My 625-8 is binding and I can't figure where

[fuzzymcnab]

Bought this gun 6 years ago and have hardly used it. Sent it back to S&W when I first got it because the chambers where so tight. Really did not feel like shooting after that.
Took it to the range today and the cylinder began to bind after 6 rounds. I have inspected all the usual culprits. Cylinder to forcing cone fit, hand, cylinder stop, The action works fine and the cylinder spins freely when the cylinder is open. I am lost on what else to check.
fuzzy.

 

[Fishinfool]

Is the ejector rod tight? How about debris under the extractor star? High primers?

Larry

 

[bigtubby]

Your moon clips could be bent, if you look at the firing pin bushing it is mushroomed out from the forcing cone or could be some brass that is a little thicker and dragging on the bushing. Is it a constant bind ?

 

[justintyme]

Moonclips could be bent as stated above, and my 625-3 doesn't like all of my Plastic moonclips, some bind a little, no problems with the metal ones unless bent. Not hard to bend them a smidge.

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Thanks guys, all good suggestions. Unfortunately, it will hardly rotate when fully empty, so ammo and moon clips not the issue. The action works fine and the cylinder spins freely when the cylinder is open, but not when closed.
Fishin fool, my best guess so far maybe the ejector, but I cant see a problem. It is not bent (to the naked eye while spinning) the plunger in the frame moves in and out under spring pressure normally. Also, the pin in the middle of the extractor star moves in and out normally. I am stumped.
fuzzy

 

[happy jackson]

Have you checked to see if the front of the cylinder is rubbing on the rear of the barrel?I had a pre 27 do that a few years ago.The problem was excessive cylinder end shake.Hold the gun up to a bright light sideways and look at the barrel /cylinder gap as you try to cycle the action.I solved the problem with end shake bearings from Brownells.Hope this is of some help.

 

[justintyme]

Take a good look at your Hand and the Ratchets it engages on the star extractor, see if they look buggered up at all

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Again, two good points. Yes I did check the cylinder to forcing cone gap, no touchy. Both the star and the hand are fine, and in addition, the cylinder drags when attempting to rotate by hand with the stop and hand both disengaged. I am sending to my local smith tomorrow. It may be a simple fix, but I am not the guy for the job. In the immortal words of Harry Callahan;
"A man's got to know his limitations".
fuzzy

 

[Jim_Macklin]

Is the cylinder stiff when thumb cocked? How about when fired double action? Is the safety lock buggered in any way? Is there any dirt, old grease in behind the hand?

Have you examined the crane fit to the frame, is the crane bend so that there is a gap between the frame and crane? When you rotate the cylinder with the crane open, is there runout, the breech end of the cylinder appear to move up and down? If so it is possible that with the center pin in the breechface and the safety block is pushed back to allow the hammer to cock, the pin restricts the cylinder rotation.

Did somebody play Sgt. Joe Friday and snap the cylinder open and closed, that will be the crane. Your best fix is to contact S&W customer service, get a FedEx prepaid number from S&W and return it for service if you can see a bent crane.
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[jackpearl]

Is this only when loaded? Does the cylinder bind more in half of the rotation and less in the other half? If so, I suspect a bent yoke or yoke barrel.

Edit: Better explained in the above post, Thank you Jim Macklin

 

[Jim_Macklin]

Is this only when loaded? Does the cylinder bind more in half of the rotation and less in the other half? If so, I suspect a bent yoke or yoke barrel.

Edit: Better explained in the above post, Thank you Jim Macklin

You're welcome

 

[qballwill]

I swapped out triggers on a couple of N frames before and there was an initial bind before some of the positions on the cylinder on one of the guns. The trigger and cylinder stop werent fitted to each other properly so the cylinder stop was staying engaged too long causing it to bind. Doesnt sound like you have changed anything, but timing could be off.

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Jim,

thanks for taking the time to detail so many possibilities. I see no runout anywhere. Bear in mind that I purchased the gun new, and have only shot it twice before. If it is bent, which I cannot see, it came that way. Also, here is the really strange thing. I was "playing with" the gun quite a bit the night before my range trip. Like all of my guns, it was thoroughly cleaned after the last shooting session. Everything cycled beautifully. Smooth, silent, without drag our hesitation. Then, at the range, after only 6 rounds, the gun virtually froze up. I was able to work it mostly free after some time, but then after 6 more rounds, frozen again.
Needles to say, I checked and rechecked that the ejector rod had not come loose, and it had not. There must be something tight, that becomes stopped with minor powder residue. Also, I am no genius, and certainly not a gunsmith, but I am experienced. 40 or more years with revolvers and I own, well, more than one man deserves.
Thank you all again for your tireless assistance.
fuzzy

 

[fuzzymcnab]

sorry, forgot to answer all of your questions. The cylinder binds whether thumb cocked or trigger pull. however, it rotates perfectly when swung out, as does action. I like your suggestion about the center pin in the star. That could be the culprit. However, I cant imagine the it is fine when clean, then snug after six rounds. I dont want to fully clean the gun before sending to service so that the problem will hopefully be more apparent.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Bought this gun 6 years ago and have hardly used it. Sent it back to S&W when I first got it because the chambers where so tight. Really did not feel like shooting after that.
Took it to the range today and the cylinder began to bind after 6 rounds. I have inspected all the usual culprits. Cylinder to forcing cone fit, hand, cylinder stop, The action works fine and the cylinder spins freely when the cylinder is open. I am lost on what else to check.
fuzzy.

Were you using lead reloads?

I once took a brand new Model 27 to the range with lead bullets and it locked up "tighter that old Dick's hatband" after the first cylinder full of ammo.

I took it home and after checking all of the usual culprits, I carefully took the sideplate off and as I took out the internal action parts one by one, all of a sudden a tiny sliver of a bullet fell out. It had to have gotten inside somehow. I carefully wiped it all down, applied a drop of lube in all the right places, and carefully reassembled. It worked like new, and in over 37 years has never had another problem. Its use, however, changed from defense to sport shooting, and a Colt Government Model Series 70 as recommended by Jeff Cooper took over all self-defense duties.

That incident certainly drove home the point that revolvers may be thought to be more reliable because stuff like this so rarely happens, but when it does happen, it takes a work bench and tools, rather than a "tap, rack, bang" to fix.

You may just have to call S&W for a shipping label.

 

[growr]

2 weeks ago I had a similar problem with my M25-2 in a USPSA match...cylinder would NOT close no matter what. Got it home and under a very bright light and a magnifying glass I could see several flakes of unburned powder at the intersection of the rod and the bottom side of the extractor star. Not in the recess that the star fits into in the cylinder...

Sure messed me up as I did not finish the match and had only fired on one stage....didn't bring a back up either...silly me...revolvers never have problems do they?

Got out the brush and cleaned it really good and it is as smooth as it has ever been. Couldn't see it without the light and magnifying glass however...even in broad daylight.

All is well no wand I will certainly know what to look for if it ever happens to me again.

Don't know if that helps on anything or not...
Randy

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Shawn and grower,
Both very interesting situations you had. Since the gun was 100% AOK before firing, the lead or unburnt powder scenario sounds very likely. I resisted cleaning it so the gun would still be binding when it got to the gunsmith, but you have convinced me to strip it and clean it. I would feel like an idiot if it went all the way to springfield and found out there was simply lead stuck in it.

all the best,
fuzzy

 

[fuzzymcnab]

So here's the rest of the story.
Took the gun all the way apart for complete cleaning. Nothing really odd, a bit of old oil. The one thing I did notice was that the two side plate screws and the thumb latch screw were loose. Could it be that under recoil the plate would move and cause the action to bind? Could be. After reassembly, everything worked fine, but so it did before shooting. Only another range trip will tell.
Again, thanks for the great suggestions,
fuzzy

 

[amazingflapjack]

You have received some very good suggestions. I have the same gun you have, and a 25-2 as well. I t seems that powder rez,etc have been the problems in these areas in the past, as well as a tight forcing cone gap. I sent my 625-8 in for a master revolver package, and it has, and continues to be, one of my favorite revolvers. It is worth the effort.

 

[fuzzymcnab]

Flap,
Thanks for the input. I was considering taking this opportunity to get further work on the gun. I bought it strictly for IDPA match work, so any mods that would improve it for speed shooting would be helpful. Except for a tru glow front sight, it is stock.
Fuzzy