15-3 no DA

[len917]

Hi Guys
My 15-3 will only work in SA--cocks back fine.
No DA. will not cock back. If I squeeze the trigger very slowly, and turn the cylinder a bit the trigger will then move and fire.
The cylinder is tight. If I push the cylinder unlock tab forward it will fire also. Holding gun up to the light shows me that the stop spring may not be staying down long enough for the cylinder to turn.
Has anyone had this concern and have a fix??
Thanks
Len

 

[armorer951]

Could be the hook on the trigger is not pulling the cylinder stop down and keeping it down long enough for the hand to engage the ratchet and start the rotation of the cylinder. If the trigger locks up, and will not move back, it's likely directly associated with the cylinder stop.

If you are able you might take the tension off of the mainspring and remove the sideplate. Attempt to cycle the action (mainspring removed) slowly in DA to see what the cylinder stop is doing. Could be a failed cylinder stop spring or a worn bevel on the stop, or wear and tear on the trigger hook. A broken cylinder stop frame stud would also be a possibility.

 

[Alk8944]

Your description is too ambiguous to even venture a guess as to what you are experiencing. There are conflicts between what you describe and what the first impression of the problem is from the title of the post.


Have someone more experienced with revolvers look at it for you, it sounds like this is your first S&W! If there is a gunsmith at your local gun shop start there

 

[len917]

No revolver expert smith's around here locally-they all are experts in semi's and rifles. I'll look further away from town. As far as owing S & W's I also have a 36-1. Both owned from the 60's-70's.
I guess it's harder to put into writing what is actually happening.

 

[steelslaver]

If it functioned at one time, I would take the sideplate off and give it a good cleaning. I suspect that the double action sear is hanging up. That is the little toggle like thing on the bottom of the hammer.

If a revolver was working and quits, first thing to check is for some sort of debris in the works. Check and clean under the extractor star really well also

 

[len917]

UPDATE: Finally took m-15 apart. 1- two screws (not the yoke screw) were very tight. When I got the plate off and removed the strain screw and mainspring the DA was operating properly--the bolt moved back to let it cock and continued as I pulled thr trigger. Everything looked good-no dirt, no over lube etc. no wear. Put it back together, tightened screws tight and BINGO no DA again. dismantled it, looked inside, no problem, put back together with screws just barely tight. WORKS now.
I guess the plate was pushing on something. I'ii keep my fingers crossed.

 

[armorer951]

The sideplate can sometimes "tell" you what the problem is concerning sideplate interference. From notes while at the armorer's school, a few possibilities for interference you can easily check. Marks will be shiny spots or drag lines.

Perhaps the rear leg of your bolt is rubbing or not fit correctly.

 

[Protocall_Design]

Sometimes the hammer and trigger pivot pin bosses on the sideplate are too tall. They are almost always not flat. In that case, I run a fine tooth flat file over them both at the same time to level them out and remove the high spots. This gives the sideplate side of the hammer and trigger a wide flat surface to run on. It sounds like you only have a tiny amount of something binding up the action.

 

[len917]

Thanks guys. If it happens again I'll take the plate off again and look for those marks

 

[len917]

Update: Finally got to disassemble 15-3. Found nothing out of the ordinary. Relieved strain etc. shot S/A & D/A. closed it up and no D/A. Finally found that the plate area around the trigger was under pressure when I screwed it back together so I removed the screws and plate again, reset the plate an slowly screwed down the plate but didn't tighten the screws all the way. D/A & S/A worked so I tightened 1/4" at a time until D/A stopped, backed off and now it'e fine. Screws are tight but not super tight. Shot at range a few times out still very accurate and plate screws have not moved. Seem like the cylinder stop had pressure on it from the plate being too tight.