I recently picked up a nice used 686-4 plus. I took it out yesterday to shoot a steel match. It kept binding on the 6th shot. I was using factory ammo and all of the ejected primers/brass looked uniform. Lockup and end shake are both excellent. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
686-4 7 shot cylinder binding
- Thread starter flanker08
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cylinder "bind"
Lots of possible causes for what you refer to as "cylinder binding". Things to check include the following: loose, bent or damaged extractor rod(run out), extractor, or center pin... improperly fitted/damaged front locking lug... dirt/debris under the extractor, on the yoke barrel and or inside the cylinder assy itself....yoke assy out of line...incorrect barrel/cylinder gauge(too tight)...bolt too long(binding)...end shake on cyl or yoke, or both....improperly fitted yoke screw....the list goes on and on!
Without being able to actually evaluate the problem hands on, it's very difficult to diagnose. In my experience dealing with service guns, the most common cause of the problem you're describing could be attributed to dirt and debris, normal wear and tear, and/or damage to the cylinder assy due to mishandling.
If you are familiar with the internals, I would start out with a thorough disassembly, cleaning, inspection of the parts. Quite often you can determine exactly what system is causing the problem during re-assembly. Additional information can be found in the "FAQ's" section at the top of the "S&W-smithing" part of the forum.
Lots of possible causes for what you refer to as "cylinder binding". Things to check include the following: loose, bent or damaged extractor rod(run out), extractor, or center pin... improperly fitted/damaged front locking lug... dirt/debris under the extractor, on the yoke barrel and or inside the cylinder assy itself....yoke assy out of line...incorrect barrel/cylinder gauge(too tight)...bolt too long(binding)...end shake on cyl or yoke, or both....improperly fitted yoke screw....the list goes on and on!
Without being able to actually evaluate the problem hands on, it's very difficult to diagnose. In my experience dealing with service guns, the most common cause of the problem you're describing could be attributed to dirt and debris, normal wear and tear, and/or damage to the cylinder assy due to mishandling.
If you are familiar with the internals, I would start out with a thorough disassembly, cleaning, inspection of the parts. Quite often you can determine exactly what system is causing the problem during re-assembly. Additional information can be found in the "FAQ's" section at the top of the "S&W-smithing" part of the forum.
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Thanks for the replies.
The front of the cylinder was very clean. The gun almost looks new. I don't have a feeler gauge handy, but the B/C gap doesn't look abnormal. It was just interesting to me that it was always on the 6th shot. I thought that I was short stroking the trigger, but I'd manually turn the cylinder until it locked and the the trigger still couldn't be pulled.
I will keep shooting it and see if I can diagnose a pattern/reproduce the results. I put 100rds through it the night before the competition and there were zero issues.
The front of the cylinder was very clean. The gun almost looks new. I don't have a feeler gauge handy, but the B/C gap doesn't look abnormal. It was just interesting to me that it was always on the 6th shot. I thought that I was short stroking the trigger, but I'd manually turn the cylinder until it locked and the the trigger still couldn't be pulled.
I will keep shooting it and see if I can diagnose a pattern/reproduce the results. I put 100rds through it the night before the competition and there were zero issues.
This might be a long shot, but what do the fired primers look like? Is there a small "projection" from the middle of the primer sticking out? This was the problem with the 686-0 and -1's, and oversize hammer nose bushing allowing the center of the primer to extrude back into the hole and the "projection" of the primer rubbing on the recoil shield and after two or three rounds they would lock up.
This sounds like a problem I had and the answer I gave on another thread.
"I have a question. Does it bind after shooting a several cylinders worth of ammo? I had this problem in a SW 625 JM. It turned out that it was a loose extractor rod housing. It had become loose when firing and started backing off (unscrewing) until it finally pushed the cylinder back against the inside face of the revolver housing. I'd tighten it up finger tight, but it invariably work itself loose after a couple dozen rounds and I finally removed the extractor rod housing from the star extractor/cylinder yoke and looked at it very carefully. With a small fine detailing swab (very tiny) I put some locktite on the very few threads where it locked everything down and put it back on. I haven't had the problem since, but you have to be very very careful where you put the Loctite."
"I have a question. Does it bind after shooting a several cylinders worth of ammo? I had this problem in a SW 625 JM. It turned out that it was a loose extractor rod housing. It had become loose when firing and started backing off (unscrewing) until it finally pushed the cylinder back against the inside face of the revolver housing. I'd tighten it up finger tight, but it invariably work itself loose after a couple dozen rounds and I finally removed the extractor rod housing from the star extractor/cylinder yoke and looked at it very carefully. With a small fine detailing swab (very tiny) I put some locktite on the very few threads where it locked everything down and put it back on. I haven't had the problem since, but you have to be very very careful where you put the Loctite."
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