OK, I have got to ask this

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BillBro

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The way I see people handling revolvers, yes, even fine vintage revolvers is atrocious but one of the things I see that Im not sure if iys actually bad for the gun or not but nonetheless makes me cringe and gasp in disgust is when the press forward on the thumbpiece and flip that cylinder out with a few fingers through the frame so hard and just let it bottom out on the frame. Even a big N frame, loaded with 6 big rounds of 44 or 45.
Is this bad for the gun? I can see now and then if your necessarily having to do a reload in a hurry like your life or someone you love is on the line then hey, yeah but to just repeatedly open the cylinder and let it fall and come to an abruptly stop with an audible clunk just seems wrong to me.
Am I raising my BP for no reason and babying my vintage revolvers too much?
 
I can’t see getting your blood up over it. You think Jerry Miculek gently opens his when he’s practicing speed loads or when he’s competing?

I don’t go out of my way to abuse any of my guns. But I don’t treat them like they’re made of glass either. If I wear one out beyond repair I’ll consider it a job well done and buy a replacement. I shoot everything I own and I shoot a lot, wear and tear on anything besides consumables like recoil springs doesn’t enter my mind.

Do as you see fit with your guns since you own them.
 
Brings back memories of when I was (stuiply) selling my 3” model 66. Took it to a local range (with a FFL) for a potential buyer to examine and found out he wanted it for his wife. He proceeded to pick it up and (without checking for himself that it was empty) pulled the trigger (DA) a couple of times. My arm instinctively started to reach for it and the expression on my face said it all. I NEVER dry fire a pistol or revolver. Period. Even the employee behind the counter cringed and rolled his eyes. I left with his money and a bad taste in my mouth.

Few months later suffering from a serious case of sellers remorse I found another and snapped it up.
 
The Kid said:
You think Jerry Miculek gently opens his when he’s practicing speed loads or when he’s competing?
Click to expand...

He actually does to my eyes. Check 2:30 forward, 3 fingers on one side, supporting thumb on the other:



Just thought it was interesting … of course you are right, people should do with their guns as they please. Then again, one can feel sorry for the gun :)
 
I don’t know that dry firing a centerfire revolver does any real harm like it might do to a .22. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes it’s best to “KYC” and not break out the revolvers around people who have watched more TV than me.

i also don’t know that letting a slide slam shut on an empty chamber does any harm to a semi, unless the frame is made out of zinc. The heat, pressure, and slide velocities are going to exert far more stress on the pistol. One of my pet peeves when I was teaching CCW classes was dealing with students who had a semi and felt it had to be coddled on the range. Riding the slide forward when chambering around always seemed to lead to double feeds and wasted time showing them how to clear the stoppage. I always tried to point out that the bullets were going to cause more stress than they could. So one day when using my classroom demonstrator, a POS Glock look-a-like foam dart gun made in China, I demonstrated the proper way to slingshot the slide to chamber a round. The slide spit in half at the “locking block” and fell off the frame. I’m sure it didn’t drive home the point I was trying to make. I bought a used Glock 17R trainer for demo purposes after that.
 
eveled said:
There is a thing called mechanical harmony. Some people have it some don’t.
Click to expand...
One of the things my old man drummed into my head: Do things moderately. Don't slam the screen door. Don't slam the car door. Don't slam the drawer. Don't let the cabinet door slam. Don't let the toilet seat drop. Etc, etc. I open and close revolver cylinders gently, and support it the whole way. When closing, I also make sure the cylinder is in proper position to engage the cylinder stop so I don't have to turn the cylinder to lock it in.
 
walkin' trails said:
I don’t know that dry firing a centerfire revolver does any real harm like it might do to a .22. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes it’s best to “KYC” and not break out the revolvers around people who have watched more TV than me.

i also don’t know that letting a slide slam shut on an empty chamber does any harm to a semi, unless the frame is made out of zinc. The heat, pressure, and slide velocities are going to exert far more stress on the pistol. One of my pet peeves when I was teaching CCW classes was dealing with students who had a semi and felt it had to be coddled on the range. Riding the slide forward when chambering around always seemed to lead to double feeds and wasted time showing them how to clear the stoppage. I always tried to point out that the bullets were going to cause more stress than they could. So one day when using my classroom demonstrator, a POS Glock look-a-like foam dart gun made in China, I demonstrated the proper way to slingshot the slide to chamber a round. The slide spit in half at the “locking block” and fell off the frame. I’m sure it didn’t drive home the point I was trying to make. I bought a used Glock 17R trainer for demo purposes after that.
Click to expand...

On revolvers, I've heard you can break off the firing pin by dry firing it. I've had too many revolvers to count that I've dry fired and never had it happen to me.

On 1911's (can't comment on other semi-autos):

Letting a 1911 slide slam shut on an empty chamber causes:

  • Sear & hammer hook wear
  • Extractor stress
  • Slide stop pin/frame hole peening
  • Locking lug & barrel foot battering

This is especially true on 1911's with tuned light triggers. Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat addresses this in one of his books I own. I've watched the salespeople at one local shop that sells high end 1911's do this countless times on $4K to $7K guns.
 
Dump1567 said:
On revolvers, I've heard you can break off the firing pin by dry firing it. I've had too many revolvers to count that I've dry fired and never had it happen to me.

On 1911's (can't comment on other semi-autos):

Letting a 1911 slide slam shut on an empty chamber causes:

  • Sear & hammer hook wear
  • Extractor stress
  • Slide stop pin/frame hole peening
  • Locking lug & barrel foot battering

This is especially true on 1911's with tuned light triggers. Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat addresses this in one of his books I own. I've watched the salespeople at one local shop that sells high end 1911's do this countless times on $4K to $7K guns.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’ve heard it said the hammer nose and firing pin can be damaged, but I’ve never seen it and don’t think it ever appeared in a S&W manual. I’ve been around S&W revolver for over 60 years. My dad, a cop in the 60s, used to practice draw and dry fire a lot.

I had a striker on an M&P 45.1 break after some 7500 rounds and at least an equal amount of dry firing. It was the black anodized part and there were already warnings that particular striker had durability problems. I don’t think snap caps would have made a difference.

The 1911s are another thing. My only real experience is with Army issued 1911A1s in the 80s that were so pathetically worn out that slamming slides didn’t make any difference. On the other hand, a custom built $5k plus gun is a different animal entity.
 
BillBro said:
The way I see people handling revolvers, yes, even fine vintage revolvers is atrocious but one of the things I see that Im not sure if iys actually bad for the gun or not but nonetheless makes me cringe and gasp in disgust is when the press forward on the thumbpiece and flip that cylinder out with a few fingers through the frame so hard and just let it bottom out on the frame. Even a big N frame, loaded with 6 big rounds of 44 or 45.
Is this bad for the gun? I can see now and then if your necessarily having to do a reload in a hurry like your life or someone you love is on the line then hey, yeah but to just repeatedly open the cylinder and let it fall and come to an abruptly stop with an audible clunk just seems wrong to me.
Am I raising my BP for no reason and babying my vintage revolvers too much?
Click to expand...
much ado about nothing .... the cylinder is made to open and close; I'd be more concerned with over taxing the cylinder with hot loads . . . . . but that's just me 🤷‍♀️
 
The comments above are one of the reasons that I never got much enjoyment showing my guns to other people, unless they are old friends that I know how they treat guns.
 
Years ago an elderly retired Detective from my department showed me his old Model 64 with 3" barrel. It was his old duty gun and he bought it upon retirement. He said there was a problem with it and asked if I knew anybody who could fix it. The "problem" turned out to be a yoke stem separation. Previously I had never seen or heard of such a thing. I can't imagine how that had happened but I could see how flipping the cylinder open and closed could contribute. I told him he needs to return it to S&W for repair. He did and when he got it back is was good as new. I don't know if they used the same parts or a whole new assembly.

I would watch guys do the weak hand reload at matches and the only way to do this quickly is by slamming the cylinder shut by flipping it up with the left hand. I figure that would be hard on the gun too.
 
Yeah, I get, and realize all of the above. My reaction to the action is my reaction to the action.
I just wondered if there was any actual damage suffered. Yoke/crane alignment I guessed but wasnt sure. A big x frame cylinder full of 500s&w's is bound to weigh a little bit.
Cringe worthy? For sure.
 
What you describe, is pretty standard open sequence when using a revolver. Push forward thumb piece and push cylinder open with a couple fingers through the cylinder window. It bottoming out at the end of its travel is pretty much required to efficiently reload the gun, especially with a speed loader. I have shot revolvers for decades often in timed competition where they are not treated like china cups and do just fine. I have never heard of damage from opening and closing the cylinder in a conventional manner. Seems you are making a mountain out of a molehill
 
Last edited:
BillBro said:
The way I see people handling revolvers, yes, even fine vintage revolvers is atrocious but one of the things I see that Im not sure if iys actually bad for the gun or not but nonetheless makes me cringe and gasp in disgust is when the press forward on the thumbpiece and flip that cylinder out with a few fingers through the frame so hard and just let it bottom out on the frame. Even a big N frame, loaded with 6 big rounds of 44 or 45.
Is this bad for the gun? I can see now and then if your necessarily having to do a reload in a hurry like your life or someone you love is on the line then hey, yeah but to just repeatedly open the cylinder and let it fall and come to an abruptly stop with an audible clunk just seems wrong to me.
Am I raising my BP for no reason and babying my vintage revolvers too much?
Click to expand...
I don't have all that many friends, but if one of mine did that I'd have one fewer...
 
walkin' trails said:
I don’t know that dry firing a centerfire revolver does any real harm like it might do to a .22. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes it’s best to “KYC” and not break out the revolvers around people who have watched more TV than me.

i also don’t know that letting a slide slam shut on an empty chamber does any harm to a semi, unless the frame is made out of zinc. The heat, pressure, and slide velocities are going to exert far more stress on the pistol. One of my pet peeves when I was teaching CCW classes was dealing with students who had a semi and felt it had to be coddled on the range. Riding the slide forward when chambering around always seemed to lead to double feeds and wasted time showing them how to clear the stoppage. I always tried to point out that the bullets were going to cause more stress than they could. So one day when using my classroom demonstrator, a POS Glock look-a-like foam dart gun made in China, I demonstrated the proper way to slingshot the slide to chamber a round. The slide spit in half at the “locking block” and fell off the frame. I’m sure it didn’t drive home the point I was trying to make. I bought a used Glock 17R trainer for demo purposes after that.
Click to expand...
I think the "don't drop the slide on an empty chamber" rule came from 1911's, where the internal bounce damaged the sear. Seems like Mas Ayoob did a video on that.
 
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