.22 Outdoorsman Cylinder will not open

[bigolddave]

Took my pre-war Outdoorsman to the range a little while back. Loaded six rounds of a standard velocity brand I was not familiar with. First two rounds fired, then cylinder bound up. Slight wiggle, maybe five degrees. Cylinder pin will rotate perhaps a quarter turn. Suspect soft brass setting back, or cylinder pin binding. Hammer will retract slightly. May be firing pin is stuck in case. Any ideas for a gentle home remedy?

 

[StakeOut]

So the revolver still has live rounds in it?
A loose ejector rod is often the cause but it could be something else.
If you remove the grips and side plate the bolt will be in view.
Try placing a small screwdriver between the rear of the bolt and the frame and push the bolt forward to move the center pin that holds the cylinder in.

 

[Hondo44]

Were you able to open the cyl yet?

If your sure the extractor rod hasn't unscrewed which will prevent the cyl from opening: recognize on your prewar .22 the thread is right handed.

If the firing pin is stuck forward the back end of it will be flush with the frame in the hammer channel. Spray Lubricant and wiggle the cyl back and forth until the firing pin pops out sightly.

If cyl is still stuck, you just need to push and hold the cyl release thumbpiece fully forward and apply pressure from the right side of the frame and gently but forcefully push the cyl open. The brass case heads will give before you can damage the cyl.


Binding cyl:
Be sure the chamber recesses at the mouth of the chambers are clean. Any crud in them gets pounded flat every time the cartridges are fired until the crud is not evident. A toothpick works well to clean them. And clean under the extractor star for built up crud. These are common causes for binding cylinders. The hammer does not offer enough leverage to overcome a binding cyl.

"Cyl lock up" due to a loose extractor rod only means one thing, that the cyl is 'locked' in the gun and will not release to swing open. It's caused by the front end of the extractor rod extending beyond the center lock pin because it's partially unscrewed, effectively making it longer than the center pin. Therefore the center pin cannot push the locking bolt in the barrel under lug far enough to disengage it from the extended ext rod tip.