Looking down the barrel when examining revolver

[NoirFan]

You really, REALLY want an unloaded gun for this one. This is where the light comes in. With the gun STILL held in full lockup, trigger back after lowering the hammer by thumb, you want to shine a light right into the area at the rear of the cylinder near the firing pin. You then look down the barrel . You're looking to make sure the cylinder bore lines up with the barrel. Check every cylinder - that means putting the gun in full lockup for each cylinder before lighting it up.

You're looking for the cylinder and barrel holes to line up perfectly, it's easy to eyeball if there's even a faint light source at the very rear of both bores. And with no rounds present, it's generally easy to get some light in past where the rims would be.

This quote is from the very useful pre-purchase revolver function checklist stuck to the top of this forum. I don't know about you guys, but I always have a lot of trouble with this step. No matter how carefully I check the cylinder beforehand I have a huge mental block against looking down the barrel and pulling the trigger. Also if I'm in a public place like a gun show, I'm self-conscious about looking like an unsafe idiot in front of the seller and the crowd. Usually I just end up skipping this step and trusting to luck that the alignment is OK.

Does anyone else have a hangup about this?

 

[Fatdaddy]

Not as long as I'm the only one who has inspected the cylinder and no one else has handled the gun. Can't fault anyone who isn't comfortable with it though.

 

[Salmoneye]

I check each chamber for alignment with a flashlight while looking down the barrel at full lockup...

If looking down the barrel while pulling the trigger bothers you, pull the trigger and THEN look down the barrel while holding the trigger rearward...

 

[Armored farmer]

two modes of caution when peering down a revolver barrel:
1. KNOW that it is unloaded.
2. pull the trigger, keep it rearward, or put a finger between hammer and frame

 

[CraigC]

Have you never cleaned or visually inspected a bore? My advice would be, get over it. One cannot be confident in his pre-purchase inspection without looking at the bore. It is an absolute necessity when buying used guns and a good idea when buying new ones.

 

[BossHogg]

Also if I'm in a public place like a gun show, I'm self-conscious about looking like an unsafe idiot in front of the seller and the crowd.

Don't worry about it, hell every gunshow I go to someone is always pointing gun at the people around them. Might as well point it toward your head.

 

[CajunBass]

Doesn't bother me a bit. If I know it's unloaded, it's no different than looking down a piece of pipe.

 

[Standing Wolf]

1. KNOW that it is unloaded.
2. pull the trigger, keep it rearward, or put a finger between hammer and frame

Let me add this, please: keep any and all fingers well away from the trigger. It's never a bad idea to block the hammer from falling. Yes, you can end up with a pinched finger, but better that than a click when you didn't want one.

All this takes practice.

 

[22-rimfire]

I almost always look down the bore before buying a firearm (especially used firearms). Of course I personally have verified that it is unloaded prior to this step. I'm looking for loose pieces of metal or any irregularities in the rifling that might be visible. It feels funny doing this in a store, but I do it.

 

[Old Fuff]

Looking down the bore to check its condition is a must in my book, but I do it with the cylinder open. If allowed, I remove the cylinder from a single-action and check the condition of both bore and chambers.

But this is not a good way to check chamber/bore alignment, especially in revolvers other then 1908 pattern Colt hand ejectors, and there it's questionable. In others the cylinder is supposed to "wiggle" a little so that as the bullet passes the chamber can self-align with the bore.

Light cast's shadows, and the shadow can give you a false reading.

The only way to be sure is to use a gunsmith's gauge, called a "range rod." They are available from Brownells (www.brownells.com) but very few gun owners bother to buy them.

When making an eyeball examination look to be sure there is no wiggle between the crane / yoke and frame in all makes and models, and in the case of the previously mentioned Colt’s be sure the cylinder doesn’t wiggle when the trigger is held all of the way back. Be aware that this tells you nothing if you are looking at a S&W, Taurus or other make of hand-ejector revolver. It also doesn’t apply to later “Mark” series Colt revolvers.

 

[sugarmaker]

I do it all the time. I clear the revolver, double check, then look down the barrel with a flashlight against the breech, cyl gap, or down bbl, I can see all the way to the firing pin, and I slowly rotate through all cylinders and check alignment with the trigger back. The inside of the current and next cylinder are always visible, all the way to the breech. I'm also easing the hammer down, not letting it fall. No more dangerous than driving a car. If someone isn't comfortable with this, I understand.

 

[Cosmoline]

Just don't point it at anyone else. Technically if you are prepared to shoot yourself if you are wrong, then there's no violation of the safety rules.

 

[Old Fuff]

I clear the revolver, double check, then look down the barrel with a flashlight against the breech, cyl gap, or down bbl, I can see all the way to the firing pin, and I slowly rotate through all cylinders and check alignment with the trigger back. The inside of the current and next cylinder are always visible, all the way to the breech. I'm also easing the hammer down, not letting it fall.

What you are really checking is "carry up" (full rotation from one chamber to the next). That's important, but there are other ways to see besides looking down the bore.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

You can also use an alignment rod, either manufactured or fabricated by yourself, too. I don't look down any bores until I have personally inspected the cylinder. Also, for inspecting the bore itself - a different matter from chamber alignment - you want the cylinder opened anyway.

 

[JRH6856]

I have a huge mental block against looking down the barrel and pulling the trigger. Also if I'm in a public place like a gun show, I'm self-conscious about looking like an unsafe idiot in front of the seller and the crowd.

So pull the trigger, then look down the barrel. I'd be even more worried about being an idiot for buying a gun I hadn't checked out thoroughly.

 

[sugarmaker]

Fuff, I'm actually looking for the edge of a cylinder visible from the bore end when I rock the cyl back and forth on each hole, which would indicate misalignment.

 

[vicdotcom]

This quote is from the very useful pre-purchase revolver function checklist stuck to the top of this forum. I don't know about you guys, but I always have a lot of trouble with this step. No matter how carefully I check the cylinder beforehand I have a huge mental block against looking down the barrel and pulling the trigger. Also if I'm in a public place like a gun show, I'm self-conscious about looking like an unsafe idiot in front of the seller and the crowd. Usually I just end up skipping this step and trusting to luck that the alignment is OK.

Does anyone else have a hangup about this?

Well, to be fair that segment never said to "look down the barrel and pull the trigger" It says to keep the revolver in full lockup THEN inspect the bore and cylinder line-up. You can then point the gun away in a safe direction, do another lockup on the next cylinder and then look again and repeat. I would never look down the barrel and then pull a trigger either.

 

[Old Fuff]

Fuff, I'm actually looking for the edge of a cylinder visible from the bore end when I rock the cyl back and forth on each hole, which would indicate misalignment.

Sort of...

With the exception of Colt hand-ejector revolvers based on a system that was used from 1908 to 1969 (give or take) with exception of some small D-frame models and the Python that continued in production; All other makes and models made by Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Taurus - plus others not named, should wiggle from side to side, regardless if the trigger is held to the rear or not.

That's because they were designed and made that way. So they should be able to be wiggled into alignment, and you find very few that can't.

The fact is they are as fully locked as they are going to be before the hammer is cocked and before the trigger is fully to the rear as far back as it will go.

The idea that all revolvers, regardless of manufacturer or model should be locked "bank vault door solid" when the trigger is held back, and the chamber/bore in perfect alignment is wrong. If you can wiggle the cylinder enough to bring the chamber into alignment it's good to go.

 

[JRH6856]

If you can wiggle the cylinder enough to bring the chamber into alignment it's good to go.

Of course. And if you can't, you aren't. But you do have to check either way, and there are various ways of doing that. If you aren't carrying range rods with you, a visual check may be your only option.

 

[Loosedhorse]

I have a huge mental block against looking down the barrel and pulling the trigger.

Good. Don't ever do that. Ever again, I guess.

I look down the bore in a gunshop, with a flashlight, to check for wear, corrosion, and leading. I look down the bore at the range if I've heard an off-sounding round, to make sure I don't have a bore obstruction.

In each case, the cylinder is swung out (or removed on a SAA-type). And I don't pull the trigger.

I have never in my life pulled the trigger on ANY firearm with it pointing at my eye, and I never will. For those of you who think range rods cost too much, and pulling the trigger of a firearm while it is pointed at your head is a cheaper alternative...

Well, there are all kinds of costs, I guess. Accept the one you want, and the one you feel comfortable teaching your kids to do.

 

[Old Fuff]

Of course. And if you can't, you aren't. But you do have to check either way, and there are various ways of doing that. If you aren't carrying range rods with you, a visual check may be your only option.

Yes, but the issue I am trying to address is that some have been misled by the posted checklist, and believe that when checking any revolver the cylinder shouldn't wiggle when the trigger is held fully to the rear, and a visual check with a light should confirm that the chamber and bore are in perfect alignment. This not withstanding that a light, casting a shadow, can give a false image. More then once I have watched people reject a perfectly good revolver because they didn’t understand the points I've brought up.

It is far more likely that if there is any real misalignment the cause is a sprung crane (Colt) or yoke (S&W), and if that is the case it is usually easily corrected. Somehow this doesn't ever come up in any discussion.

 

[JRH6856]

It is far more likely that if there is any real misalignment the cause is a sprung crane (Colt) or yoke (S&W), and if that is the case it is usually easily corrected. Somehow this doesn't ever come up in any discussion.

And fairly easy to detect without looking down the barrel and pulling the trigger.

 

[CraigC]

...the issue I am trying to address is that some have been misled by the posted checklist, and believe that when checking any revolver the cylinder shouldn't wiggle when the trigger is held fully to the rear...

I agree that the checklist is misleading in this regard. Only that handful of hand-fitted, precisely built sixguns should have zero movement. Such as Freedom Arms, custom linebored Rugers and I assume Korth and Manurhin.

 

[JRH6856]

I agree that the checklist is misleading in this regard. Only that handful of hand-fitted, precisely built sixguns should have zero movement. Such as Freedom Arms, custom linebored Rugers and I assume Korth and Manurhin.

In addition to "Colt hand-ejector revolvers based on a system that was used from 1908 to 1969 (give or take) with exception of some small D-frame models and the Python that continued in production," as previously stated by Old Fuff. It makes the think it probably that the OP of the sticky was primarily a Colt shooter.

 

[sig220mw]

Why look down the barrel while pulling the trigger? Do like Salmoneye said.