Clearing Jammed Revolvers - Mas AYOOB

[Moo Moo]

Permission granted by author, Old periodical now OOB

Copyrighted Material - Guns and Survival 1988 - "Clearing Jammed Revolvers" by Massad AYOOB

(I wrote to Mr AYOOB a week ago requesting permission to use his article. I have not received a reply to date. Should permission not be given, I will remove the article straight away. I believed the importance of this information was imperative for those who CCW Revolvers. I hope this Thread complies).

How would you fix a jammed revolver in a Self Defence (defense) situation? I believe there's lot to talk about from this article.

 

[ContinentalOp]

This is the method I practice (lightly...full-force practice can damage your gun):

The Revolver Malfunction Drill

Another point: For those of us with snubs, you can actually pull the extractor star farther than you might think, in the event you end up with a case under the star.

 

[wadcutter1]

To be honest, this article seems a bit silly. I've never had a revolver jam, which is exactly why I like them. I have had light primer strikes, but I wouldn't carry a revolver that suffered from light strikes. I also occasionally have problems counting to six, but it's probably too late in life to learn advanced mathematics.

 

[ContinentalOp]

To be honest, this article seems a bit silly. I've never had a revolver jam

Good for you, but just because you've never had a revolver jam doesn't mean it doesn't happen, or that it won't happen to you.

 

[WR Moore]

I went to work for an employer that still had revolvers. We shot them a lot. Having had revolvers fail to function as intended, I found the link ContinentalOp posted a bit off.

Trigger cannot be pulled: Reach up, put a thumb on the hammer spur and YANK! There are numerous reasons why this may happen. Cocking the hammer cures most of them.

One failure it won't cure is a bullet stuck between cylinder and forcing cone. If it doesn't cure your problem, go to Plan B, possibly followed by Plan C. You do have a Plan B don't you? That might include a keychain with a dejammer rod (about 5/16 inch) that you can use on both revolvers and semi-autos to clear bore/chamber obstructions. Don't have a hammer spur? Plan B. Hammer won't move? Plan B.

Fired cases won't eject with your thumb? Whack the ejector rod with your palm or any available solid object (wall, door etc).

Beating on the gun like the article suggests may not work and there's no warranty that if you do get it reloaded, it'll function. Plan B.

I'm trying not to be unjustly negative, but the fact is that the efforts take time. Not using time to your best advantage is (beside use of cover) probably the greatest problem when facing a threat. Napoleon: "Ask me for anything but time!"

About post #1: Copyright on the material posted belongs to whoever published it, NOT the author. Some sources freely grant reproduction permission. Others don't.

 

[ContinentalOp]

Valid points. I will add that if you're not familiar with Grant Cunningham, before he retired from gunsmithing a few years ago he was considered one of the top revolversmiths around. He also helped design the Kimber K6S. I would think he'd know a thing or two about getting a gun back into action.

And he did mention that if something didn't work, like a bullet stuck in the cylinder gap, you'd better have a Plan B.

 

[Massad Ayoob]

Moo Moo, I never received a letter from you. I did, however, find your PM of June 12 when I logged in tonight.

The publisher, Harris Publications, went out of business a few years ago. I don't know who if anyone owns the rights to older articles there. During that period I only sold "first North American serial rights," which allowed me to retain the right to reprint.

Fine with me. As to Harris, we often got requests to copy articles for training purposes, and the policy was to grant permission so long as nothing in the articles was changed or deleted, and credit was given to both publication and author. Distributing it as you did would have been fine. I would personally consider that policy still in effect.

Best of luck,
Mas

 

[fredj338]

To be honest, this article seems a bit silly. I've never had a revolver jam, which is exactly why I like them. I have had light primer strikes, but I wouldn't carry a revolver that suffered from light strikes. I also occasionally have problems counting to six, but it's probably too late in life to learn advanced mathematics.

If you never had a revo jam, I would say you dont shoot a whole lot.

 

[stansdds]

I have had revolver jams. On S&W revolvers, the ejector rod can unscrew and make opening the cylinder a serious challenge. A tight barrel-cylinder gap can cause a tie up if debris gets caught between the barrel and cylinder. Debris under the extractor star can make it hard to close a cylinder and prevent the cylinder from rotating. These are the failures I have experienced thus far, I know other failures are possible.

 

[madmikeb]

I have shot revolvers pretty much exclusively for many years, and I have had many of the above issues happen at one time or another. All of these issues have been during matches when the round count get up to 80 or 100 rounds or so, even then its pretty rare.

It's my understanding that most encounters a civilian who ccw's would face has a pretty low round count. I am pretty confident that I can get a cylinder full off without issues.

I maintain my guns, a big part is keeping them clean, and every time the're cleaned all screws and the ejector rod are checked for tightness. Every night when they are removed from the holster they are wiped down and looked over. Also, all my ccw revolvers are cut for moonclips so that eliminates the old case slipped under the ejector star issue.

I have way more confidence in my revolvers than I ever would a semi.

 

[fredj338]

Nothng fails if it sits in the safe or makes it to the flat range for 100rds. Everything fails if you put it thru tough field tests. What I do know, revo failure is pretty much a terminal event in a fight.

 

[flagman1776]

I paid significant personal funds to take a training program by nationally recognized trainers. I was using my duty gear. BUGs weren't allowed. The only thing my PD provided was practice ammo, 38swc reloads. On one drill, myself and my partner were to exit the "patrol unit" take cover on the drivers side and engage 2 hostiles on the passenger's side. My first round was a squib, lodged in the forcing cone and locked the cylinder. I didn't carry a range rod. I don't even think I knew there was such a thing other than on a cleaning bench. There was nothing I could do except take cover.
Both myself and my partner were judged "dead". Since I couldn't engage, it was presumed my perp had gone around the front of the car to outflank us.
I have never had a squib with any ammo before or since. I immediately added a suitable brass rod to my key chain. I also carried a BUG.
Lesson Learned.

 

[Fastbolt]

While it's possible for a mechanical problem to arise with a DA revolver (being machines, after all) ...

... I've usually noticed, and have been told (as an armorer), that as long as a revolver is well maintained (think periodic inspections, as might be done by an armorer); the shooter doesn't short-stroke the trigger; the shooter uses good quality major American factory ammunition; the revolver is cleaned and inspected if unintentionally dropped into loose sand, dirt or standing water (or other contaminant); the revolver isn't improperly "cleaned" (wide ranging topic), that a revolver is a pretty reliable handgun, all things considered.

Not as susceptible to shooter-induced grip issues, nor does it rely upon the condition of a magazine spring, magazine feed lips, magazine seating, nor a recoil spring/recoil spring assembly.

To be fair, the same owner/shooter penchant for "modifications & improvements" as semiauto pistols may experience can potentially cause problems to occur with revolvers.

Revolvers, especially service revolvers used in LE, were often considered prime candidates for daily neglect and being subjected to abusive conditions. In older days blued revolvers left in leather holsters could develop rust. In my younger LE days it wasn't uncommon to see guys keep an extra gym towel in their lockers, so they could wipe down their blued and stainless revolvers after working shifts in wet weather, leaving them on a locker shelf, and then hang their leather gear up to dry out for the next shift.

Some didn't appear to take such simple precautions, though, as every now and then a S&W revolver or Colt Python would require some attention by the revolver armorer in order for it to be able fire and function for the qual course.

Revolvers may be susceptible to damage caused by being dropped, though. An example would be one dropped onto the right side of the revolver, specifically the cylinder, which could tweak the yoke (or crane, if you'd rather).

 

[WR Moore]

I have recollections of seeing a bunch of guns from a major city force after the owners retired and they wanted them "prettied up" as they'd had to buy them originally. Most spent about a week soaking in kerosene before the cylinders would open. Now some came from the traffic division, but certainly not all.

Let's not talk about removing the ammunition from the chambers.

 

[Marylander]

FROM fLAGMAN 1776: " My first round was a squib, lodged in the forcing cone and locked the cylinder:
Now I had one of those lately. Bullet lodged in forcing cone, and did not clear the brass. Cylinder locked up tighter then "Dicks's Hat band". Could not cock the hammer, etc etc. I cleared the problem with serious effort, and replaced a few parts. Piece now back working well.
Have not read the referenced article, does it cover such a situation?
If not, what is the best way to proceed. With a rod, is it possible to push the bullet back into the case far enough for the cylinder to open?

 

[WR Moore]

Depending upon bullet weight and cylinder length, it might not have to enter the case to free the cylinder up. It might help to hold the firearm vertically to help align bullet & case. If you're correct and the base of the bullet is still in the case, should be a snap to push the bullet back into the case.

 

[Fastbolt]

...

Let's not talk about removing the ammunition from the chambers.

You've probably heard apocryphal stories of someone in the Old West keeping paper "burying money" rolled up in one of their revolver cylinder charge holes, right? Well ...

One morning we got to see some crusty senior guy blow a $100 bill to hell and gone during a range qual, turning it to confetti. Apparently, he'd forgotten to remove a rolled up bill from his service Python's barrel, where he'd hidden it. Guess it worked so well as a hidden stash spot that he'd forgotten about it, and it seemingly didn't dawn on him what had created all that confetti when he fired that first round ... for a moment.

Not someone who usually got worked up about things, but he was funny to watch that day on the range.

 

[flagman1776]

Yes, after the drill, someone else came up with a range rod which I inserted down the barrel and bumped it against something hard and was able to push the lead swc back enough to open the cylinder.
Clearing your primary revolver under fire should probably be Plan B. A NY Reload (resorting to a back up gun) would be preferable in a gunfight.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

How does a revolver jam? I used to shoot a lot more than I do now but I still shoot wheelguns and I still cannot figure out how one jams.

This doesn't count squib loads or dollar bills rolled up into a SAA cylinder. Squibs are not jams - they are disasters but quite different from some mechanical jam.

 

[ContinentalOp]

How does a revolver jam? I used to shoot a lot more than I do now but I still shoot wheelguns and I still cannot figure out how one jams.

This doesn't count squib loads or dollar bills rolled up into a SAA cylinder. Squibs are not jams - they are disasters but quite different from some mechanical jam.

Read the posts and the articles. They explain it.