My revolver jamned?

Armyphotog

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
1,031
Reaction score
68
Location
Tupelo, MS
I never knew a revolver could jam. I just got my M22-4 back from S&W where they reassembled it for me. (Long story.) I took it out and fired it using auto-rimmed ammo. Ever so often it would lock up. Hammer wouldn't cock, cylinder would not rotate, and I would have to force it open to free it up. Then if would fire fine for a while, and the same thing would happen again. I hate to have to send it back to S&W. They kept it 2 months last time, and didn't even test fire it when they finished with it.
 
Register to hide this ad
Are the side plate screws or ejector rod loose?

Has the lock engaged (or half engaged) on it's own?

These are the few self-fixes I could think of.

It's always disappointing when the one style of gun (a revolver) that should be 100% reliable, isn't.
 
Last edited:
The "Tank" GP-100

I was once living in a dreamworld wherein I thought a revolver was 100% reliable as well. When I was going through the academy (back in the revolver days) my agency was issuing Ruger GP-100s. On any given day, my particular revolver, within about 20 rounds down range, would collect enough debris under the extraction star that my cylinder would lock up. I would clean under that star relentlessly. But, it would continue to give me problems from time to time.

Upon graduation, I was able to refuse the issue GP-100 (I just didn't want to be responsible for a gun I was never going to trust my life with, and therefore never carry). Back then, after graduating from the academy, we were able to carry POWs. Mine was a S&W M66. That baby never let me down! And, it remains a prized possession of mine to this day, even though many years have past since we switched over to semi autos. I'm not knocking the GP-100 design as a whole. Many folks swear by them. I just have never been able to shake my experience with the one I was shooting for several months.

Have an enjoyable and safe Thanksgiving!
 
Make sure to hold the muzzle upward when ejecting empty shells. The unburnt or just left over crap in the shell can dump and get under the star. I've had that happen, but never bad enough to "jam" the gun, K frame .357.
Hope this helps,
Peace,
gordon
 
The same thing happened to my 65LS after I got it back from the Performance Center for a Master Action job. I sent it back and they fixed it.
 
Last edited:
Your 22-4 is a fine revolver. You will enjoy it. As far as the jamming is concerned... check to see if the extractor rod is fully screwed in... check for unburned powder particles under the extractor star. If you have further problems, send it to S&W with a well written description of the problems you have encountered. They will fix it. I have a 625-2 and will, when the opportunity arises, be buying a 22.
 
Sounds like a "Dry-Bone" to me. They probably never even oiled it on repair :rolleyes: My brand new S&W was doing something similar to this and it had shaving in it and was bone dry.
 
Ditto on the other suggestions; and since it is an intermittent problem while the gun is being fired repeatedly, could it be the ammo?
 
Check primers on shot cases to see if primers have backed out. Had friend who had revolver jam because of this
 
I never knew a revolver could jam. I just got my M22-4 back from S&W where they reassembled it for me. (Long story.) I took it out and fired it using auto-rimmed ammo. Ever so often it would lock up. Hammer wouldn't cock, cylinder would not rotate, and I would have to force it open to free it up. Then if would fire fine for a while, and the same thing would happen again. I hate to have to send it back to S&W. They kept it 2 months last time, and didn't even test fire it when they finished with it.

Don't feel too bad...many people operate under the same misconception. They usually believe that revolvers are simpler mechanically, whereas they're actually much more complex than most semi-autos. While it's generally true that revolvers may experience less malfunctions than semi-autos, it's also true that a malfunction on a semi-auto can usually be cleared in a matter of 2 or 3 seconds, whereas many revolver malfunctions can completely lock up the gun, and require several minutes to fix.

Tim
 
I put up a thread here a couple of weeks ago about my 625JM. To make a long story short, the cylinder on mine would bind terribly, usually after about 20 rounds, once the cylinder face got a bit dirty. It would become virtually impossible to pull the trigger and opening the cylinder could be done only with difficulty. In my case the problem turned out to be a too-narrow barrel-cylinder gap. A local smith regapped the gun at the factory spec .006" and the problem disappeared instantly. Hold your gun up to a light and look at the area where the rear of the forcing cone lines up with the cylinder. Can you see light shining through? Rotate the cylinder by dry-firing the gun, holding it up to the light while you do it. Does light shine through throughout the cycle? If you can't see light shining through then I'd consider having Smith or someone else check the gap.
 
Finally got out to the range again. Fired my 22-4 a bunch to times with the same auto-rim ammo. No problems this time. Go figure. Maybe it just needed a workout after being reassembled at S&W. I did sock the oil to it, however.
 
I had a primer back out once and jam my revolver. One other thing is I lube my guns with moly and too much moly or grease under the extractor star can not allow it to go back to its fully in position. I now put a tad of moly on it and work it in and wipe off the excess. I do leave some excess moly on the rotating star/lever for turning the cylinder. This way i'll never have a timing problem. Bill
 
Armyphotog early 67 problems

67 lockup couldn't be tighter, cylinder very hard to open.
thumb ejector rod was too long and would go into the extractor making it hard to open,I stoned it to flush with frame and that helped.
in double action some times gun would lock up at start of trigger pull, after some time I discovered the cylinder stop would drop below frame and then pop back up into
the cylinder notch locking up the pistol,defective stop.
replacing the cylinder stop corrected the lock up problem.
gun was much better but quite right.
center rod was not flush with knurled end of extractor rod
and the hole in the extractor rod was not perfectly round and had sharp edges witch kept the front pin from from popping into the extractor rod on two chambers.
I made the front of center pin and extractor rod flush and stoned the hole round with a slight bevel.

this must be one that slipped through without a gunsmiths final adjustments.

I am sure S&W would have fixed it if I had returned it

but I enjoyed fixing my gun

on the older models call S&W and ask for Gene he can't
be beat.

Cary
 
Back
Top