Model of 1989'' Would such a repair be covered under warranty ?

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

It's hard to diagnose what's wrong without looking at the gun, but IMO the gun needs to be examined by a professional gunsmith. It shouldn't do what you describe.

Whether you keep it local or send it to S&W depends on how good your local guy is. You could always call S&W and ask them about it.

Buck

That can only happen if the cylinder stop is failing to lock into the cylinder notch. Could be the stop spring, could be the carry up is short and not getting to the lock point, could be peening has made the notches rough. Hard to diagnose without seeing it.

Very light finger pressure where? Are you talking about pressure on the trigger or rotational pressure on the cylinder? What direction are you turning the cylinder?

With the gun held in a shooting position in my right hand, clockwise rotational pressure with my left hand....

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

This sounds like either dirt and debris inside the frame keeping the cylinder stop ball from rising as high as it is supposed to. The stop could also have not been properly fit and needs a gunsmiths attention who understands the mechanism. It could also be caused by burring of the stop notches that keeps the ball of the stop from entering the notches. The cylinder stop spring could also have been damaged by improper assembly at some point. There could be burring in the cylinder stop window in the frame that is keeping the stop from rising properly.

First, disassemble and clean the lock-work thoroughly. Inspect the cylinder stop spring to make sure it is straight and has closed coils on both ends. If anything appears wrong with the spring replace it, they're cheap. Wolfe Springs makes an extra-power stop spring, but this really shouldn't be necessary for normal use. The extra-power springs are really special purpose for shooters engaging in fast double-action shooting like Jerry Miculek does.

If cleaning, including the stop notches, and possibly replacing the stop spring don't fix the situation then it is time for a gunsmith that understands fitting the stop, or a new one.



My first question is whatever moved you to try to rotate the cylinder backward in the first place?

Thanks Alk8944, I noticed the phenomenon when indexing and closing a loaded cylinder. I think I'll give S&W a buzz, and see if they'll handle this under warranty.

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

Well, I just got off the horn with S&W Customer Service. They ONLY warranty their products to the original owner. So, rather than send the revolver to them and spend $80. on shipping plus the cost of the repair, I'm going to seek the services of my local 'smith. Thanks to all who responded to my question. I appreciate your input.

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

Joe,

A few years ago a local gunstore had an S&W factory event. The reps were there and you could try any pistol out for the cost of the ammo. They brought a gunsmith from the custom shop and for $30 he did minor repairs and a quick trigger tune while you waited. Well, there aren't any gunsmiths around here, frankly a good armorer is scarce. So I brought my CS-1 that needed a new trigger and hammer fitted, (some nimrod jeweled the originals!) along with the parts. They just wouldn't drop in for me and I didn't want to screw them up.

As I was waiting in line I must have seen him open, clean, tune and fiddle with 25 revolvers and he replaced the cylinder stop spring on every single one!

Amost as many got a new cylinder stop or he bent the existing stop with 2 pairs of pliers and refitted it. It looked like the cylinder stop was the one part he addressed on every single revolver.

/c

WOW, Chuck ! Sounds like that may be my problem---AND an easy fix at that. I hope that's what it is. I'll post the outcome. Thanks for the info...

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

Absolutely change the stop and spring before spending big bucks mailing it away. Midway probably has a stop and spring for about $15 ballpark.

Also: check the notches in the cylinder. N frames have the most massive cylinders and they peen the cuts badly over time. Make sure the edges of the notches are clean and square so the stop can snap in properly. The new stop may need some minor fitting: as you pull the trigger, the stop should drop but not go below the lower edge of the frame (you don't want it to be able to hang up). If it drops too low, file a tiny bit of the nose of the stop that the trigger pulls on to make it drop. This is very easy.

good luck