Flicking The Cylinder Of A Revolver (A No No)

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All-

Last Friday (10-14-05), I feel as though I made a customer really mad as I stepped in and corrected him about flicking the cylinder of revolvers open
and closed. This particular gun was one of the three owners late fathers
Smith & Wesson "Centinnel Model" 42; or a "lemon squeezer" if you like.
Grant it, it had a letter "L" serial prefix (really not that old); but was in
pristine condition, and had been taken real good care of. The customer
said he didn't know that kind'a practice was harmful to revolvers. I told
him that kind'a action was best left to movie prop firearms; and in real
life, we were not suppose to treat any revolver in that manner.

My question is, was I wrong in my actions? I hate to see firearms handled
in such a manner, and respect others property just like I do my own. The
firearm was left in MY care, so I think I acted appropriately. Please feel
free to flame me if you think I did wrong~!

 

[Felonious Monk]

Hey Dan,

You just never know. It's Monday morning quarterbacking for any of us to comment, but I think if you were polite and courteous, sincerely just wanting to educate the rockhead , I think you made a good call.

Any time you're in that situation, it calls for a TON of tact, and factors like how long you've known the guy, is he a repeat customer, etc. are going to come into play.

By not overreacting, and saying something like "most guys I know usually prefer to just cradle it open gently with two fingers, so it doesn't bend/twist/misalign/whatever..." would go over just fine if it was me, but it's hard to read a situation like that.

Based on what you've given us to go by, I'll give you a thumbs up on handling the situation. Way to go!

Monk

 

[Dienekes]

Sounds OK to me. An old geezer police firearms instructor once explained that the metal in most revolvers was about the same as the steel in a ten penny nail. There isn't much thickness in that yoke and the cylinder is a fair amount of weight hung out there. Granted a J frame cylinder isn't as massive as the one on an N frame, but why push your luck. I once spent a fair amount of time getting the yoke and cylinder of an old 1917 Colt aligned again from that sort of nonsense.

When in doubt I always advise people to "ease the cylinder out and ease it in again". Same with semiauto slides--they don't need to be slammed shut on an empty chamber just to hear the clank.

 

[mec]

could'uv saved you from having to fix a bent crane.

I once attended a session given by a graduate of GunSight who advised that revolvers should be slapped shut for speed. "they're build to take it." This was in the mid 80s and apparently the intro class was so in love with the 1911 that they pretty much ignored revolvers. He also had the information that the round nosed bullet had been proven best for everything- revolvers, autos included. There are probably a lot of people running around who believe these things.

 

[P95Carry]

Put this over to Revo's Dan

I think you were 100% spot on. People seem to be bound up with Hollywood gun handling but need to appreciate the mass of a cylinder and so - if flicked out then when it stops the inertial load on the crane is far from useful!!

Flicking back in ain't much better but perhaps the lesser of the two evils.

I teach folks in my Basic Pistol classes to ''baby'' the cylinder in and out - whilst still being firm and assertive. No revo deserves abuse of that sort and folks should have it pointed out - at earliest opportunity.

 

[el44vaquero]

I saw a guy do that with a Colt Python. Guy behind the counter almost had a stroke. Rightly so, because it was a NIB never fired Python.

 

[Stainz]

I work as a part-time RO at the public range near your side of town, and I see that all of the time. If it is their firearm and I see them doing that, and they seem nice and receptive, I try to educate them re that type of destructive opening/closing. If not, I let them be - some folks get mad enough at me for insisting that they wear safety glasses, despite our numerous signs. If the firearm is yours - or the store's - you must stop them from such behavior. You did the right thing, no doubt!

Stainz

 

[Onmilo]

I see someone doing that to any revolver my inclination is to go ahead and really break the gun by smacking the idiot in the head with it.

 

[Old Fuff]

The firearm was left in MY care, so I think I acted appropriately.

Indeed you did. What your customer was doing was wrong no matter what, but in particular he had no business doing it to a revolver that didn't belong to him. When I was working from your side of the counter I always corrected a customer that was doing something wrong, stupid, or unsafe. Educating people is part of the job in my book.

I may have lost a few sales, but if so it never concerned me.

 

[lee n. field]

My question is, was I wrong in my actions? I hate to see firearms handled
in such a manner, and respect others property just like I do my own. The
firearm was left in MY care, so I think I acted appropriately. Please feel
free to flame me if you think I did wrong~!

In the future, as or before you hand them the gun, tell them not to flick the cylinder closed.

 

[foghornl]

Handled the best way from what I see, short of removing revolver from that idjit's hands, and "flicking" him about the head and shoulders with said revolver...



p.s. I have also seen the "Single-Action" version of that cylinder 'flick'..

Guy spins the cylinder on a .45 Blackhawk and fast as possible, then slams the loading gate shut...you could see the gun torque in his hands as the cylinder came to a sudden stop. . . . .

 

[mete]

The crane or yoke of a revolver is not the strongest piece.The flicking is seen very often in the movies but is dumb and the crane can bend and the gun then spit lead etc.Scream loud at those dumb customers !!!

 

[RyanM]

I think you should've been ruder. Personally, if someone did that to my revolver (even though it's a Ruger), I probably would have grabbed it out of their hand. Of course, I don't have a store, so I don't have to worry about losing customers.

 

[Brian Williams]

Good call Dan
I have told Gunshop commando Sales guys not to flick or spin a cylinder.

At Trops gun shop near me they had a guy who did this. One time I walked in and he was packing a 1911 in a highrise OWB and a polished SS Ruger blackhawk in a lowrise cowboy rig, on the same hip.....

 

[unspellable]

Finish breaking the revolver?

You don't finish breaking the revolver by banging it on the guys head. You realign the crane by very judicious repeated banging on the guy's head.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I think you were totally right in correcting him (so long as you used some tact).

I show a lot of respect to other people's firearms and expect them to do the same to mine. Makes me mad when people wear out a good gun through abuse and it's 10 times worse when it's not theirs and you know they don't have the money to pay for it if they wanted to buy it

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Flipping a revolver cylinder open and shut is bad gun handling.
If I do anything wrong, I don't mind being corrected. If someone
minds being corrected for doing something wrong, that's on them.
You were correct in correcting the guy. No flame.

 

[RA40]

You did well. I encounter this in other areas as well and many of these people have seen this action on TV or movies. :banghead: When explained about the mechanics, many are appreciative of the education.

But some...

 

[Slip Shooter]

Back in the early 80's I purchased a Colt Detective Special Snub during my lunch hour and brought it back to the job. Several of the men knew I was making the purchase and wanted to look at it. And, you might know one of the guys opened the cylinder, gave it a good spin and flicked it closed, to everyone's astonishment. I (we) instructed him not to do that. He simply smiled and said "that's the way they do in the movies" and handed it back to me.

I have known this person for probably 30 years now, and have since avoided him handling any of my firearms and he never asks. Seems like we both learned a lesson.

 

[Ala Dan]

Many thanks for the reply's folks, I knew I could depend on our most
excellent membership of High Road'ers.

Just thought I would throw it out there, and be judged by my peers~!
BTW, I had known this customer from our days in high school; so YES
I did excercise a bit of tact, but it un-nerved me too realize that this
guy didn't actually know any better.

 

[Stevel]

I had a similar twice in my life. One situation 3 weeks ago with a friend I've known for 20 years. I nicely suggested it's a little easier on the guns if he press it closed. 15 years ago with a cousin. Too many viewings of Hawaii 5-0 intro's I guess.

While we're on the topic, does anyone know what "springing the crane" means? I've read in magazines that flicking the cylinder could result in it, but have no idea what it means.

 

[P95Carry]

Stevel - I take that to mean basically - causing crane upset/distortion - and for me that will happen on the ''flick open''.

The mass of the cyl' even empty - if coming out fast - has to be abruptly stopped once crane reaches travel limit - and so there is a significant deceleration happening - the crane can be distorted by this. It is almost being ''sprung'' but actually it has no damping ability and so there is a very sudden inertial shock at a sudden stop.

The ''flick closed'' is IMO less damaging but still far from desirable. Add loaded rounds to the total cyl' weight and things get even worse!

 

[LHB1]

Steve,
The arm that holds the cylinder is called the "crane". "Springing the crane" means bending this arm which results in the cylinder NOT aligning the chambers correctly with the barrel when cylinder is closed. This can result in bullets not entering the barrel smoothly and spitting small pieces of lead out the cylinder/barrel gap.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

 

[Ohen Cepel]

You can often tell if it's been "sprung" by looking at it from the barrel end (cleared of course). The gap between the frame the the crane will be much larger than normal and it can make the gun malfunction, decrease accuracy, and just really ruin one's day.

 

[mec]

"I think you were totally right in correcting him (so long as you used some tact.."
Which I'm sure Dan did. His posts reveal a history of tactful, respectful and honest dealings with his customers. (I can't remember the exact situation right now but I was impressed at the time and said so.)

A lot of custom gunmakers and smiths would have more business if they followed his example