I was firing a 686 Plus today and noticed at times a reluctance for the cylinder to turn when the trigger began to be pulled.After removing the cartridges I noticed that I could barely pull the trigger,bringing the bolt out of cylinder engagement but the cylinder would not turn by hand.It acted as though it was binding at the rear of the cylinder;what could cause this?

Long list of possibilities including a loose extractor rod, dirt or shooting debris under the extractor, and end shake on the cylinder or yoke, resulting in the barrel cylinder gap closing to the point of contact.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Thank you for the reply!The extractor rod is tight,the flat under the extractor is clean and end shake is excellent and though the barrel/cylinder gap is tight there is no evidence of contact between the two.
This revolver is used and I am afraid there has been some "work" done to it in the past,is there another possibility?
Another thing,if I "check sing" with the trigger pressed hard left the cylinder will turn though it is reluctant to do so,if I check sing with the trigger pressed hard right the cylinder will not turn at all.

Just to cover a basic, is the yoke barrel clean, and are the bearing surfaces on it lubricated?

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Yes , all of what you describe is good.

I saw this recently on one and it was the extractor spring binding up, they are a thin spring as it is and with a little wear they wrap around themselves. Just my theory on a possibility.

Pete

I'll check it out,Thanks!

Okay. As was mentioned, revolvers can have some tricky little issues that can occur, so it's time to have it inspected by someone who understands them.

Another possibility is that someone tried to stretch the yoke, thinking to correct endshake cylinder, and over-stretched it, causing cylinder bind. Might also have incorrectly tried using the wrong aftermarket bushing.

Might have a yoke alignment issue (causing cylinder cramp). Not a kitchen table repair.

I'd have it examined by someone who understands revolvers.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Well,I got it working!Just to check any possibility I tore down the cylinder and ran a dental tool inside the part of the cylinder where the yoke fits.I pulled out one too many end shake shims,put the revolver back together and as good as new,well almost.