Cylinder didn't rotate in double action?

edfardos · May 30, 2020

Model 69, Hammer fell on the same chamber twice in double action, first was a bang, second was a click. two strikes on primer along with a little scratch.

no failures for 30 rounds after that.

ejector rod end-screw was really backed out upon cleaning at home, maybe 3 whole turns. no other observations.

i can get it to hit the same cylinder twice on the bench if i put some manual torque on the cylinder as the trigger comes forward, but its really an extraordinary circumstance, and hard to do twice.

this was the first time I did a bunch of double action, training for ccw.. normally im all single action, with a cyl of rapid double action at the end of the day. Pistol has maybe 600 rounds on it.. mild hard cast lead reloads.

any hints? this was the first and only malfunction.

thanks!

craig

Shark Bait · May 30, 2020

Give the internals a thorough cleaning. If it continues contact S&W.

edfardos · May 30, 2020

I never had the courage to remove the side plate.. inspect and clean?

colt_saa · May 30, 2020

Having the ejector rod unscrewed three turns is a suspect

After cleaning the revolver, I would shoot it some more before worrying too much

UncleEd · May 30, 2020

Sounds like the hand might have
stuck in its window, possibly from
a bit of debris.

Take Gun Scrubber and spray it
into hand's window. Just a quick
squirt and then work the action..
Oh, yeah, empty gun first.

edfardos · May 30, 2020

UncleEd said:
Sounds like the hand might have
stuck in its window, possibly from
a bit of debris.

Take Gun Scrubber and spray it
into hand's window. Just a quick
squirt and then work the action..
Oh, yeah, empty gun first.

so it possibly stuck in the up position? would that explain this?

i moved the hand up manually, the metal under it which essentially closes the window was loaded with gunk. cleaned.

gun scrubber? i have hoppes and clp

thanks!

Shark Bait · May 30, 2020

edfardos said:
I never had the courage to remove the side plate.. inspect and clean?

If you're not comfortable removing the side plate and internals and the problem continues, have S&W check it out.

Peak53 · May 30, 2020

edfardos said:
... ejector rod end-screw was really backed out upon cleaning at home, maybe 3 whole turns...craig

There's your problem right there

edfardos · May 30, 2020

thanks.. side plate removed, cleaned internals w/o removing them, with attention to the hand, which was gross.

s&w could look at it but it seems to function perfectly, which is what they would confirm. this was a one time thing, which is frustrating. my concern is if it could possibly fire out of battery? is that possible? i thought the index pawl would need to be up to fire, but thats not the case?

learned a lot so far! thanks!

edfardos · May 30, 2020

Peak53 said:
There's your problem right there

so a loose ejector rod end screw could cause this? no idea how it impacts indexing and rotation.

UncleEd · May 30, 2020

Might consider reloads that you
used. How smoky, dirty did they
leave gun? Some powders will
do that.

ContinentalOp · May 30, 2020

edfardos said:
so a loose ejector rod end screw could cause this? no idea how it impacts indexing and rotation.

I suppose if the ejector rod backed out enough, it might be able to cause the cylinder to bind and not rotate, but I have difficulty seeing how it could do that, but still allow you to cycle the trigger/hammer without something else going on. Also, if the ejector rod was backed out that much, you wouldn't have been able to open the cylinder without tightening it first.

But I freely admit I'm not a gunsmith.

edfardos · May 30, 2020

powder was low dose of 2400

I normally dont use 2400, but I had a box, and thought i'd shoot it up today.. so that was another variable! and yah, dirty. i normally use cfe-pistol in this little 44mag. light load with complete combustion.

it looks like the hand can be held aft against its spring by gunk, which would certainly cause this. squeaky clean now.

seeing how ive only seen s&w internals once in my life, would any of you concur with these observations? good2go?

thanks again!

ContinentalOp · May 30, 2020

Just my opinion, but if the gun cycles properly now when dry firing, I'd be taking it to the range and test it out.

You might want to try some cleaner burning ammo, though.

Oh, and keep an eye on that ejector rod.

Pine_Worker · May 30, 2020

My experience with 2400 powder is it is very dirty, leaves lots of residue.

edfardos · May 30, 2020

yup, all my experimental 2400 rounds are now down range, so just clean burning CFE-pistol from now on. I really do think the hand was held back by debris and failed to catch on the cylinder. one time deal. it has never been cleaned from the inside. lots of greasy, powdery gunk on it. i bet one flake of 2400 could hold it back too, given the tight clearance around it.

cool, will test and follow up. thanks again guys!

Nightowl · May 31, 2020

2400 does not download well. Not that it needs to be at max like H110, but at least somewhat stout!

edfardos · May 31, 2020

Nightowl said:
2400 does not download well. Not that it needs to be at max like H110, but at least somewhat stout!

yah, more than 17 grains of 2400 in an N-frame isnt user friendly either. not a good choice for the model 69.

Cylinder didn't rotate in double action?

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