Help needed with a revolver Did I fix this by oiling?
I got my hands on a nice model 686 used of course dated 1986. The gun has hardly been fired in its life. I went to shoot it for the first time today. The 1st 6 shots went good I reloaded and fired again using single action only When I got to the 5th shot the hammer would not go back the whole way so I made the gun safe and checked all of what I could see all looked ok the cylinder is tight no play in either direction. I reloaded and tried again and the same thing happened again on the 5th shot. Not on the same cylinder hole. I stopped and took it out the range guy He looked at it and said he couldn’t find anything wrong.Also said the gun has hardly been fired he said everything was very tight. I brought the gun home and tried cocking single action sure enough it did it again. But this time the trigger was all the way back and stuck I had to pull the hammer back and let it fly to get the trigger back to the forward position.
I removed the grips and oiled everything in sight I tested the action again, it did not stick once. Did I fix this by oiling? it seems to work fine now. just looking for advice of what to check Thanks

Probably dry or dried up lube inside. Taking off the sideplate for a thorough cleaning is best, but if you don't know how, I'd take off grips and fluch out good w/CLP. Let drain and wipe down and put on grips and good to go.

I know most of you already know this but for those who don't, do not try to take off the side plate by prying it. Tap the end of the butt repeatedly and the side plate will come loose.

Thanks guys, I downloaded an exploded parts view of the gun. I tried to remove the side plate without prying it, I was not able to get it off. I learned years ago not to pry on anything. SO while screws out I removed the cylinder cleaned and lubed it up also oil the heck out of it I have a needle point oiler so I stuck it in every crack I could see. Put the screws back in and stested single action cocking no sticking at all. I still want to get that side plate of but I think I am going to take it to a gun smith to get it down right. Thanks for the suggestions

With the screws removed, hold the gun by its barrel with the sideplate up and strike the grip frame sharply with a light mallet or heavy screwdriver handle while holding the screwdriver by the blade end. After about three good smacks, the plate will loosen.

Ed

AveragEd is right on, you just need to smack the bottom of the grip with a rubber mallet or screwdriver handle.

A lot of people have different views on this, but oiling a gun too much can have ill effects. Not because of the oil itself, but because oil attracts dirt and dirt will jam it up. It takes a lot of lube to do this, and it also depends on what kind of environment you shoot in.

I would recomend froglube or fireclean, that way you dont have to worry about too much oil.

I willnot be shooting this one on a regular basis. It will stay dealed upin a case for a while. I will try to gete the plate off using your method I have a rubber malet to use on it. I did not go overboard on the oil just a drop or so on everything and I am using a neelde point oiler so its not a stream coming out of it. Thanks

S&W's are designed to be run almost completely dry. Just one or two drops of oil dropped in down around a cocked hammer once a year or so is all it takes to keep them running correctly under normal conditions. It's really hard to get old timers who grew up learning to oil the snot out of everything to understand and accept this. My neighbor and his best friend are both that way.

Rap the side of the grip frame as stated in a previous post, and do is sharply with a leather mallet or wooden or plastic screw driver handle. A plate that has never been off can be hard to get loose the first time, but if hit sharply on the SIDE of the grip frame, it will come loose.

Make sure you pay attention to everything inside and where it is located. The hammer block can be a bear to get situated sometimes for re-assembly if you are new to it.

One more thing- this is important too, when you take a side plate off, especially on pre-lock guns, make sure you keep light finger pressure (from the hand you hold the gun with) against the side plate to avoid buggering up the edge of the plate or frame as it pops loose. Be careful when re-installing it for the same reasons. It is extremely easy to leave tiny burrs along the edge of either one, and that can ruin the look of an otherwise minty gun.

S&W teaches the armorers students to do that with a babbit bar on the side of the grip frame with the grips removed. I normally use a wood hammer handle and it works well.

I was able to download a nice image of the gun from the internet for a $1.29 its a very detailed image with all the parts listed. I am really nervous about taking the plate of for fear of everything coming off with it. But I am going to do it because I can't stand anything that's dirty and not in 100% perfect condition. Thanks for the advice.

Nothing is just going to fly out when you take the sideplate off. The only thing that is loose is the hammer block, that will fall out, but that is no biggie, it just rides in a channel on the inside of the sideplate. Even once you start digging into the internals, none of them will get rocketed across the room except for a few very small springs and a plunger. The pieces with small springs that you need to pay attention to so you dont lose them are.....
1. Rebound Slide has a spring in it, but usually doesnt cause a problem.
2. The Bolt has a spring with a bolt plunger on the other end. This has been the one that has gotten away from me a couple of times. (really no reason to take this one out usually)
3. Cylinder stop has a small spring on the lower front side.
Thats really about it and you only need to worry about them if you completely take all of the internals out.
Good luck. Its really not that difficult, but I remember my first time. I was nervous.

Thanks I am going to do it tonight after work. I feel much better about it since I have the drawing and your advice. Thanks much As soon as I figure out a place to post/host picture I will add one on here. I was so happy to get this gun, I sold a model 19 years ago and this one brings back memories.

I was worried about the plate itself getting messed up, I have a gun mat etc to do this. Believe me I will be very careful doing this, the gun is in Mint condition. Thanks for the info

I just called S&W and was told the gun is under a recall So sending it back to them, they are paying shipping to. not sure what the recall is?

Some of the early 586/686's had over sized firing pin bushings causing them to hang up sometimes when the gun would be fired with magnum rounds. The primer could/would flow back in around the pin due to the too large pin hole in the bushing.