cylinder latch "safety" or "lock"

[AnthonyF]

Watched this buffalo bore ammunition video on YT the other day and he said something I had not heard before.

At about the 2min 33sec mark he mentions there is a cylinder latch "safety" or "lock" present in the .44 Magnum Mountain Gun which isn't present in the .45 Colt.

This apparently prevents the cylinder from opening inadvertently under the heavy recoil of the .44 Magnum.

Says it's a $5.00 part that can be added to the .45 Colt if you want to shoot loads a bit hotter than SAAMI psi specs.

Not interested in shooting "ruger only" loads out of my .45 Colt Mountain Gun which is why I own Rugers.

However, it would be nice to be able to shoot some moderately higher pressure loads on occasion.

Does anyone know which part he is referring to and if it is DIY?

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJdCgyMeoM"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJdCgyMeoM[/ame]

 

[stansdds]

I have no idea what he is talking about unless it is the internal hammer lock, often referred to as the "Hillary Hole", but that is a feature of all K-frame and larger S&W revolvers since 2001 until this year, when it appears that S&W may be eliminating the internal lock.

 

[Protocall_Design]

I think it may be the trigger actuated cylinder release block that was part of the endurance package on some of the more heavy recoil N frames. It goes up and down, activated by an extra length hand pivot pin.

In order to add it to a gun, the frame would have to have the track for the part already milled or someone would have to machine the track for it. Also, getting the part and the hand can sometimes be difficult.

 

[stansdds]

Looking to expand my knowledge. Wouldn't all post-endurance package introduction N-frame's have the cylinder release block?

 

[Protocall_Design]

No, that feature was only on some, but I don't know which ones have it and which don't.

 

[stansdds]

Thank you, after making my post, I searched the forums and found that the Model 25 lacks the hammer block of the Model 29. Maybe it's not a big issue unless you are shooting hot 45 Colt loads, which is probably not the best thing to do with the S&W N-frame 45 Colts.

 

[adwjc]

safety

years ago, when revolvers were the standard Police firearm, I remember someone trying to sell us a conversion to our revolvers that would lock them up at will.
They cut a slot below the cylinder release that allowed the latch to drop downward and prevent the hammer from moving. It got some traction with some guys who were deemed "nervous" by the rest of us. This was in the mod to late '70s.