Where's the S&W timing point?

[Topgun]

Colt is trigger pulled, hammer down.

Where exactly is Smith's?

a) at rest

b) trigger pulled, hammer down

c) Hammer at full cock

Was playing with my M66 and GENTLY putting a cleaning rod down the barrel. At rest or with trigger pulled, it slides down with no catch on cyl face.

If I ....manipulate....the cyl to extremes, it will catch a small bit.

Not having a bore size rod, I .....GENTLY....angled rod so it touched muzzle at one side and rear of barrel on other side with other end. Same thing at top and bottom.

I could feel a catch (minor) in almost all positions of abc.

But the TIGHTEST cyl lockup is at full cock.

Now a catch should mean that the cylinder hole is WITHIN the bore, right?

Can't figure out how to tell if the bullet would catch on the BARREL cone since can only get rod in from front.

Am I being confusing or just confused?

 

[Old Fuff]

When you cock a S&W revolver the hand rotates the cylinder to the next chamber and then slides off the ratchet pad and continues to move upward until the hammer comes to full-cock and stops. In theory the cylinder will be most firmly held at this point but it’s a moot point because you can’t fire the piece while the hammer is cocked. What matters is what happens while the trigger is held back and the hammer is fully forward. Now the cylinder is locked by the cylinder stop and nothing else. There should be a little (but only a little) rotational play that will allow the chamber to self-align with the bore as the bullet passes from the cylinder into the barrel. If the alignment is really off you’ll get side-spit when you fire lead bullets.

 

[9mmepiphany]

smiths lockup with the hammer at full-cock.

colts lockup with trigger back and hammer down (the hand pushes up to inmoblize the cylinder) and it is much tighter than the smiths. they take an extra pounding during firing and hence grows their reputation for going out of time more often

 

[Standing Wolf]

they take an extra pounding during firing and hence grows their reputation for going out of time more often

True, but in my experience, it takes a lot of high-recoil ammunition to drive a Colt revolver out of time.

 

[9mmepiphany]

mine too

my first python was an ex-chp duty weapon when i got it...i'm sure it digested thousands of rounds there...and i carried it on duty for years. hundreds of rounds of hot 125gr mag loads as well as hundreds of assorted 140gr and 158gr mag loads ran through it. when it was retired, i shot it in competition...running thousands of rounds of .38 148gr wadcutters and 158RN through it. it was as tight at the end as when i first bought it and will still win "beer money"