REVOLVERS LOCKING UP LATELY

[chief38]

Don't know if it's just me or has anyone else noticed that we are seeing more posts lately about revolver's locking up (not the I/L necessarily). The reason I mention this is because some have stated they would never carry an auto loading pistol because of reliability issues.

S&W Revolver's are inherently reliable but so are today's striker fired Micro 9's. Many owners do not check out their revolvers on any regular basis and while sometimes they lock up for very simple reasons, some may never check these reason prior to them locking up. This is very important if your EDC is a revolver! Check to make sure the Ejector Rod is properly tightened and doesn't unscrew by itself - a classic reason a revolver locks up. If carrying a revolver with a hammer nosed mounted firing pin, make sure that the FP does not have any chips, sharp edges or cracks. That can cause primer piercing and also lock up a revolver. Make sure when you load it for EDC your ammo does not have any high primers. While rare on modern ammo, it does sometimes occur and can easily hinder rotation of the cylinder - locking up the revolver.

There are also other reasons revolvers lock up - some are internal however I would advise most here should not start pulling their EDC gun side plates off until they know what they are doing

I am certainly not trying to talk anyone out of carrying their trusty revolvers for SD, all I am saying here is to check out the obvious and most common reasons for revolvers to lock up.

BTW, I am referring to all revolvers, even the ones without the I/L! I don't own any I/L revolvers so to me that's one less thing to have to be concerned about. Don't want to go off on an I/L tangent here - my post is about all revolvers - especially older ones that have not been checked out in numerous years.

So after reading a bunch of new threads about revolvers locking up, I figured I might post this - especially for Newbies. Hope it helps someone prevent a lock up.

 

[stansdds]

In other words, maintain you gear! I agree, proper maintenance prevents a whole lot of failures.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Only one "locked up". A brand new 3" 686-6 which I sent back for warranty work because pulling the trigger intermittently failed to operate the hammer.
When it came back, none of the moving parts worked. Hammer, trigger, and cylinder release all locked tight. Sent it right back and never had a problem again after it returned.


Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[Old cop]

I was used to regular uniform & revolver inspections during my career. In retirement I continue to maintain my EDC weapons.

 

[Drm50]

Do you realize how many guys would never pop a side plate and are to cheap to have smith do it? Failure to take care of your revolver or pistol is on you, not the gun. I’ve seen this many times with shotguns and 22s. The bore is clean, exterior has been kept clean & oiled. Running gear get a shot of spray oil, WD-40. After awhile gun is impacted with crud.
Just this week guy brought in a 686 that was left to him. Belonged to a state trooper. Worst case I’ve ever seen of neglect. I’m sure it wasn’t in that state when trooper was alive.
I’ve got several guns that are 100 yrs old and still work fine because they were maintained properly. Has nothing to do with type of action.

 

[Protocall_Design]

One major cause of cylinder binding is powder flakes and carbon under the extractor. This happens with any brand of revolver when the fired cases are ejected and debris from the chambers falls on the back of the extractor and gets trapped between it and the cylinder. It's simple to fix with a toothbrush, but a hidden problem that many don't know about, and can't figure out what's going on.

 

[chief38]

Hopefully some new Fella' and Gal's will read this and understand why I bothered to post it. Many newbies just don't know.

 

[chief38]

One major cause of cylinder binding is powder flakes and carbon under the extractor. This happens with any brand of revolver when the fired cases are ejected and debris from the chambers falls on the back of the extractor and gets trapped between it and the cylinder. It's simple to fix with a toothbrush, but a hidden problem that many don't know about, and can't figure out what's going on.

Thank you for adding (an important one) - slipped my mind. That's what you get when posting before the morning coffee! LOL!

 

[dwh]

I long ago purchased a Remington 1100 off of an older guy that had used it for all of his hunting. When you released the bolt you could time it to close. It would take 5sec for the bolt to close. It was full of dried oil and woods/field debris,dry rotted gas rings. It’s amazing what cleaning your gun does to improve the operation of it. I’ve also owned a Ruger sp101 that would lock up the action if you tried to shot it DA with any kind of speed. It went back 3 times, I sold when it came back the 3rd time. Gun are mechanical and subject to wear. But abuse and neglect are very preventable.

 

[BillBro]

Id like to see some of you old heads here on the forum put together a post or article about the proper maintenance and lubrication of a carry revolver, a revolver carried ro save your life or the lives of others.

I know that Im probably not doing the best for my revolvers, especially in the lubrication department.

 

[PHS327]

I had a revolver lock up due to the ammo I was using. I had bought some ammo that was cheap because it was "blemished", ie dirty. Some of the casings were damaged and I'm sure I would have noticed the metal sticking up if the stuff had been cleaner. I swore off buying blemished ammo, no matter how cheap it is.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

Sometimes a revolver "locks up" because the shooter isn't fulling allowing the trigger to reset...short stroking it and causing a lock up. This is simply the nature of a double-action revolver and usually happens during fast, under stress shooting. The shooter will blame the gun and its manufacturer but it's really user error.

Sometimes a side plate screw backing out can cause the clockwork to bind and also leave a scratch mark on the cylinder. A little medium grade thread locker can keep it from happening.

 

[armorer951]

malfunctions and "lock ups"

Proceed with caution, opinion follows:

The increase in reliability issues has several causes:

Many revolver manufacturers have either abandoned their pledge of quality and workmanship....or they never had one in the first place. In years past, reliability issues due to manufacturing errors and just plain incompetence during assembly and fitting, were snagged by the inevitable and inflexible "final inspection", and sent back to the fitters for repair.
Now, in many cases, and we've all heard about them here on the forum, this necessary "inspection and function testing" is not performed by the manufacturer, but by the final consumer. Modern construction and machining is great, but the final product still has to be vetted by the producer.

The other problem?
Revolver owners, after reading marketing propaganda, are buying aftermarket internal parts and installing them, even on their carry firearms. In many cases, this includes consumers who have limited knowledge of what is under the hood, and the implications of their "modifications", both in terms of the warranty and reliability.
The emphasis has changed from regular training, range practice, and proper comprehensive maintenance, to trying to achieve the lightest possible trigger pull at the expense of reliability. The term "drop in" comes to mind here, and is a huge misnomer. There is no such thing as a 100% reliable "drop in" internal part, in terms of fit and function.

And.....the ridiculous notion by some semi-auto firearms instructors and shooters in attempting to train trigger return just to the point of "trigger reset". This has also caused a boatload of problems.....especially when these auto folks attempt to shoot a revolver.

Carter
aka: "the old coot"

 

[toad67]

Id like to see some of you old heads here on the forum put together a post or article about the proper maintenance and lubrication of a carry revolver, a revolver carried ro save your life or the lives of others.

I know that Im probably not doing the best for my revolvers, especially in the lubrication department.

Probably one of the best videos out there on S&W revolvers.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ujyLn3lHBc[/ame]

 

[buz0044]

2 cents

One thing i was trained on was to eject empties with the muzzle up. The instructor was convinced this method helped minimize the amount of crud deposited under the extractor. When I was shooting in competition the religious use of a GI toothbrush helped keep it clean under there and I never had a problem. It doesn't take too many grains of unburned powder in there to slow things down. Also the muzzle up method keeps cases from slipping under the extractor. A guaranteed way to tie a gun up, especially when in a hurry.

 

[jbtrucker]

I learned to extract muzzle up and carry small bottle of oil and patches to the range. I also learned to keep the internals alone on my 686 after lifting the hand and trigger popped out from the torsion spring

 

[WR Moore]

Some good advice up above. There's a few other factors that can cause "lockup". Check the breech face for burrs around the firing pin/hammer nose hole. Gently stone them to remove. These can catch in the firing pin indent on the primer.

The unskilled futzing with the internal works can be a major contributor. While there may be the occasional bad factory part, they're built that way for good reason. Joespeedshooters wonder parts might either not be an improvement over factory or suited for serious use.

Finally, take a real close look at each and every round you're about to load/carry. Is the bullet pointy end up? The case mouth smooth and even? The case rim the same? The primer looking like a full moon? The correct caliber? If not, reject it-even at today's ammo prices.

 

[steelslaver]

Even something as simple as a hammer will eventually fail if it isn't given some care. The handle can rot, shrink and come loose and the head will slowly turn to a lump of rust.

Revolvers do have a number of small moving parts that operate under fairly close tolerances. The are highly reliable if the owner/operator gives them some care.

Thing about oil is it will collect dust and debri and over time oil will slowly harden, some are far worse than others.

 

[minconrevo]

Some revolver shooters seem to think that if a little oil on moving parts is good, then more is better. Could not be more wrong. A half a small drop of quality oil goes on one side of the cylinder stop, the open crane, the cylinder rachets and the cylinder catch below the barrel. That's all for ordinary lubrication.

Once every coon's age, when cleaning inside an open sideplate, the same half a small drop of oil goes on the DA fly, the hammer frame stud, the trigger frame stud and the cylinder release mechanism; that is sufficient. The sideplate opening interval will vary greatly, depending on the conditions the revolver has been exposed.

Avoid WD 40 or any other product that can gum or attract dust and crud. I do not use grease anywhere in a revolver.

Above is just my opinion, but it works well.

 

[__steve__]

Also, and I rarely see this talked about but it is mentioned in the S&W owners manual: Never load a mix of different ammunitions. I have had a squib that I believe may have been attributed to this from bullets unseating themselves under recoil causing incomplete combustion.