Ever had a revolver fail?

[Double-O-Dave]

I've only had one mechanical failure with a revolver in over 50 years of shooting. I was at a local range shooting my Model 625 when the cylinder wouldn't go back into the cylinder recess when I was trying to reload it. A check revealed a tiny piece of walnut media under the extractor star. I flicked the piece of media out with a fingernail and went back to shooting. I also learned to clean the primer hole of each shell casing after tumbling and before repriming and reloading each cartridge.

Regards,

Dave

 

[drummer007]

For years I have run matches at our gun club (IDPA style, bowling pin, straight target, etc). EVERY match one or more autoloaders hang up. Have never seen a revolver hang up.

 

[johngalt]

My experience has been that while revolvers tend to be very reliable, when they do fail it is difficult to get them back into operation quickly. The most common failure for me has been the ejector rod unscrewing and debris getting under the extractor star, binding up the cylinder.

When an auto malfunction, usually it is easily cleared by manually cycling the slide and ejecting the problem cartridge. Most auto malfunctions are due to magazines.

 

[vinconco]

I was shooting my 625 in a IPSC match and had the cylinder fall off during a reload. It seems the crane retaining screw had backed out allowing the cylinder assembly to fall out.... imagine my surprise. Totally avoidable failure but a failure nonetheless.

 

[nyeti]

My experience has been that while revolvers tend to be very reliable, when they do fail it is difficult to get them back into operation quickly. The most common failure for me has been the ejector rod unscrewing and debris getting under the extractor star, binding up the cylinder.

When an auto malfunction, usually it is easily cleared by manually cycling the slide and ejecting the problem cartridge. Most auto malfunctions are due to magazines.

Revolver versus Auto Reliability is simply a different kind of reliability. This also tends to be true of shotguns vs. AR's.

The semi auto military and service guns will break parts, or have maintenance and parts related malfunctions (often magazine related or ammo due to needing the ammunition to essentially function the weapon) that are easily fixed in most cases when they pop up. With revolvers, they tend to flat "break" where it is a totally disabled gun that needs a gunsmith to fix, or they have ammunition related issues that also tend to be a kind of thing that requires tools to mitigate. I started in cop world with revolvers. You were not going to shoot several thousand rounds in a training class without cleaning your revolver-period. They were not good for long term sustained shooting. They needed to be cleaned and lubed regularly. This is the polar opposite of high quality service pistols of the modern polymer soul-less variety that will go tens of thousands of rounds without issue or cleaning (they will need lubrication) as long as quality ammunition is used.

Where revolvers are very reliable is in the load and leave. If it was a good, mechanically sound revolver loaded with quality ammunition and simply just "left" in a drawer, glove box, etc., in a decade or two you could likely pick it up and you would reliably get perfect function. Same with many of those pocket and ankle revolvers that are loaded and carried A TON and rarely shot. Usually much more reliable than their small auto brethren. Realistically, for a majority of America, revolvers make much better sense for their administrative handling simplicity, and level of long term reliability for how much most people tend to actually shoot, which is rarely and usually a single box of ammunition at a time. For those shooting a lot with very high round counts, the auto is the way to go. I spent a decade shooting 50,000 rounds a year and another decade of shooting 10-20,000 rounds a year, and that was not going to get done with a revolver without a real gunsmith around. I have three Glocks with over 50,000 rounds a piece through them without a single malfunction and very minimal parts replacement all done at the user level. My current HK service pistols are stellar in reliability as well.

Then you have my wife's model 65 3". She shot it a few times during her life. It sat in the same drawer with the same ammunition for the 13 years we were married till she died of cancer at a young age. The gun functions perfectly and my 13 year old daughter has it and will likely serve her for her entire life as a bedside gun as well. She has other stuff she shoots, but I predict that 65 will always be the go to nightstand gun. They are GREAT in this role and I prefer them over autos for this type of use.

 

[tacotime]

Makes a lot of sense, good distinction about the functional differences, and some impressive stats also.

Glad to see the majority of fails noted so far are cleaning, maintenance and ammo issues.

I agree, seems like a revolver failure takes more serious work to cure.

I had one once where what they simply call the "bolt" that the cylinder release thumb piece operates, failed and completely disabled the revolver. The "block" piece of the bolt that pushes the cylinder pin forward when trying to open the cylinder, broke off from the rest of it, meaning the cylinder could not be opened, and the broken piece then fell down in the hammer area, blocking the hammer out, so no cocking possible and no DA or SA trigger function remained. A complete stoppage of use.

Side plate had to be removed to diagnose and unjam the works and manually push the pin to open the cylinder to remove live rounds. These were mild loaded HB wadcutters and the gun shows very little signs of firing in its time (actually an early 1970's gun).

Luckily this happened on the range. Close examination of the part showed the block part was apparently defective, only barely attached to the rest of the part in a small area, and that junction failed.

Additional issue - bottom of jaw was bruised when it hit the ground.

 

[Macinaw]

I was shooting my 625 in a IPSC match and had the cylinder fall off during a reload. It seems the crane retaining screw had backed out allowing the cylinder assembly to fall out.... imagine my surprise. Totally avoidable failure but a failure nonetheless.

Same thing happened to me at last weeks monthly Steel Challenge competition. Mine was a model 617. I was able to unload and bag it. Took it to the safe table and tightened the screw. Back in line to finish the stage.

 

[Leatherman-Cowboy]

I shoot SASS with 250 lc. Let me tell ya',,,,these revolvers take a beating as we all shoot very fast, and lots of ammo in just one match. I have never seen a revolver fail-period. Improper cleaning etc can lead to heavy fouling. I always feel much more safe with my revolvers.

Thank you

 

[pinto]

I had one once where what they simply call the "bolt" that the cylinder release thumb piece operates, failed and completely disabled the revolver. The "block" piece of the bolt that pushes the cylinder pin forward when trying to open the cylinder, broke off from the rest of it, meaning the cylinder could not be opened, and the broken piece then fell down in the hammer area, blocking the hammer out, so no cocking possible and no DA or SA trigger function remained. A complete stoppage of use.

Side plate had to be removed to diagnose and unjam the works and manually push the pin to open the cylinder to remove live rounds. These were mild loaded HB wadcutters and the gun shows very little signs of firing in its time (actually an early 1970's gun).

Luckily this happened on the range. Close examination of the part showed the block part was apparently defective, only barely attached to the rest of the part in a small area, and that junction failed.

Additional issue - bottom of jaw was bruised when it hit the ground.

Same happened to be whilst firing my Model 60. Locked the gun up tighter than a tick with 3 live rounds in the cylinder.
The offending (forged) part:

 

[wild47]

Have a mdl. 69 L-Frame .44 mag., firearm had approximately 140 rounds through it... mostly .44 specials. I returned to S&W because the cylinder would not rotate in double action. Once it was repaired and sent back the repair sheet said that the Sear and Spring were replaced.

I've had repair problems with revolvers, semis, single actions, and rifles. As the man said, nothing mechanical is for sure. The good thing is that no matter the brand... so, far they've all backed up their product without fail.

 

[shawn mccarver]

A Sheriff once told me he would "rather have six for sure than fifteen maybe."

While we all admire the high reliability of the six gun, I am just wondering what revolver failure experiences may be out there? (not including any internal lock related failures please).

The sheriff in question apparently did not shoot regularly or in great quantities, or he was just blowing back out his mouth a catchy phrase he heard once. He probably also would have said, if given enough time, the old phrase, "I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6." Personally, I would rather NOT be tried by 12, and I would rather NOT be carried by 6. But, I do appreciate the sentiment.

If you shoot long enough, you will have a revolver lock up, and when it does, it is not a quick fix. And, a failure can be induced with just a tiny little bit of grit or sliver of lead. And that is if you clean regularly, only go to the range, etc. Imagine how susceptible a revolver would be to the elements of dust, mud, etc. in a combat zone.

I was shooting a Model 27 back in the 70s. The action locked up tighter than a drum. Sideplate removal (with appropriate tools, etc.) revealed a TINY sliver of lead had gotten inside the action. It fell out upon careful disassembly. Once reassembled, the revolver worked like a charm.

I put it away and began using the Colt 1911 in .45 ACP, the light that "Uncle Jeff" had been trying to light, having finally come on.

A "jam" is FAR EASIER to clear with the auto. The 27 required a trip home, to the work bench, gunsmith screwdrivers, a non-marring hammer, a special tool to remove and reinstall the rebound, etc., etc.

The 1911 has rarely failed, and it has never failed in such a way that a quick "rack" of the slide did not bring it back into full operation. Apparently, the military WAS right when, in 1910 or so, it decided the auto pistol was more reliable.

The "jam" with a revolver rarely happens, but when it does, you really are "out of the action" if it happens with your revolver. And, you will switch to the auto for "serious" purposes. It is only a matter of time.

 

[slabside2]

The hammer stud broke on my 442.

 

[jeffrey]

I have had several revolver failures in the last ten years or so, all on the range, thank goodness.

The hand snapped off my brand new 37-2.

The hammer nose snapped off my newish 629-4.

The crane cracked and broke on my 66-5 in the middle of an IDPA match.

With these three parts failures, CS at S&W told me that it was a failure to properly heat treat the parts and that I was not the first to report the problem.

Last year, I sent my 686-5 back to S&W with a request to change out the 4-inch barrel for a 3-inch barrel. While taking off the old barrel, they discovered that it had been mis-threaded when originally screwed in -- and they destroyed the frame in the process of removing it.

I must say that S&W made good on all of these misadventures, sending me a new hand and hammer nose, replacing the crane on my 66-5 (on their nickel), and sending me a brand new 686-6 to replace my 686-5 (although I was less than pleased to exchange a IL-less gun for one with a IL).

On the other hand, I have shot my Glock 19 and H&K P30 many thousand rounds more than any of my revolvers -- in classes and IDPA matches -- with not a single failure to eject or failure to feed. With respect to the Glock, I have never had a problem of any kind. With respect to the H&K, I had my first failure recently: the trigger return spring snapped in two. (A cheap and easy fix.)

So although I have great faith in my revolvers (all of which I am very fond), were my life to depend on it, I'd rather have my Glock 19. So far, it's been 15 for sure.

 

[Macinaw]

Another good reason to carry "two"!

This is a photo of my friend "Lightload" shooting my J frames at a Cowboy Action match.

 

[rwsmith]

Any failures that I've had......

Any failures that I've had have been cause by my reloads that had high primers or didn't chamber correctly. I do much better with some experience and plunk test my rounds. I also use a hand primer and inspect each case that I prime. If I load a cylinder of defense ammo, I rotate the cylinder fully to make sure nothing binds.

 

[Edmo]

Revolver failures? I've had three...

1) Model 60 no-dash made in the mid-80s. The hammer pivot pin sheared off. I sent it to S&W and they replaced the pin on my dime.

2) BG38 action locked up and after repair it would misfire. Replaced by S&W.

3) 642-1 trigger pivot pin sheared off. Replaced by S&W.

Edmo

 

[theoneff]

NO not me

 

[bananaman]

NEVER a SMITH! Was shooting with a friend, and the firing pin broke on his Ruger SP101. Bob

 

[bummer]

Had a Model 15 ejector rod unscrew while firing and a Trooper Mark III trigger snap off at the trigger pivot. If it's mechanical it has a good chance of malfunctioning or breaking

 

[tacotime]

Pinto, that is what my broken bolt looked like except the broken area at the junction was shaped a little different, and I would say was even a little smaller of a connection of the two sections than yours appears to be.

I had a spare part and was able to drop it in later after the sideplate was removed, but the failure at the time it occurred was a full stop.