S&W 65-2 problem

[PaleRyder]

I have a stainless 65-2 that has a bind problem. When I dry fire it, it does fine. When I fire .38s in it, the trigger freezes on the 3rd or 4th shot. I have to let up on the trigger than press it again to get it to fire. It's either that or the cylinder binding. Someone on the Smith and Wesson forum said it sounded like a stainless gun.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Do stainless revolvers tend to have more problems of this nature than blued?

 

[Coronach]

Queries:

1. Does it always happen on the 3rd/4th shot, or does it always happen on a certain chamber? Check and see if it is doing it at a particular point...that could indicate any of a number of problems.

2. When inserted, do any of the cartridges sit higher than the others? If so, that's probably why it is binding...though it doesn't 'splain why it is sitting higher. See #3, though...

3. Have you thoroughly cleaned it? You'd be surprised how much a simple cleaning can make stuff spin a lot more freely.

Mike

 

[PaleRyder]

I cleaned it thoroughly with Shooters Choice when I bought it. And it is usually the third or 4th shot, not an actual cylinder. None of the rounds are sitting high or differently in the chambers from any of the other rounds, that I can tell. I'll double-check those however.

One thing I have not done is completely disassemble it and clean/lube the inner workings. I'm hesitant to do that however. I'd rather have a gunsmith handle it.

 

[juneau803]

I would try first try to simulate the problem with a cylinder full of dummy rounds. However, if you could get inside the revolver and give it a good cleaning, you might just be able to nail it. I would look at the hand mechanism.





"Our liberty is protected by four boxes...
The ballot box, the jury box, the soap box,
and the cartridge box."
- Anonymous

 

[PaleRyder]

I'll take it apart later this week and give it a thorough cleaning.
Thanks!

 

[WT]

Is the ejector rod screwed in nice and tight?

 

[PaleRyder]

I'll check it when I go home from work and let you know later on tonight.
Thanks

 

[juneau803]

A couple other areas you could check if you get inside, though a good cleaning and oiling might correct them are:

1) DA sear lever on hammer might be gunked up and causing a jam with trigger sear.
2) mainspring tension might not be enough to reset the action. (due to everything being sluggish

Sometimes a used gun that hasn't had much use sitting on the shelf will give the new owner fits until it gets some attention by cleaning oiling and using.
(work the action SA and DA repeatedly with dummy rounds after servicing innards)

"Our liberty is protected by four boxes...
The ballot box, the jury box, the soap box,
and the cartridge box."
- Anonymous

 

[PaleRyder]

Thanks for the info. It might actually be the mainspring, because it dry fires just fine, and the cartridges all sit just fine in the cylinder.

These kinds of things make me wonder however: If I am planning on almost exclusively shooting .38 special rounds, rather than .357, might I be better off with .38 special revolvers, rather than shooting them in a .357 all the time?

 

[juneau803]

You said: If I am planning on almost exclusively shooting .38 special rounds, rather than .357, might I be better off with .38 special revolvers, rather than shooting them in a .357 all the time?

Well, using 38's in a .357 means you will have more cleaning to do. The shorter 38 leaves a lot of residue that builds up in the unused .357 space in the cylinder.

You could actually build up enough to make it unsafe to fire the .357 round due to overpressure.

You have to stay on top of it more than if you were shooting 38's in a 38. I have this problem because I shoot my python and magnum carry a lot with the 38 cal. Actually had to take a Lewis lead remover to the Python cylinder.

But that's about the only reason I can think of.....sure is nice having the .357 and you could always load those down if you wanted less recoil...then the cleaning would be the same as any other gun.

 

[BluesBear]

Ooooh that awful waxy buildup...

Take a fired .357 magnum case.
Chambfer the INSIDE if the case mouth. If you reload then slightly expand the case mouth until it just barely slides inside the chamber with a minimum of force.

Use this case to remove fouling caused by shooting the shorter .38 Special ammo.
Most of the fouling is a combination of bullet lubricant and powder.
The combination results in a waxy mud that seem to take forever to remove with a brush but will easily scrape out.

Once you removed the fouling from each chamber then just clean as normal.
If it's been a while since you have fired it spray a little Hoppe #9 or similar solvent into each chamber and let it soak in.

 

[Stainz]

One never knows the true history of a used revolver. A few inappropriate 'Hollywood' flicks of the wrist to swing the cylinder open or close can warp the crane slightly, making the cylinder turn 'out of round'. This can be observed by emptying the chambers and dry-firing the revolver as you observe - or, better yet, measure with an automotive feeler gauge - the gap between the cylinder's face and the barrel's forcing cone. The allowable limits from S&W are .004" - .010". Whatever it is, it should be constant and not vary from cylinder bore to cylinder bore. Residue build-up on the cylinder face will affect this, too. A trip back to S&W would fix this, of course... maybe for nothing! Call their 800#...

You can shoot the shorter .38 Special's as much as you want in your .357 Magnum chambers. As others stated, you must clean before chambering the Magnums. Buy a .38/.357 'Bore' brush and a slightly larger (and longer) .38/.357 'Chamber' brush, available from Brownell's, etc. The small 'jump' the .38's must make before the step in the .357 Magnum chambers may effect ultimate accuracy, but that shouldn't be a concern in a fixed sight PD revolver, like a 65.

Stainz

 

[PaleRyder]

Thanks for the info.

I disassembled the 65 today. When I removed the rebound slide, there is no trigger limit pin inside. The book I have says there should be one. That could be the problem.
I'm going to order one. However, even when I get it, I have no idea at this point how I'm going to be able to get the rebound slide back in. I don't have any way to depress the spring down far enough. Maybe the trigger limit pin will do the trick.

 

[BluesBear]

Easy rebound slide installation.

Older S&W revolvers didn't have the pin. And since the pin is completely enclosed within the spring it will NOT make it any easier to get the rebound spring back in anyway.


However you should have a "tool" to make it easier.
I take a medium short length 3/16th" flat blade screwdriver and file a V notch in the center of the tip. I then use this to compress the spring far enough inside the rebound slide to clear the stop pin in the frame.


With the hammer removed, install the trigger.
With the rebound spring (an pin if you have/want one) inserted place the rebound slide against the trigger rebound pin.
Compress the spring with your tool.
As soon as the spring clears the frame mounted rebound stop pin press downward to seat the rebound slide.



As the lawyers have gotten greedier the S&W rebound springs have gotten stronger.
Most rebound springs factory installed in a S&W in the past 15 years are way stronger than neccessary.

A Wolff rebound spring will both lighten your trigger pull and make installation easier.