Charter cylinder wierdness

I have been messing around with the charter arms revolver I got a couple weeks ago and I can’t get past what seems like a quirk I’m not gonna like. Im not sure if this is normal, or if something is broken or missing. I’m used to mainly S&W but also other brands where the ejector star pushes spent rounds out and snaps back into place as soon as your hand is off of the ejector rod. My charter is not like that, and it seems to be made this way. Is this just a quirk of it being a charter? I dont really understand why they would make it that way, however I do notice that the gun functions essentially as a triple locked cylinder because of its design. Is this normal for the extractor star to not retract all the way back in? It leaves roughly 1/4” exposed, but the channel where the cylinder rod comes up through the yoke cutout the spring loaded collar actually moves forward and snaps back into the frame locking the cylinder at the front, at the rear with the center pin, and then once again at the bolt where it locks rotational motion.

black on black with cell phone... hopefully the napkin gives a clear enough color break to understand what I mean. Notice the extractor is still out and bout under tension, and the ejector rod barely fits through the slot indicating that at least that end of properly configured.

Star isn’t bent. It’s a funky angle where I was trying to show the distance. Disassembling, reassembling, and comparing to the videos on youtube featuring a charter armorer, it seems like I am missing a cylinder washer. Also I don’t have to “break” the cylinder loose with a mallet. Seems like maybe the cylinder washer is what somehow locks Inside of the cylinder and puts spring pressure on the rod towards the front of the gun.

JohnKSa said:

Even just a very small bend in the rod that runs through the cylinder to the star can result in binding. I suppose there could be some other problem, but there is a problem. It should definitely retract when pressure is released.

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There is no binding whatsoever. There is no spring tension pushing at all. The spring inside of the cylinder is captive at both ends with nowhere to move. Hits cylinder on one end and crane on the other. The only other springs in the mechanism are either on the ejector rod cap or on the pin in the center of the star. I’m pretty sure I have identified my issue at this point, and possibly even understand how it works. I just need to find a source to buy the part.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

There is supposed to be a washer in between the yoke and the extractor. It has to be a tight fitting part that essentially works like a Splitring, but there isn’t a slot for a splitring. The spring would push against the inside of the cylinder and towards the front of the gun and if the part under tension is stuck to the extractor rod then the extractor rod must move forward like it’s supposed to. I need that washer... or perhaps to cut a groove for a splitring and make that work out.

JohnKSa said:

Ok. Then I don't understand these two quotes from your first post.If it retracts part of the way, how is it doing that with no spring tension? And what does the last quote mean?

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The partial retraction is done by the spring at the front of the ejector rod between the collar and the rod head. The slop is exactly the distance between the yoke and the collar. The second quote got jacked up by autocorrect I think... but the intent was to say that there is no tension at all for this roughly 1/4” of travel.