smith 686 no dash carry-up(?) question

[cwdotson]

I have a no dash 686 that was stolen and used in two homicides and eventually returned to me from the courts-I posted a thread about it years ago-and have taken it down to seriously thinking carrying it. I've had a decent gunsmith who knows his limitations and was S&W trained years ago look over it and I have popped some rounds through it.

My question is-dry-firing with snap caps I notice distinct differences in some pulls. Some go through to dropping the hammer quickly and smoothly, some seem to stack, and a couple are just plain and simple 2-stage--the cylinder locks and I can squeeze slowly from that distinct point.

The rod seems true. Very light pinning on the straight wall of each cylinder notch. Is it likely a cylinder hand-star issue? Thanks.cwd

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Can you post some pics? Real hard to say anything from your description.

 

[Jim K]

If you have ruled out cylinder binding elsewhere (on barrel at forcing cone, at the front lock, in the crane) and are certain it is in the hand or ratchet, then check these points. Is the binding always on the same chambers? (Use a magic marker to see.)

If not, then I would replace or have your smith replace the hand. If it is always the same chambers, then the ratchet may be messed up; you should be able to see if it is. Your smith may be able to handle that, but a trip to S&W could be the better route.

Jim

 

[cwdotson]

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Thanks for the responses-as for pix, I really can;t take them of how it feels when it cycles.

 

[ImperatorGray]

A pic of the star might help?

 

[cwdotson]

reply

I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

 

[cwdotson]

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Does anyone with experience with a no-dash feel that they can describe what the action should feel like: two-stage, stacking, or pretty much consistent all the way through?

 

[tipoc]

It's very difficult to diagnose a gun in this manner.

Try going through the revolver checkout described in this post. This is the correct way to check if your piece is healthy or not...

http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=19

Go through the check and if something is off there, then get it to a qualified revolver smith.

tipoc

 

[MrBorland]

It's very difficult to diagnose a gun in this manner.

Agreed.

Does anyone with experience with a no-dash feel that they can describe what the action should feel like: two-stage, stacking, or pretty much consistent all the way through?

The quality of the action won't be specific to any particular variant. Whether it's rough or stacks (or not) on any or all chambers has more to do with your particular gun.

It'll be a rare factory action that's perfectly smooth and consistent through the pull, but, as JimK suggested, if all else checks out, and if it binds on any particular chamber, take a close look at the ratchet on the ejector as well as the hand.

Also check yoke alignment. If it binds on the same chambers, open the cylinder, give it a spin, and re-test. If it now binds on different chambers, could be the yoke's out of alignment.

 

[VA27]

Open the cylinder and raise the extractor star. Take a dry toothbrush (your mother-in-law's will work fine) and scrub the back of the cylinder and the front of the star to make sure there is no dust, grung, or powder grains between them.

Next, check your snap caps and see if one of them is out of spec and causing the drag.

It could also be grung in the action. If you aren't comfortable doing a complete strip down you'll need to find someone who knows his way around Smiths to check it for you.

 

[I6turbo]

Does anyone with experience with a no-dash feel that they can describe what the action should feel like: two-stage, stacking, or pretty much consistent all the way through?

I can tell you that my 686 no dash is amazingly smooth, a consistent butter-smooth pull all the way through on every cylinder. It is an awesome action that makes you want to fire it just to feel the action work. And the single action trigger is the best of any gun I have, including target rifles. It's a Goldilocks gun!

Revolver wise, I also have a Colt Trooper Mk III and a Smith Model 67. The 686 is smoother all the way than the Colt (but the Colt is very nice, IMO), and very significantly smoother than the Model 67. The 67 is stock with the original spring tension. I need to do some work on the 67 to see if I can improve it because it just gets left in the case while I shoot the 686 due to the great action.

That's how I describe my 686's action. I hope that helps.