Jammed up Smith Revolver.....

Hi,
Quick preface:

-I'm not a gun smith, I don't even play one on TV.

-I'm fairly familiar with basic maintenance and I'll say 'non-invasive customization' of semi-automatic pistols.

-My revolver knowledge is extremely limited so forgive any poor nomenclature.

-I don't actually know the model of the firearm (though i have pictures). Engravings show a caliber on barrel left, Smith And Wesson on barrel right, and some brand info below the cylinder on the right side. I thought this was weird and I checked 2 smith revolvers I have (hand me downs) and neither of those have a model number on it either at least not that I saw. FWIW, I think one of them is a model 15, the other is some flavor of a snub nosed .38 and both are prehistoric.


The background:

-A lady friend keeps a smith revolver for home defense. We were going to the range because what else do you do after brunch on a Saturday.

-Prior to going, I picked up the revolver, inspected the cylinder to see if it was loaded, determined it was unloaded and decided to dryfire.
-Upon trigger pull, the hammer came all the way back. The trigger wouldn't break. It's just "stuck".
-There is no discernible give in the trigger or the hammer, nor is there give in the hammer while attempting to manipulate the trigger as though I were trying to do a safe decock.

-I can no longer open the cylinder. I'm assuming this is because the hammer is back and this is by design.

-I don't know it for a fact, but I'd say there's a good chance that this is a sock drawer gun. Probably neither fired nor maintained often if at all




If anybody is curious, we did end up going to the range anyway. I rather like this one, so I did not hand her my 320.



So my question: What if anything should I do?
-If this sort of thing happens due to lack of maintenance and there's a maintenance procedure that a schmoe can do, I'd probably give it a go.

-If this sounds like a more complex problem, I'd probably try to locate a competent gun smith, but i don't even know where i'd start to look for a smith wheel gun guy/gal.
-I am confident that the firearm was not loaded when I started manipulating it because I'm something of a nut about checking the condition of my firearms. However, I can't do any sort of safe inspection right now without pointing a malfunctioning weapon at my noggin like an idiot. What approach would more experienced revolver guys use to check the status?

Assuming the revolvers are S&W target sighted K-frames with the original trigger stop it is possible that the trigger stop is mis-adjusted and preventing the trigger from being fully pulled.

You really haven't provided enough information to even make a good guess other than this. Any even half-way competent gunsmith should be able to diagnose what the issue is. If you would tell us where you are located a forum member in your area may be able to help! The problem is unless the gunsmith has the guns hands-on, no matter how qualified he is he can only be guessing as I am, and I have been working on S&Ws for over 60 years!

The easiest way to find a gunsmith is to go to a local gun shop and ask them who they use!

Is it possible to pull the hammer further back, pull the trigger, and ease the hammer forward?
Moon

Whew... Did the trigger pull feel normal until it stuck? DId the cylinder turn OK?

just a guess but if you're right that it's "a sock drawer gun. Probably neither fired nor maintained often if at all" it may be bady gummed up inside.

If you aren't familiar with basic disassembly (ie removing the sideplate to inspect the innards) I'd suggest removing the grips and soaking it overnight, barrel up, in a coffee can of mineral spirits or toluene and see if that loosens things up. If so, repeating the process may make it functional but a proper disassembly would probably be a good thing if it's otherwise functional.

Any chance of posting some pics which may help us ID it?

sticky revolver

I recently had a Highway patrolman with a similar problem. #1 couldn't open the cylinder, #2 hammer was sticky, it was slow to drop. #3 trigger wouldn't return. This was supposed to be an as new unfired revolver and it looked it. When I pulled the sideplate: rust on inner side of sideplate, rust on both sides of hammer, rust on trigger return spring housing, rust on the ejector lug under the barrel. This was a basically new revolver. It had set in a collection for years, the exterior of the gun showed no sign of rust, just internally. After cleanup it worked perfectly.
SWCA 892

I would remove the grips, remove the strain screw and see if that takes enough pressure off the mechanism to let the hammer down. Then I'd remove the side-plate and see what the heck is going on. Without having the revolver in front of me I won't guess what has jammed up, broken or bent, but that's what needs to be done.

The answer is under the side plate.

Re: safely checking loaded status of your gun, I applaud your over-the-top concerns. With minimal risk to your bodily integrity, you should be able to verify an empty cylinder by inserting a pencil/wooden dowel/chopstick in the barrel. I'd insert something in front of that cocked hammer to prevent it from falling, keep my fingers away from the trigger, and of course point the gun in a safe direction. Note how far the dowel goes into the gun then compare it along the outside. A loaded round will stop deep penetration into the cylinder. If the dowel goes all the way to the recoil shield, that chamber is empty. You can similarly check the other chambers with a small wire or toothpick or something.

Welcome to the S&W Forums.
Since you stated that you are familiar with basic maintenance, but nothing further than that, I would suggest having a qualified gunsmith inspect, clean and lubricate that revolver. It is likely that the lock work is seized due to either old, gummy lubricant or rust. Either way, it will require the removal of the side plate to diagnose and correct.

The gun is out of whack. You need to buy more whack.........

Alk8944 said:

Assuming the revolvers are S&W target sighted K-frames with the original trigger stop it is possible that the trigger stop is mis-adjusted and preventing the trigger from being fully pulled.

You really haven't provided enough information to even make a good guess other than this. Any even half-way competent gunsmith should be able to diagnose what the issue is. If you would tell us where you are located a forum member in your area may be able to help! The problem is unless the gunsmith has the guns hands-on, no matter how qualified he is he can only be guessing as I am, and I have been working on S&Ws for over 60 years!

The easiest way to find a gunsmith is to go to a local gun shop and ask them who they use!

Click to expand...

I appreciate the response. FWIW, I'm in Chicago.

Chicago!!??? Whens the next buyback?

halfmoonclip said:

Is it possible to pull the hammer further back, pull the trigger, and ease the hammer forward?
Moon

Click to expand...

Weirdly enough, no. There's no play forwards or backwards in the trigger, the hammer, or even when I try to manipulate both as though I were trying to do a decock on my da/sa pistol.



I have no particular experience with revolvers, but the fact that there's 0 give in either of those 2 parts -feels- like it should tell me something but I don't know enough about what's happening in the black box to take a guess.

oldbrownhat said:

Whew... Did the trigger pull feel normal until it stuck? DId the cylinder turn OK?

just a guess but if you're right that it's "a sock drawer gun. Probably neither fired nor maintained often if at all" it may be bady gummed up inside.

If you aren't familiar with basic disassembly (ie removing the sideplate to inspect the innards) I'd suggest removing the grips and soaking it overnight, barrel up, in a coffee can of mineral spirits or toluene and see if that loosens things up. If so, repeating the process may make it functional but a proper disassembly would probably be a good thing if it's otherwise functional.

Any chance of posting some pics which may help us ID it?

Click to expand...

Attached is the photo.



on your possible solution: would a solvent like hoppes 9 get me to the same place?

austintexas said:

I recently had a Highway patrolman with a similar problem. #1 couldn't open the cylinder, #2 hammer was sticky, it was slow to drop. #3 trigger wouldn't return. This was supposed to be an as new unfired revolver and it looked it. When I pulled the sideplate: rust on inner side of sideplate, rust on both sides of hammer, rust on trigger return spring housing, rust on the ejector lug under the barrel. This was a basically new revolver. It had set in a collection for years, the exterior of the gun showed no sign of rust, just internally. After cleanup it worked perfectly.
SWCA 892

Click to expand...

Weird. So the rust built up on the internals and not the outside? I *guess* if moisture or something builds up internally that makes sense but then it makes me wonder if there's a proper storage procedure of these things like with a gel pack or something.

AudieMurphy said:

Chicago!!??? Whens the next buyback?

Click to expand...

Excuse me, it's not a buy back so much as a redistribution program. lol


Glock handgun turned over to Chicago police wound up in the hands of a teenager, records show - Chicago Sun-Times

Just a warning. If you don't have experience removing a sideplate on a S&W revolver, you can really bugger it up. That would be a shame. Is that revolver one with an internal lock?

OutAtTheEdge said:

Re: safely checking loaded status of your gun, I applaud your over-the-top concerns. With minimal risk to your bodily integrity, you should be able to verify an empty cylinder by inserting a pencil/wooden dowel/chopstick in the barrel. I'd insert something in front of that cocked hammer to prevent it from falling, keep my fingers away from the trigger, and of course point the gun in a safe direction. Note how far the dowel goes into the gun then compare it along the outside. A loaded round will stop deep penetration into the cylinder. If the dowel goes all the way to the recoil shield, that chamber is empty. You can similarly check the other chambers with a small wire or toothpick or something.

Click to expand...

Hey this is great advice, thanks a million. I will use something to just run it down the barrel and feel for anything in the cylinder. It's so simple that i feel stupid for not thinking of it


I was *sort of* thinking that if i *were* to consider taking this thing apart I would wrap the grip and the hammer in like a tea towel. I'm guessing that hammer probably comes with enough force that trying to stop it entirely is either ill advised or unlikely to work so maybe just blunting the fall of the hammer is the right call.

austintexas said:

I recently had a Highway patrolman with a similar problem. #1 couldn't open the cylinder, #2 hammer was sticky, it was slow to drop. #3 trigger wouldn't return. This was supposed to be an as new unfired revolver and it looked it. When I pulled the sideplate: rust on inner side of sideplate, rust on both sides of hammer, rust on trigger return spring housing, rust on the ejector lug under the barrel. This was a basically new revolver. It had set in a collection for years, the exterior of the gun showed no sign of rust, just internally. After cleanup it worked perfectly.
SWCA 892

Click to expand...

Same here. I bought a LNIB 15-2 a few years ago. Looked unfired but sluggish. Popping the side plate showed rust and sludge. Full disassembly and clean and it’s good as new. I tear down every used revolver I have owned and see. Some nasty stuff in there. Especially in sock drawer guns.

You should be able to manipulate the thumb piece to release cylinder. This is only thing that would prevent cylinder from opening. Also hold up to light and see if there is clearance between cylinder face and forcing cone.