S&W Model 65 Strange goings on...

Do you normally shoot lots of .38s through it? If so, there may be a carbon ring forming in the chambers preventing the Magnum brass from seating fully.

Also, check to see if the ejector rod is unscrewing itself.

Sounds like the reverse threaded ejection rod might be loose

George P said:

Sounds like the reverse threaded ejection rod might be loose

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I have an S&W revolver (an old Airweight 22 Kit Gun) that has a cylinder axis that unscrews itself. What is a good fix for that? Some kind of Locktite? I would not want a permanent bond, just some resistance to unscrewing.

Blue Loctite or nail polish.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Blue Loctite or nail polish.

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Yep, just enough to keep it snug, but not permanent.

Are the 357 Magnum reloads? If so, you could be putting too much crimp on the longer cases and bulging the end of the case.

It does not take much and the machining tolerances between cylinders can allow the cartridges to chamber in some chambers but not others.

JohnKSa said:

Those carbon rings are the devil. Getting them out with a brush is not simple if they're really baked on.

One thing I have found to be pretty effective is to slightly bell the mouth of a used .357 case and use it as a scraper.

I got tired of the hassle and stopped shooting .38sp in my .357 revolvers many years ago. Gave all my .38Sp ammo to my family.

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This works awesome for those rings, and a bunch of other cleaning...

My guess is your chambers are dirty even if you think they are clean. I did that with a new to me GP-100 I thought I had cleaned. Got out to my buds house and had trouble chambering the rounds. And it was NOT a carbon ring. When I got home I really scrubbed the chambers and the remainder of the rounds slipped right in and even rattled a little.

When i get home from shooting I always spray a shot of Remoil, WD-40 or Walmart WD-40 in the chambers and let it set. Thats makes it easy clean the chambers and makes any carbon ring easy to remove. I try to clean my guns the same day I shoot them too.

Since the chambers are not rifled, using a .40 brush on a short rod in a cordless drill after spraying with a solvent will do a great job of cleaning the carbon rings.

One thing I have found to be pretty effective is to slightly bell the mouth of a used .357 case and use it as a scraper.
^^^
This is the "Trick" for .38 Spl. carbon rings.
To "Tweak" this idea, de-cap the old .357 case and drill out to take a wood screw, and then mount on a wood dowel or old screwdriver handle.
It also helps to hit the case mouth on the grinder to sharpen it up a little.
This is a GREAT little tool to have in your cleaner box.
You may have other brass related problems too.?? There are posts out there about import brass causing problems too??..Bill.

After another look...

Some of your pictures look like the cylinder is "Over riding" the rear stop on the flame??

About the "Most Likely" cause of this is a bent Yoke, or Crane.
It is letting the cylinder move too far away from the frame when the cylinder is opened.

I know that I will get flamed here for this, BUT I KNOW some of these problems can be cured with a GREAT hand on a Rawhide or plastic hammer...Bill.

JohnKSa said:

Those carbon rings are the devil. Getting them out with a brush is not simple if they're really baked on.

One thing I have found to be pretty effective is to slightly bell the mouth of a used .357 case and use it as a scraper.

I got tired of the hassle and stopped shooting .38sp in my .357 revolvers many years ago. Gave all my .38Sp ammo to my family.

Click to expand...

Good solution. I have a 38 Smith to shoot my 38 ammo in, and I feed my magnum magnum brass whether loaded to magnum levels or not.

One thing I do every few months with my .357s that I also shoot .38 in is I will remove the cylinder and fully strip it down. I will drop it into a small Rubbermaid container then fill the container with Break Free CLP and let it soak for a day. After I take it out of the Break Free I use a stiff .40 cal nylon brush in each chamber then swab them out. It works really well to get the .38 carbon rings out. Break Free won’t harm the bluing.

Hockey7711 said:

I do shoot some 38s but thought I had cleaned it out to prevent that from happening. I'll reclean with a brush. The ejector rod unscrewed itself once before.

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George P said:

Sounds like the reverse threaded ejection rod might be loose

Click to expand...

Monac said:

I have an S&W revolver (an old Airweight 22 Kit Gun) that has a cylinder axis that unscrews itself. What is a good fix for that? Some kind of Locktite? I would not want a permanent bond, just some resistance to unscrewing.

Click to expand...

Never use a thread locker on the extractor rod, not even the weakest type. There is a tool to use to give you enough torque to keep it tight, unless the threads have been damaged. When you try to tighten it, make sure you have at least three, and preferably six, empty cases in the cylinder. They take up the strain of torquing the extractor rod; otherwise, you'll likely damage the two small locator pins in the back side of the extractor star as well as the groove on the extractor rod.

If the cylinder can get past the stop when swung out there is usually either a bent, twisted or loose yoke (excess side-play). That may also make cylinder lock-up more difficult. There could also be excess side-play in the extractor sleeve.

Is that a Dash-2? (M65-2)

Hockey7711 said:

How would I remove the cylinder on the mod 65?

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The front most side plate screw on the other side of the gun is the screw to remove to take the cylinder off. Take the screw out, and when you open the cylinder, if the muzzle is down, the cylinder will drop right off, so be careful.

If the cylinder is jumping over the frame lug, that part may need to be replaced. Does it look beat up? The cylinder shouldnt go past that.