Had my 6.5" 500 mag at the range today and suddenly it got very stiff in SA (almost locked up). DA works fine. Any hints as to what's going on? No extractor screw problems (first thing I checked). But wont index in SA. 
.500 issue
- Thread starter delcrossv
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I would take off the side plate and give it a thorough, detailed cleaning. Plenty of you tube videos to guide you through it.
OP
No, the extractor rod ( my 460V would loosen it and bind the cylinder). Here, the cylinder is fine and free and the gun functions fine in DA. But i cant get it to index by pilling the hammer back.
F75gunslinger
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I think he means he checked the ejector rod for tightness.
OP
Yep. Exactly.
Fix what ails you
Swing out the empty cylinder & spin it lightly with the barrel pointed down. Does it spin freely & slow to a stop? Or does it bind & stop quickly. Sound smooth or rough?
If the later, remove the cylinder from the yoke & clean the powder residue off the yoke's barrel. Don't lubricate, leave clean but dry. Resume shooting until it happens again; repeat as needed. This prescription has unlimited refills.
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Swing out the empty cylinder & spin it lightly with the barrel pointed down. Does it spin freely & slow to a stop? Or does it bind & stop quickly. Sound smooth or rough?
If the later, remove the cylinder from the yoke & clean the powder residue off the yoke's barrel. Don't lubricate, leave clean but dry. Resume shooting until it happens again; repeat as needed. This prescription has unlimited refills.
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OP
It really isnt a cylinder issue. Gun was clean when the problem started. And anyway if it was the cylinder sticking, it wouldn't cycle in DA either.
Not in my experience, but I guess you know better.
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buck460XVR
Member
Sometimes with the big magnums the fired case gets driven against the recoil shield and binds the action. This is generally a problem when using ammo that gives sticky/difficult extraction. The reason it may be more pronounced in SA over DA may be a leverage thing.
Toolguy
Member
Check and make sure the strain screw isn't backing out. If it does, the end of the mainspring can block the hammer from cocking all the way.
OP
Took the grip and sideplate off. Mainspring load screw is fine. Seems that the piece in front of the trigger is binding. It's supposed to toggle to let the cylinder index forward when the hammer is drawn back, but it's not. No obvious metal flaking, and I'm not about to disassemble it further. It's under warranty so back to S&W- (ugh) Hope I get it back in a reasonable time. Maybe I'll ask for a PC trigger job/polish while it's there. 
OP
Still does it with the pistol unloaded. see above- I think it's a lockwork issue.
The piece in front of the trigger is a cylinder stop. It has a slotted hole in it so it can slide for and aft enough to get by the piece on the trigger that operates it. It has a spring in it that goes into a blind hole in frame above very front of trigger guard. I would take some brake cleaner and spray the snot out of that and the rest of the action with side plate off. If you remove the main spring you can operate the action with side plate off using finger pressure to act as main spring. Don't operate it with mainspring as the tension is hard on the pins with only one side supported. Make sure trigger is going all the way forward and the little lip in front of it is engaging the cylinder stop.
But, if the gun will cycle correctly in double action, but not in single, I suspect a problem with the double action sear not operating correctly and hanging up the hammer. If you don't know what your doing a trip back the the factory is best.
But, if the gun will cycle correctly in double action, but not in single, I suspect a problem with the double action sear not operating correctly and hanging up the hammer. If you don't know what your doing a trip back the the factory is best.
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OP
I agree. A 1000 dollar gun isn't a good place to try learn-by-doing.
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