New Lucky Gunner video -Sad

[LtDave]

When revolvers fail, they usually do so in a manner that requires tools to fix. Often times, large hammers may be involved. Even someting as simple as a backed out extractor rod on a S&W can be a real pita if your gun has a shrouded ejector rod like on most of the magnum guns. If your hammer stud breaks, hope you have a back up gun.

[OlongJohnson]

Carroll Smith wrote that the only reason for your race car to be assembled when you buy it is because it's cheaper to ship that way, and it's a reasonable method for the manufacturer to verify that all the parts are included. If you are a responsible race engineer, you will completely disassemble it, clean and inspect everything, address any glaring design or manufacturing defects and ensure that it is assembled correctly with correct torque applied to all fasteners before it ever hits the track.

This LG video supports my belief that the same applies to revolvers, if not all pistols. Knowing what's inside those revolvers, it seems highly improbable that an armorer-level detail strip, cleaning and proper lubrication, with some possible deburring as needed, wouldn't solve the problems. And the failures likely could have been prevented if that had been done proactively when they came out of the box.

If your hammer stud breaks, hope you have a back up gun.

Another reason to avoid the aluminum studs.

[Jeep]

It is a common subject for the Revolver Round up and other classes and discussions we have about Revolvers. Here is the revolver "Reliability" reality. A clean well maintained Revolver with good factory defense ammo is extremely reliable in almost any situation. Many of the trainers and serious folks I converse with are hard pressed to find situations where a revolver failed in an actual shooting by LEO's and citizens outside of getting a hammer hung up in clothing or a non-mechanical failure. However; they do not do well and will often crash during a long training day or multi-day class.

The only revolver that of which I'm aware that is supposedly built to take high round counts (or high round count days) is the Manurhin 73, and that is from the publicity only. I tend to think that while the French GIGN probably did shoot 100 full house .357 rounds through them daily, I doubt they shot 500-1000, much less without cleaning. The heat build up alone would have been intense.

[deputyG23]

Back in our revolver days at work, our Jailors Academy would generally get through two hundred rounds of cheap low bid lead reloads before the guns would get sluggish from all of the burnt powder and bullet lube residue. The K-frame Smiths went a little longer than the Ruger Six-series guns if I recall before needing a good scrubbing. I wonder, with today’s jacketed practice ammo, if that interval could possibly be doubled to about four hundred rounds before a good cleaning

[Bigghoss]

Back in our revolver days at work, our Jailors Academy would generally get through two hundred rounds of cheap low bid lead reloads before the guns would get sluggish from all of the burnt powder and bullet lube residue. The K-frame Smiths went a little longer than the Ruger Six-series guns if I recall before needing a good scrubbing. I wonder, with today’s jacketed practice ammo, if that interval could possibly be doubled to about four hundred rounds before a good cleaning

I have two Ruger Security Sixes. Send me 800 rounds and I'll find out.

[deputyG23]

I have two Ruger Security Sixes. Send me 800 rounds and I'll find out.

Or get someone to spot us 2K of jacketed .38s and we can run yours and two of my M64/10s and see which one chokes first....

[deputyG23]

It is a common subject for the Revolver Round up and other classes and discussions we have about Revolvers. Here is the revolver "Reliability" reality. A clean well maintained Revolver with good factory defense ammo is extremely reliable in almost any situation. Many of the trainers and serious folks I converse with are hard pressed to find situations where a revolver failed in an actual shooting by LEO's and citizens outside of getting a hammer hung up in clothing or a non-mechanical failure. However; they do not do well and will often crash during a long training day or multi-day class. Polar opposites with semi autos. Often we see malfunctions and failures in actual shooting incidents, yet they run for thousands of rounds issue free by throwing a bit of lube on them with no real cleaning. Compound this the smaller that semi auto gets.

I read in the Ed Lovette book on snubby revolvers that NYPD never had a documented instance of a revolver not firing its initial load in combat if called upon to do so. Their shooting records span decades and numerous confrontations.

[SAWBONES]

I've had the experience, several times, of small lightweight revolvers (e.g., S&W 340PD) unpredictably & suddenly "locking up" while shooting full power .357 Magnum loads, such that the cylinder would not turn to the next hole.

Inertia apparently allows the cylinder to move sufficiently forward within the frame that something catches, drags or otherwise prevents normal operation, in spite of said guns being assiduously cleaned (including attention to the gap between forcing cone and cylider face), and properly lubricated.

[Bigghoss]

Or get someone to spot us 2K of jacketed .38s and we can run yours and two of my M64/10s and see which one chokes first....

I'm down.

[Sal Picante]

If your hammer stud breaks, hope you have a back up gun.

This...

Confession: I started shooting with a moonclipped-686 and did and actually started USPSA and IDPA shooting it.

It broke the hammer stud on that. Then I broke the hammer stud on my backup mod 19. I sold both of those guns after S&W repaired 'em.

I like S&W revos, but, damn... They aren't exactly built like the tanks everyone makes 'em out to be...

I keep thinking of buying a j-frame (442 or 642), but then look at the Kimber... Sights I like, etc, probably built better... I dunno...