[buzz meeks]

Title says it all. Anybody have a donor revolver? What kind of protocol (sp?) should we agree on? This ought to answer the questions that apparently nag a lot of us about the revolver's toughness. I HAD a ratty nickle Smith Bodyguard that would have been a good candidate but it went down the road.

[Kamicosmos]

I read an article in American Handgunner way back where they 'torture tested' a Ruger Redhawk by firing 10,000 rounds of .44 Magnums over a weekend.

They had to bring in other people to keep shooting. The shooters' hands and arms gave out before the gun even thought about quiting.

They also never cleaned it during the test, and they shot an accuracy group every 500 rounds, I think. I recall that the accuracy did not deteriorate at all!

[sm]

I took an old Model 10 snubby , I bought off a UC ... that had "skittered" across a parking lot, then been stepped on, and given more "character". UC came out fine, real fine compared to the perp. So before I had it "cleaned up" - I tested it.

These are tough guns. I didn't clean it and shot untold rounds rds thru it. I then cleaned it before I "torture" tested it - I poured sand in it, tossed in mud, even ran over it. I had done this with a 1911 - basic Gov't Model, I was curious...

Revolvers do not like sand, I used the fine sand as found in ash cans. That stuff gets into nooks and crannies real well. Yes it will fire amongst that "scrunch" and "gritty" feel. That sand works its way under extracter star, it will bind and not budge.

Slosh it in a bucket and , workd the extractor and it'll go back to going bang.

Mud was interesting, it kept working, granted a bit "slimy and sluggish" but it'll run. I found it interesting the mud under the extractor did not bind up. Again, Slosh in a bucket of water, shake dry and good to go.

Don't know why I had to put it in a mud puddle full of water and drive over it...I guess in the event it was dropped in the woods and retrieved later. It ran.

Taken apart, allowed to soak in gasoline, air compressor dry and re-lube. Still tight, still in time, still buttery smooth action. Just more character added to externals - and learned inside as well.

I had it gone through and the internals were fine. Yes the sand had scratched, ate up some internal blueing and such - good metallurgy back then. I figured there would be some light rust from not getting all the mud out by sloshing - I had forgotten the CRC spray lube , I dried best could using the heater of my car...squirted some machine oil to get me back in town.

Gun Guy shook his head, was very surprised to 1) finally see this gun, 2) " Well you didn't hurt it". Just smoothed some areas "scratched" and re- blued the innards where needed. I had this one Parkerized.

Tough guns, no rear sight to worry about, front sight took the abuse of "skittering" , Crane, still only had that "hairline" crack as came from the Factory.

The Stocks, well I just epoxied the "skittered" wooden factory ones for testing, I did use some electrical tape "just in case". I have the Art of Epoxy down pat, the stocks even held up. Once I removed the tape...use them for years afterwards on a variety of guns for whatever reason, loaners, gun fitting, bad weather...

After getting all "spruced up" I put some new Cherrywood stocks I had made on it - CCW-ed it for years. Used it for everything.

I only paid ...nevermind, just make a person sick to know what I paid for it back then...

[c_yeager]

I once decided to stop cleaning my revolvers until they stopped working, just in case I ever needed to know how much they would put up with. Normally I clean them after every outing. Oddly enough my Ruger Sp101 started getting picky after about 500rounds. I think it has a really narrow B/C gap and after that much shooting it got excessively difficult to open and close the cylinder and eventually the trigger pull got to be unbearable. Contrast that with my 686, which after over 1000 rounds didnt even seem to change except in appearance. I eventually cleaned it anyways since I got tired of how disgustingly ugly it was, and I am happy with any weapon that can take that much neglect.

I think that sand would be a real killer for a revolver in the end. Imagine having to reload with dust blowing all over the place, it would only take a grain or two under the ejecter star to make things difficult. Running completely dry would probably the rule of the day.

[akviper]

Years back I read an account of Navy fighter pilots that ran out of fuel in the Pacific and ditched as a group. They tied the rafts together and awaited rescue for several days. During the wait sharks appoached a few times and they fired at them to drive them off. A few of the pilots had .45s but they began to rust quickly and would not fire. The revolvers continued to function through out the ordeal.

[whm1974]

During the wait sharks appoached a few times and they fired at them to drive them off. A few of the pilots had .45s but they began to rust quickly and would not fire. The revolvers continued to function through out the ordeal.

Ocean water isn't good for guns.

-Bill

[Majic]

Revolvers have been going thru real world torture tests since it's creation so why run another one now?

[buzz meeks]

Majic- you are of course correct. Revolvers have stood the test of time. They've been to war, ridden the range, walked the beat and done a whole lot of other things in tough places. I suppose my frustration arises from the number of posts I see where people repeat something they heard ninth-hand about how looking at a S&W wrong can cause it to go out of time. And then they go on to quote something they read in a Glock or H&K press release about the torture testing their pet gun underwent. I figured a torture test of our own might silence some of the revolver's detractors.

Still, I had a very satisfying day today. I never thought of it this way, but I've been putting a Smith 28 through a torture test of sorts. I haven't cleaned it in about 1500 rounds, the vast majority of which were a combination of cast bullets and 2400. I'm not out to prove a point. It's just that the gun works, the bore is clean and the powder residue brushes off when I'm done shooting. No need to do anything more. Anyhow, I was at the range with my shooting partner-a federal agent who just did the Glock armorer's course. In the space of about two hundred rounds, I watched his trigger fail to reset three times and I saw his gun lock open in the middle of a shot string twice. Granted the gun was very dirty and my buddy had it up and running in no time. But it felt so good to see my Smith just keep going round and round while he had to futz with the Plastic Fantastic.

[Majic]

I think that sand would be a real killer for a revolver in the end. Imagine having to reload with dust blowing all over the place
Like they have been doing in the Southwest (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California) for more than a 100 years?

Don't worry Buzz. When the Glocks, H&Ks, and other super Tupperware have graduated from the urban jungle and have spent quality time in the rest of the world then they will quit with their torture tests. Right now they have to prove the hype they put out and justify their pricetags.