Dropping a Double Action Revolver

[SullyVols]

Anyone able cite or share stories about dropping a revolver on something as hard as concrete or stone?

I have dropped my 686 from holster (swivel holster) height (~3' or so) and it landed more or less on the sights. Scuffed the rear sights a bit and aftewards I noticed the doo-dad that locks the cylinder wasn't protruding. It turned out some crud was holding it back and it works just as well as it did before.

I've seen stories on the internet about the Internal locks engaging when dropped, pieces in the action fracturing, and frame/barrel damage and/or misalignment from dropped steel frame revolvers.

I have noticed from dissassembly of my 686 and 629 compared to my model 19 that the newer smiths are much less robust in terms of the action components. My GP100 (hopefully will return from Ruger in working order) was built like a tank on the inside. I really like the way it was designed - props to the Ruger Engineers for making an all stainless revolver (well except for the springs).

 

[VA27]

Back in the 70's I was having coffee with a couple of the local PD officers. They got a burglary in progress call and we all ran for our vehicles. As I bolted across the street my Smith Model 29 hopped out of my holster and skidded across the street and fetched up with a whack against the curb.

The gun had been Armalloyed (a hard chrome process popular back then) and was wearing Pachmayer grips. It slid about 10 feet and didn't even have any scratches on it! It didn't land on the sights, thank goodness.

While in the academy one of my classmates launched a 3.5" Model 27 downrange from the 15yd line. Nothing but some scratches and lots of hoots from the gallery.

I'm thinking whacking a Smith hard enough to break something on the inside will break it on the outside, probably enough to render it unserviceable and/or unrepairable.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

I've chipped grips and dinged sights on revolvers over the years, but I've never put one out of service by dropping it.

ECS

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MrBorland]

I have noticed from dissassembly of my 686 and 629 compared to my model 19 that the newer smiths are much less robust in terms of the action components.

And you "know" this...how? Do you consistently break your 686 & 629 when disassembling?

Even if there were a difference in durability between new & old S&Ws and Rugers, anecdotal drop test results offer no insight, IMO, since each result depends on innumerable variables beyond the gun itself.

OTOH, if you're simply interested in hearing about what could happen to any revolver when dropped, read on (though I fortunately have no experience in the matter myself ).

 

[rcmodel]

I have seen and worked on S&W's & Colts, dropped on everything that sticks out, over the last 50 years.

And I have never seen one put out of service yet.

Muzzle dings, sight dings, scuffs in the finish, and grip chips are most common.

Broke so they won't shoot??

Not yet for me I haven't seen yet!

rc

 

[ScottieG59]

I used to think my Rugers were built like tanks and my Smith & Wessons were not. Later, I learned more about investment casting vs forged construction. Ruger have to be made beefier to deal with the production method. I think both are built well in their own way, but a good forging still seems superior to a good investment cast item.

I too have been lucky and rarely dropped many weapons. None I dropped had any issues

 

[Certaindeaf]

I knew an old retired FBI agent that'd like to toss his model 13 down on the floor to make a point (left side up though!) and stomp the ever lovin crap out of it.. he was big and generally the house/structure would shake when he did it. no problems

 

[JFrame]

I'm glad to hear that my S&W revolvers are structurally sound pieces of engineering -- but I hope to be able to pass on any of the experiences being related on this thread...


.

 

[Jim K]

Hi, ScottieG59,

Now you have done it and you will be in for an attack by the Rugerfans. Rugerfans KNOW that any and all Rugers are super strong and no load or powder known to man can harm one. Further they can be dropped from ten miles up into a flaming volcano with no damage, or placed on a railroad track and suffer nary a scratch from mile-long trains running over them!!

Actually, you are correct about manufacturing methods of the frames. Both makes are more than adequately strong and, oddly, their cylinder steel is the same, bought from the same supplier.

Jim

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

If you dropped the revolver and it landed in such a way as to impact directly on the right side of the cylinder, could the crane/yoke be "sprung?" If bad enough, would it keep the cylinder from turning?

 

[SullyVols]

Good to hear - hoping my 686 and GP100 will last me a life time.

 

[shafter]

Now you have done it and you will be in for an attack by the Rugerfans. Rugerfans KNOW that any and all Rugers are super strong and no load or powder known to man can harm one. Further they can be dropped from ten miles up into a flaming volcano with no damage, or placed on a railroad track and suffer nary a scratch from mile-long trains running over them!!

You're right, nothing short of the fires of Mount Doom can unmake a Ruger revolver

As for toughness Ruger revolvers are beefier but that doesn't necessarily mean they are stronger.

 

[Cosmoline]

I've seen stories on the internet about the Internal locks engaging when dropped, pieces in the action fracturing, and frame/barrel damage and/or misalignment from dropped steel frame revolvers

I run into this nonsense from time to time. I remember one fellow who had been told if you drop one it "goes out of timing." I'm not sure where it's coming from. But it's hogwash. Steel is strong. Very strong. There are some vintage double actions and antiques with more delicate lockwork, but even these are pretty tough. Any modern post-war revolver from a quality maker is not going to fall apart because you drop it. Think about it for a second. A .357 magnum wheelgun is able to restrain pressures of tens of thousands PSI over and over again. Why would a fall on the ground shatter its insides?

 

[buzz meeks]

More anecdotal evidence here. I've dropped a 442 on concrete, a S&W Model 28 on hard ground, and a Ruger GP100 on a wood floor. In each case, the revolver landed rear sight first. Besides a bruised ego (mine) and a scratch on the 442, nothing happened.

Like Cosmoline, I don't know where this stuff gets started. It was either here or TFL, but didn't Mike Irwin do a quick and dirty home test where he repeatedly pitched a Charter Arms revolver off a second story deck onto a concrete pad below? Surprisingly enough, there were no ill-effects beyond some cosmetic damage.

 

[marv]

I 'mailordered' a used M10. Examination showed the hammer spur to be half its normal length with a half a-- job of finishing it. Rather than undergo the hassle of returning it I had my 'smith dress it down properly and touch it up. He told me later the hammer was so hard he couldn't cut it with a saw. Had to use a Dremel wheel. I reassembled it with Wolfe springs and Hogue rubbers and I have a nice DAO revolver. Shoots good.

 

[mtrmn]

dropped a fully-loaded SW mdl 13 357 on concrete from waist height. Landed on the hammer spur hard enough to break the spur clean off. That was the only damage and it didn't go off either. Ground down the rough surface where the spur used to be and continued to use the gun for several months before I replaced the hammer.

 

[1madss]

I dropped a 6" 686 (unloaded) from an ill fitting shoulder holster I was trying on many years ago and broke one side of the rear blade off. The shop's gunsmith only came around once a week or so and it took forever to get fixed. Of course now days I would just order a replacement online.

 

[gamestalker]

Yep. I dropped one of my S&W's once. The only thing that happened is it bent the read sight blade a little. But I also drove over one of my 66's a few a years back. I was on a dirt road heading back to camp and stopped to take a leak, I took the wheel gun out of the holster and set it on the tire and forgot about it until after I ran it over. When I got home I checked it out and nothing happened other than a couple very light scratches to the cylinder, got lucky I guess.

GS

 

[Cosmoline]

Some of the sights can be vulnerable, which is why I prefer a stout sourdough or patridge type that can't be damaged so easily.

 

[Sav .250]

Nothing is .........impossible. If dropped and all the stars line up perfectly..........bang.

 

[MrBorland]

Nothing is .........impossible. If dropped and all the stars line up perfectly..........bang.

Between the rebound slide and the hammer block, it'd take more than good celestial alignment. Unless several things were seriously wrong with the gun in the first place, a "bang" would be nothing short of miraculous, methinks.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I dropped a j frame several decades ago and bent the extractor rod enough to put it out of business until I could get it straight.

 

[skt239]

I've dropped my CCW on the my foot once and on a tile floor another time. The one that hit my foot was barrel first and the second on the hammer. None caused any damage or injury.