1/2 OF THE CYLINDERS DRAGGING

[murf205]

My son has a 2" M&P 38 HE that he was gifted by a family friend and 3 of the 6 cylinder faces are dragging on the rear of the forcing cone. They are all adjacent but the next 3 are clearing it with what appears to be proper gap. Has anybody got an idea what's wrong? I have had some suggestions but we are NOT going to bubba smith this. Thanks , Murf

[ken158]

Maybe a bent yoke. A cylinder on a used gun with no previous problem does not get “off square” as some have suggested.

[armorer951]

I would guess the yoke is out of alignment or the front of the cylinder is not perfectly square.....or possibly a combination of those issues. If there is end shake on the cylinder, that should probably be addressed first. Repair of the end shake will move the cylinder back away from the barrel extension.

[GaryHK]

A bent ejector rod would cause the cylinder gap to widen and narrow like you are experiencing.

[Protocall_Design]

I have seen a lot of off square cylinder front faces. That or crooked ejector rod, as stated above.

Most times, the ejector rod isn't actually bent when it has runout, it's just crooked at the threaded interface. Some are bent. The way to deal with that is the Power Custom straightening fixture.

[murf205]

Both could be the very reason. The first owner of this revolver was the owner of one of the toughest night club/daytime bars in the area in the 1950's. I'll bet this gun pistol whipped more than a couple of ner do wells in it's early service.

[murf205]

I have a 2" micrometer. I am guessing I could measure the length of the cylinder and find whether it is the culprit, right? There is almost no end shake of the cylinder and I would be correct guessing that this round count for this gun is less than 50, since I knew the owner and he was no plinker. His job #1 was selling whiskey and cold beer!

[SMSgt]

Maybe he liked to flip the cylinder in and out? Hear tell that will mess it up.

[pantannojack]

Mike Hammer never did that. I heard he carried a .45.

[robertrwalsh]

Get some graph paper. Lay gun down on graph paper with the cylinder all the way open. Under good light, spin the cylinder slowly and check to see what, if anything, moves with relation to the reference lines on the graph paper. That will give you a pretty fair idea of what is going on. My guess, for what that might be worth to you, is #1, bent ejector rod, #2, tweaked yoke, #3, out of spec cylinder, #4, some combination of the above. A run out gauge with a dial indicator and a magnetic base will do the job better, but this will work reasonably well and is cheap.

[schutz5]

I used to own a 5 screw k38 that looked practically new but turned out to have a similar problem as yours. 2 to 3 of the faces dragged on the forcing cone enough to freeze the cylinder until a push with fingers completed the cycle. My reputable gunsmith checked it out thoroughly and found side to side movement in the cylinder. I asked whether spacers or bushing would repair it. He said it was not repairable short of buying a new cylinder.

[murf205]

Thanks for the advice. The next time he open his safe, I'll ask him to let me have a look at the gun. SMSgt, you're right about flipping the cylinder open and shut. It gives me chills to see somebody do that. One reason I open the cylinder of my guns if I let some one hold it and tell them to let me close it. If they can't do that then they don't need it in their hands.

[smoothshooter]

I think you mean “ chambers “.

A revolver only has one “ cylinder “.