Why the Cylinder Drag Line?

[dfariswheel]

Technically you CAN have a double action revolver that won't have a ring around the cylinder.
That would be one of the old type action Colt revolvers like the Python, Detective Special, etc.

When in proper adjustment the Colt action pulls the cylinder locking bolt down away from the cylinder and holds it there while the cylinder rotates almost all the way to the next chamber.
At a critically timed moment the locking bolt is allowed to drop back on the cylinder and it drops into the leade or ramp in front of the actual cylinder locking notch.
This will have finish wear but ONLY in the leade, not around the cylinder.

Notice how much longer the leades on the old style Colt's are compared to the very short one's on the S&W and the newer Colt's like the Mark III through King Cobra and Anaconda.
This longer leade is to allow proper timing of the bolt drop.

While this would allow not having a ring around the cylinder, in the Real World people close cylinders, then rotate the cylinder until it locks.
Eventually all DA revolvers will get a ring, just from closing the cylinder if nothing else.

I have seen one Colt revolver that was extensively used that had no ring at all.
It was a Colt Officer's Model Target bought by the owner in the late 1930's and used in formal target matches.
He was an absolute fanatic about closing the cylinder so a chamber lined up, and never allowed anyone else to handle his Colt.
So, after more than 30 years of shooting a lot of matches, his Officer's Model Target had no ring around the cylinder, just blue wear in the leades where it should be.
I never met another owner who was so obsessive about handling his revolver, so he was definitely an exception to the average gun owner.

So, technically it would be possible to own a well used old type action Colt without a ring, but you'd have to be incredibly obsessive.
In the Real World, virtually no one is that careful.

In the S&W, Ruger, Dan Wesson, and newer Colt's like the Mark III and later, the cylinder locking bolt is specifically designed to drop back onto the cylinder almost immediately after the cylinder begins to rotate, and it "rides" on the cylinder for most of it's rotation.
This is why these revolvers have the ring as a sign of normal operation.

 

[Skeetr57]

There is actually nothing inherent in the S&W design that requires more than a short period of drag of the locking bolt on the cylinder, and it could be limited to the scallop leading into the locking notch in the cylinder. The front edge of the trigger engagement with the shelf on the cylinder lock is what determines the timing of the bolt release, so precise fitting can result in almost no drag line. The problem is that the fitter would need a bin full of bolts and triggers to select the precisely fitting parts from , and the time to fit them. The precise fitting would increase the price of the gun, but would not improve its actual function in any way. The managers at S&W made the only practical decision in my opinion.

 

[GerSan69]

....I never seen a Smith cylinder yet that locks up tight like a colt.

Y'all can keep your Colts with their tight lock-up. The way that the Colt mechanism is designed causes more wear inside, which I've been told causes the firearm to go out of time among other things. I had a beautiful Python that did just that. A $40 repair job (this was in 1979 with a police discount) and it worked like new, but I got rid of it and came back to Smith & Wesson. I'll never forget the gunsmith's opinion: Colts were built to look at while S&Ws were built to shoot.

 

[Hapworth]

Most everybody concurs that if the revolver is working correctly, the drag line is a sign of manufacturers designing the firearms that way/for the revolver to function correctly.
I just can't buy the explanation that the drag line implicates that the revolver is functioning "correctly".

Then, why, for what unfathomable reason, do S&W & Colt put so much time in presenting such beautiful blued/nickel finishes, just to see that the revolver is "functioning" correctly, and all the time knowing that that finish will be marred/disfigured the first time the new owner cycles the cylinder?

Makes absolutely no sense with the talented gunsmiths they employ. By now you'd think one of those gifted gunsmith/engineers would provide a solution (?).

This logic works just as easily in reverse: that S&W continues to maintain engineering that makes the drag line despite beautiful blue and nickel finishes might be a sign of how worthwhile S&W considers the engineering to be.

Also, consider that perhaps S&W and most S&W revolver owners -- collectors and shooters -- aren't nearly so offended by the drag line as you and so don't consider it an affront to the revolver. In that context, not "fixing" it makes sense, because it isn't a flaw.

You've received several answers to your question including historical documentation, you acknowledge a consensus, yet refuse to "buy" the explanation? Perhaps the design just isn't for you -- fortunately there are many terrific other ones out there...

 

[tlmetesh]

Question and Answer

A dealer asked this question in 1932. Here's his inquiry and the reply from D. B. Wesson.

 

[Arik]

Most everybody concurs that if the revolver is working correctly, the drag line is a sign of manufacturers designing the firearms that way/for the revolver to function correctly.
I just can't buy the explanation that the drag line implicates that the revolver is functioning "correctly".

Then, why, for what unfathomable reason, do S&W & Colt put so much time in presenting such beautiful blued/nickel finishes, just to see that the revolver is "functioning" correctly, and all the time knowing that that finish will be marred/disfigured the first time the new owner cycles the cylinder?

Makes absolutely no sense with the talented gunsmiths they employ. By now you'd think one of those gifted gunsmith/engineers would provide a solution (?).

Nothing is broken so there is nothing to fix. Asking why blue when it will get scratched. ....because bluing is a protective finish. That's like asking why paint a car when it will just get scratched up.

Fact of the matter is that it's a firearm. Ment to shoot....shoot it

 

[rct269]

Lord have MERCY!!! I'll bet the price of Kool Aid stock is soaring!!

One upon a time, a loooooooong time ago, I turned 18 years of age. Coincidentally, age 18 was the magic number to be able to buy a handgun in Georgia. I lived in St.Louis. But I had met this girl in college----and she lived in Tennessee---50 miles north of the Georgia line----so---------.

I wanted a K-22----"Bright Blue". No problem---we'll order it now, and it will be here in SIX MONTHS. (!!!!) No, No----I want it now! Sorry Charlie, the matte blue finish is the only game in town----other than a special order. I left with my brand new (not so) shiny K-22------but I was not done with this.

I sent it back to the factory, asked them to refinish it, and-----pay attention now (This is the important part!), and asked them to "make it as perfect as it could be". It returned about three weeks later-----very spiffy!! Fast forward to now. I still have the girl----and the gun.

The gun has been through about a half a box car of ammunition---and about half of that was double action----and about half of that was very rapid double action---because if McGivern could do it, so could I----sort of.

There is NO TURN LINE! (Actually, there is----about 1/16" long, just before the lead into each notch.) I told Jinks this story once. He was in full curmudgeon mode at the time, and told me "That's all wrong!! It'll skip cylinders in rapid double action fire." Hmmmmm? (It has NEVER skipped a cylinder.) I choose to believe all this came about because I asked them to "make it as perfect as it can be"------a loooooooooooooong time ago.

As an aside, I have two Colts---both treated to the "Make it as as perfect as it can be" treatment----one by Roper (a looooooooong time ago)----the other by Olegsby (not so long ago). Neither of them have turn lines either-----mostly because they haven't been used. If they were to be used, they also would not have turn lines (except for the very short ones) because of the way they're timed------"as perfect as it can be".


The moral of this story goes like this: Making things as perfect as they can be takes time (and costs money). Do the math.

I could go on---and on and on, but I'm feeling charitable.

Ralph Tremaine