Cylinder rings on revolvers.

Responded while drunk. Deleted.

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this made me giggle

(which is unseemly)

It is difficult to tell one's tone when communicating with the typed word.
Trust me. I have ticked off some people as well as the inverse.
In the end, usually cooler heads prevail. I have had to offer apologies on more than one occasion.

I have followed both Craig and Jim for quite some time as they are both smart fellows and worthy of respect. They are also two whose tone is easily misunderstood. I am surely in that category too.

And swerving back to the OP, please keep discussing this. I, for one, am learning.

Merry Christmas my friends.

In my opinion, Craig is absolutely correct in his statements regarding Colt single action revolvers, (except for the discontinued and rediculous Colt Cowboy, which is a different animal), Colt replicas, and 3 screw (unmodified) Rugers). Gun writer John Taffin would also agree, and he's written extensively on this.

I won't say much about S&W and Colt double actions, or New Model Ruger single actions except that I think he is correct regarding these as well.

I, for one, have learned a great deal from the various forums I belong to and have never gotten bad advice from Craig. He may be a stickler, but he's usually right and he has a lot of nice guns!

PS--he takes great pictures too!

I LOVE it when he shares photos of his beautiful toys.

It is hard not to be envious.

Thank you fine gents, I'll ignore the rest.

Merry Christmas to you guys, hope you all got some good sixgun gear from Santa.

I got a new to me S&W # 15-4 4" 95% a couple of weeks ago, does this count? Awaiting nicer weather so I can bust a few primers, Santa did good Craig, hope your holster is full also!

Merry Christmas to all.

hope you all got some good sixgun gear from Santa

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If I am on the "fine gents" list (which I shouldn't be ) know that I did not get any six gun gear.

But worry not....I did okay this year.

(3 model 15s, a 38/44, a model 14, a K22 are among the new toys)

To avoid the "second ring" on Smiths, cock and release the hammer after closing the cylinder rather than turning the cylinder to the next notch by hand.

I thank Old Fuff for the kind words. I am certain that many people know more about revolvers than I do, and I have been fortunate enough to learn from some of them, including Old Fuff, who has kept me on the straight and narrow several times.

I think Fuff's post put the thing in perspective very well. I will note that it might be possible to alter an S&W or Ruger DA revolver to drop the cylinder stop later, but it is neither feasible nor desirable and there is no real reason to attempt it.

Jim

To avoid the "second ring" on Smiths, cock and release the hammer after closing the cylinder rather than turning the cylinder to the next notch by hand.

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This is something I didn't know, thanks!

Me neither. I wish someone would have informed me of this around 1980!

Actually this technique will work with most revolvers regardless of the brand or model, but it may require lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber. Done correctly this is no problem but it makes some people nervous. You can get the same results if you simply align the cylinder when you close it so that a notch lines up with the cylinder bolt (Colt), cylinder stop (S&W), cylinder latch (Ruger).

Thanks fluff, I normally do that when closing the cylinder so I guess my natural instincts were correct. It made no sense to me not to do that when I close the cylinder.

The only gun where that concerns me is on the Colt DA's. Those bolt sprngs are small, but very strong and that bolt can really dig into the cylinder. Even in normal operation, when it comes up in the leade, it leaves a gouge mark. That is not a real problem, but it is unsightly. One solution is to reduce that spring weight. The same is true with the Colt SAA and its clones. That bolt spring can be slimmed and trimmed quite a bit while still keeping it up to handling rapid fire.

S&W and Ruger really are not a bother to me, since the springs are not that strong and all the cylinder stop/latch will do is polish off the bluing or burnish the SS a bit.

No matter what, though, it is really a cosmetic thing. I had an e-mail on the subject from a fellow who is worried that the cylinder stop in his SAA clone will eventually wear through the cylinder and the gun will blow up. I assured him that many generations of his descendants would have passed to their rewards before that would happen.

He also asked about setting up an S&W to drop its cylinder stop later. I said it wasn't feasible. It would require building up and changing the contour of either the trigger or the stop and either would be a very delicate weld job. Or a new cylinder stop could be made, but that would be expensive and either way it would be a solution to a non-problem.

Jim

Of course we can all go back to top-break revolvers of the kind Smith & Wesson made during the middle 19th to almost mid-20th centuries.

With the barrel open simply align a chamber with the bore and then close the barrel. Then they’re would be no mark what so ever.

Any takers? :

If I am on the "fine gents" list (which I shouldn't be )...

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You know better than that.

I got some gun-related loot this year but I would've been just fine without it. At this point it's just gravy. I count my blessings every day and they are many. Despite the silly assumptions 'some' folks make about my character, I've never been in such a fine state of bliss.

Craig is applying the way some (but not all) Colt Single Action Army revolvers are timed to other unrelated guns.

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Wrong all the way around. You're applying what is accepted in DA's to traditional SA's. That much is painfully clear. You guys who are primarily DA shooters think that because your guns are unavoidably ringed that all revolvers are supposed to be this way and it is simply WRONG. Any traditional single action or replica with a bolt that rises before the leede needs to be retimed. Or do you know better than Eddie Janis, Hamilton Bowen, Jim Stroh, Tom Sargis, John Taffin, Brian Pearce, etc., etc., ad nauseum? Or maybe all those guns that are properly timed are just accidental??? I don't think so.

For the record, I've never said there was anything to be done about the ring on DA's. I only explained that there were actually two and the reason for each. Kuhnusen does not explain in his books where the bolt is supposed to rise in relation to the notches and like I said before, just because the trigger is halfway back, does not mean that the cylinder is halfway to the notch. Like I also said before, of my 11 S&W's, only one (629 pictured above) has its bolt rise halfway between the notches. It and three other S&W's I own have been professionally tuned. Two of which by factory gunsmiths. Personally, I really don't think you ever bothered to look at where the bolt rises on your own guns. Most people just accept the ring and never bother to ask why.

No matter what, though, it is really a cosmetic thing.

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And totally avoidable on some guns. Which was my point.

From post #25.

If you try this with your own Smith & Wesson or Ruger double-action revolver you will find that when the trigger is about half-way back the cylinder stop (cylinder latch in Ruger’s) is indeed released, and the cylinder has rotated a little past half-way to two-thirds toward the next notch. Both company’s will tell you that this is the way it’s supposed to be so that the stop/latch can work on the cylinder as a brake when it’s rapidly turning in fast double-action firing.

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Anyone who is interested is invited to do what I suggested and see how their own hand-ejector S&W, or Ruger (or Taurus revolver) works. The instructions are in the above paragraph. If they believe that it isn't like it should be they are free to call whichever of the above manufacturers made it and ask.

The Old Fuff will concede that they probably know more about how they’re products should work then he does.

The cylinder stop in my Service-Six drops a hair before the lead into the notch. Both my GP100(new) and my Security-Six(older than the Service) drop about a third of the way into the cylinder's rotation. My Taurus can't seem to make up it's mind.

The Service-Six seems to work fine despite it's apparent deviation from Ruger norms.

Responded while drunk. Deleted.

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No drinking and typing...........

CraigC, I enjoy your posts. You share knowlege which is what this place is about. What we do with it is another story and up to the reader. There are many posters here who share knowlege for us to absorb. That's what makes this forum a great place to kill time and learn. Thank you and thanks to all who share instead of criticize.

It's normal and most all revolvers show those marks

Yeah every revolver I've ever owned that was actually used has had the drag mark around the cylinder. It isn't a big deal and is akin to the scrapes inside of a semi-automatic pistol's slide, anywhere that metal rubs against metal will eventually have these drag rings.

CraigC, I enjoy your posts. You share knowlege which is what this place is about. What we do with it is another story and up to the reader. There are many posters here who share knowlege for us to absorb. That's what makes this forum a great place to kill time and learn. Thank you and thanks to all who share instead of criticize.

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Thank you sir!

It's normal and most all revolvers show those marks

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Yeah every revolver I've ever owned that was actually used has had the drag mark around the cylinder. It isn't a big deal and is akin to the scrapes inside of a semi-automatic pistol's slide, anywhere that metal rubs against metal will eventually have these drag rings.

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And again, this only applies to DA's and New Model Rugers. Those are far from the only revolvers available but I understand that many shooters have zero experience with traditional single actions. The information I've provided will help those folks from mishandling a traditional single action in a gun shop. This is why most shops put a zip tie around the hammer of new Colt SAA's. Because too many people don't know how to handle them properly.

CraigC said:

Thank you sir!




And again, this only applies to DA's and New Model Rugers. Those are far from the only revolvers available but I understand that many shooters have zero experience with traditional single actions. The information I've provided will help those folks from mishandling a traditional single action in a gun shop. This is why most shops put a zip tie around the hammer of new Colt SAA's. Because too many people don't know how to handle them properly.

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Well said.

And again, this only applies to DA's and New Model Rugers.

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True, but the opening post of this thread inquired about a double-action Ruger...