What is the advantages of a recessed cylinder

[Grimjaws]

Hey gang. Recently picked up a 1981 made 66-1 2.5" in great condition and it is my first revolver with recessed cylinder.

So why a recessed cylinder? Is it to protect the shooter or add more support for the cartridge? I'm curious.

I have a 1930 38/44 HD that does not have that feature so when was the recessed cylinder introduced and, more importantly, why?

Thanks for educating me on this feature!

 

[CH4]

I believe the recessed cylinder started circa 1935 with the registered magnum, which was chambered for the new .357 magnum round. IRCC, the reasoning was to contain the cartridge head of the new magnum cartridge to protect the shooter in the event the case head rupture, like was/is done with revolvers chambered for the 22lr.

 

[UncleEd]

Without going into historical
background, the advantages of
a recessed cylinder are none.

But they do collect powder residue
goop in a long string of shooting,
making reloading hard.

 

[robertrwalsh]

With modern centerfire handgun ammunition there are no real functional advantages,and as noted by UncleEd some possible disadvantages.

 

[Speedo2]

I believe that recessed chambers started with the 22/32 rimfires in around 1924 due to the propensity of then HV ammo to pierce their balloon-head rims with some unfortunate consequences. CH4 is correct that recessed chambers in centerfire S&W's started in 1935 with RM's. I'm not sure when other mfg's started doing them; but I know for sure that the mid-20's Stevens "Crack Shot 26" (22LR) did not have a recessed chamber. -S2

 

[PeteC]

I read that recessed cylinders were associated with weaker/thinner balloon head cases which were more likely to rupture, were not reloadable, etc... Can't vouch for that being true, but some people seem to think so.

 

[ImDrRich]

Looks better, though - right? I sure like the looks of cartridges that are flush with the end of the charge holes.

But that's just me

 

[wproct]

I'm with ImDrRichard, I just think the recessed cylinder looks Really nice. The cylinder sits flush with the recoil shield and gives the revolver a clean look. I like them.

 

[Rule3]

Recessed vs. non-recessed cylinder...

 

[UncleEd]

With recessed chambers, it doesn't take
much grime, hardly even visible, to cause
the rounds not to seat fully. Then turning
the cylinder for firing becomes problematic.

The Model 19-5 without the recesses was
definitely an improvement.

 

[Green Frog]

I've had two custom 32 K frame revolvers built. The first was a 327 Fed Mag built on a Model 66 ND, and since it and the Model 617 cylinder I was using to rebore both had recessed chambers, and since it was a magnum, I specified that the new chambers be recessed.

Next came a copy of the Model 16-3 built on a Model 14-3 donor, so I had the gunsmith mill the rear face of the cylinder off to give it non-recessed chambers like the original 16-3 had, so now I have one of each, P&R and P&"non-R."

The end result, I can't see a nickel's worth of difference in their actual function, but am glad I had them done in their respective configurations to be appropriate to their applications.

Froggie

 

[hkcavalier]

Grimjaws, only the magnums and rimfires ever had this feature, and S&W dropped it for the magnums in the early 1980s.

Colt, known for their double-action revolver overengineering, started making .357s soon after S&W in their big New Service and then, after WWII, with the E/I frame 3-5-7, Trooper, and of course the Python --- and never recessed the charge holes on any of them. There was no rash of case issues with the Colts. As I was a toddler at the time, Bangor Punta and S&W didn't invite me to the meeting, but by all accounts it was judged to be an unnecessary step in manufacturing and dropped.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

They are just cool. Tells me it is a Smith that I want.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

The one thing that causes me to like non-recessed cylinder chambers is that at a quick sideways glance I can tell if a revolver is loaded (not counting already discharged but you know what I mean).

 

[Sevens]

I have had and do have them both and like most, the recessed chambers are just plain -cool- but agree, functionally there's no difference but the earlier recessed chambers would be more likely to give a struggle with schmegma.

 

[otis24]

A recessed cylinder gives room for the cartridges to slide back and forth making noise. Bummer when you are trying to be quite.

 

[Sevens]

A recessed cylinder gives room for the cartridges to slide back and forth making noise. Bummer when you are trying to be quite.

From what I have seen, there is no difference in this way — cartridges definitely rattle in my non-recessed revolvers.

 

[Green Frog]

A recessed cylinder gives room for the cartridges to slide back and forth making noise. Bummer when you are trying to be quite.

Trying to be quite what? Quiet? Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

In reality the case heads in a non-recessed cylinder have approximately the same headspace as those in one with recessed chambers.

Froggie

 

[PHS327]

I thought it was to make loading cartridges easier, especially if using speed loaders.

 

[Tytan01]

My personal opinion is recessed cylinders were developed to give the cartridges more support in the cylinders as the bullets became hotter. It allowed the cylinder itself to be slightly longer inside the frame, also adding more beef. Metal back then wasn't as good as todays and blown up cylinders lead to nasty lawsuits. As the metal improved, the need for recessed cylinders went away thus reducing the number of steps needed to make the gun and the amount of metal used. Though not much to the eye...every 1/16th of an inch saved here or there added pennies to the profit on each gun. And those pennies add up. That's why gas is $2.45+9/10s.