What to look for in a used revolver?

[Clobbersaurus]

I was looking at some used revolvers in my area. Mainly .357s. Can someone tell me what I should look for (good and bad). I heard some people say to make sure the cylinder is tight. Does that mean just make sure there is no "roll" to it when its in the closed position and cocked? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Clobber

[Tyoung]

The way I understand checking the cylinder lock-up is to cock the gun then pull the trigger and ease the hammer down. With the trigger still back wiggle the cylinder. If I'm wrong let me know.

[slugger6]

Originally Posted by Clobbersaurus

I was looking at some used revolvers in my area. Mainly .357s. Can someone tell me what I should look for (good and bad). I heard some people say to make sure the cylinder is tight. Does that mean just make sure there is no "roll" to it when its in the closed position and cocked? Any help would be much appreciated.

First, be sure the revolver is unloaded. Then pull back the hammer into the cocked position. Now attempt to wiggle (rotate) the cylinder back and forth. There should be little to no wiggle in it. If your cylinder is loose the revolver will probably shave lead when it fires. I had a S&W once that got to that point...little flecks of lead embedded in my shooting hand...dangerous and painful. Hope that helps.

[Clobbersaurus]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Appreciated.

[NBollinger]

there is a great article on The Firing Line Forums located at http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...threadid=57816 this article talks about cylinder play, cylinder gap, timing, trigger, and signs of bad gunsmithing.

[Clobbersaurus]

WOW!! Thanks for the link. I guess that about covers it all.

[B. Adams]

When I'm looking at revolvers, I take a spark plug guage with me, the kind with the flat blades, to check the gap from cylinder to forcing cone. The closer it is, the better, but any more than .002" and it's getting too tight. I think .007" is a lot, and .009 is just too much. That's what I go by anyway. My old Ruger Security 6 goes from .002" to .003", and it's fantastic. I had an SP101 that would go from .003" to .009", and it kind of sucked, but that wasn't the only reason.

It's also good to take a flashlight to shine in the side of the cylinder while you look down the barrel to see how well the cylinder lines up with the cone. Just be extra sure it's unloaded before you try it.

That's the stuff you need tools for, the other stuff is just by feel. The article at TFL is really good, that's probably where I got most of my information.

[NBollinger]

no problem...hope the search goes well. I have a Ruger GP 100 and I love it. Bought it used as well.

[Brickboy240]

I have an older S&W Mod. 19 357 in 4" trim that is a great shooter. Hard to go wrong with a 4" K-frame Smith...they're very good guns. The 586/686 Smiths are also good guns, but a tad on the heavy side. The 38 and 357 mid-sized revolvers are probably some of the finest things S&W ever made...or ever will.

The Ruger GP 100 is a good revolver but not as smooth of an action as the K-frame Smiths.

The Colt Python is awesome, but they are known to come out of time easliy and who can afford one?

- Brickboy240

[Heathen-Yak]

Originally Posted by Brickboy240

I have an older S&W Mod. 19 357 in 4" trim that is a great shooter. Hard to go wrong with a 4" K-frame Smith...they're very good guns. The 586/686 Smiths are also good guns, but a tad on the heavy side. The 38 and 357 mid-sized revolvers are probably some of the finest things S&W ever made...or ever will.

The Ruger GP 100 is a good revolver but not as smooth of an action as the K-frame Smiths.

The Colt Python is awesome, but they are known to come out of time easliy and who can afford one?

- Brickboy240

The python also has issues with the forcing cone. my dad has a 6" one and the forcing cone has split about 1" up the barrel. apparently the 6" barrel was very popular and replacements have been tough to find.