[N3rday]

Okay, I don't know how this happened, but as I was loading my .38, I somehow brought the cylinder up to the frame while the cylinder was spinning - as it locked in, it seemed as if it kept spinning around, clicking as it passed each round. Is this normal? It doesn't spin at all after that, unless I cock the hammer or otherwise work the trigger

[Majic]

Okay, I don't know how this happened, but as I was loading my .38, I somehow brought the cylinder up to the frame while the cylinder was spinning
:scrutiny:

[Dr.Who]

If you did what you discribed.... This Hollywood spin is not to good on a modern revolver. It serves no purpose other than show off the poor care of one's firearm. This action will cause undue wear and possible breakage. It is a good way to wreck the timing of a revolver and damage the locking paw in the frame and widen or peen over the locking grooves in the cylinder. :eek:

About the only revolver that would not get hirt is a single action when in the half cock "free-wheel" position. Not all single actions have this function.

Now closing the cylinder and rotating it till it locks (without cocking the hammer or pulling the triger) is normal. This will index the next round for you to shoot. But Do NOT free spin the cylinder and then slap it or flick the wrist close. This is the Hollywood spin... This is BAD!!!! Every click you heard was the locking/index tab trying to stop the cylinder from rotating. This will cause the Damaged noted above.

I hope that is not what you were describing....

[asknight]

Okay, I don't know how this happened, but as I was loading my .38, I somehow brought the cylinder up to the frame while the cylinder was spinning

Uh, say what? :fire:

Surely this wasn't your father's old Model 10-5 you did this to, was it?

[bpisler]

The cylinder should not have been
spinning,just push it closed and
rotate it to the next notch to
lock it.

[N3rday]

Yeah, not sure how it spun, exactly, but it freaked me out (it doesn't seem like the thing should spin like that). I was alone in the house, power went out, and I heard a door open downstairs. Which is freaking scary when the house is almost pitch black.

Anyways, I didn't intentionally spin the cylinder, I just heard way too many clicks when the cylinder came up to the frame. On the bright side, it turned out to be no one.

Edit: Wow, Asknight. I think I post too much. Either that, or you have great memory!

[asknight]

Short term memory is decent, but don't ask me about anything long term, haha!

[c_yeager]

This even is known as "cowboy-ing" your revovler. Remember the old westerns where they would always spin their cylinders like this? All revolvers will do this, it is NOT good for the gun, but it probably wont break anything if you do it once.

[TMM]

Kinda funny how a guy asks a question and nearly all of the replies he gets are people berating him for closing the revo wrong... and he didn't even do it intentionally!

~tmm

[Kaylee]

Yeah, not something to make a habit of but it sounds like nothing was damaged.

Provided the cylinder was spinning the opposite direction it would move when you fire the revolver, what you heard was the bolt being eased down into the frame by the "ramp" part of a locking recess in the cylinder. It then drags the surface of the cylinder until snapping into the next recess. If the cylinder isn't fully set into the frame yet, the bolt isn't high enough to stop in the next recess, so it slips up onto the "ramp" and the process repeats.. at least until the cylinder is set into frame enough for the bolt to lock into a recess.

So.. short version -- if you made a practice of it, you'd be straining the bolt and possibly wearing out your locking recesses. But the occasional "oopsie" like you describe shouldn't hurt enough to notice.

[asknight]

Kinda funny how a guy asks a question and nearly all of the replies he gets are people berating him for closing the revo wrong... and he didn't even do it intentionally!

How do you unintentionally set the cylinder to spinning before you close it?

[N3rday]

I was loading it quickly; I brought the palm of my hand up to close the revolver, but kinda fumbled with it on the way up. I haven't actually seen this 'Cowboy' cylinder spinning thing that people have been referring to, but I assure you, I'm not one to look 'cool' with firearms.