re: S&W 686 question

Txs

Thread was locked before I was able to read it...

What would make the cylinder bind/hard to open on a Smith 686 ? is it something I can check out or is there a problem with these revolvers that needs gunsmith attention ?
It opens , but it's a lot harder than it should be to unlatch and rotate the cylinder out for loading and unloading .

It's possible that someone improperly reassembled the gun after removing the sideplate screws.

This plate is secured with three screws. Try removing the forward and middle screws (the only two with rounded heads) and swapping their positions.

These screws appear the same to the naked eye, but their lengths are slightly different. The forward screw also retains the crane assembly and if the wrong one is used resistance will be felt throughout the entire arc of the crane's travel.

(always check the simple things first [;)])

SP45

Lots of stuff, the most common ailment. Bent crane and the cylinder turns eccentric. Check the ejector rod to see if it is bent. After that check for headspace and barrel cylinder gap.

mr_floppy

Is this a "M" stamped 686? there was a recall years back where a bushing was working loose under heavy hand loads. This will also cause the cylinder to bind on rotating and you may have issues opening up the cylinder. An M stamped on the inside signified the pistol was repaired from the factory recall.


http://firearmsid.com/Recalls/FA_Recalls%205.htm

nmyers

Mr Floppy is right; it should look like this:



Neal

TriumphGuy

I had a 586 (blue steel version) with similar problem. It was a mid 1980's Bangor Punta gun, the worst Smith I ever owned, and the only one I ever sold. One of the dogs on the back of the cylinder, the protrusions that the hand push to rotate the cylinder, was higher than the others. It drugged on the frame face in one part of the cylinder rotation arc, indicating the crane and/or frame was not straight. It was difficult to cock single action for one chamber. Incredibly sloppy assembly and machine work for a Smith, but so it went in the Bangor Punta era. Look at the cylinder rotation dogs to see if one has different wear marks. It would seem to be an easy thing to polish down, but heat treated 4140 is hard, and you wouldn't want to break through the case hardened layer.

savage170

First and cheapest thing I would look at it the yoke retaining screw and make certain the grove on the yoke isn't full of gunk I have bought a lot of revolvers cheap because of this. 3 minutes of cleaning and the revolver was as good as new