Posted: 3/22/2008 6:49:35 PM EDT
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Another thread got me wondering; what's the deal with the drag ring around the cylinder on revolvers? I'd think that revolver mfgrs could make them so there's no drag lines from the cylinder lock, or is this pretty much inherent in the design? 
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Most revolvers are deliberately designed to allow the locking bolt to ride on the cylinder for much of it's travel. One problem with the DA revolver is that you can get a condition known as "Throw-by". This is where a jerky, hesitant pull on the trigger "can" cause the cylinder to rotate to far. The cylinder actually rotates past the locking point before the locking bolt can engage the notch in the cylinder. This allows off-center primer hits, and firing in an unlocked condition. To help prevent this, the locking bolt is dropped back onto the cylinder as early as possible so it's more likely to engage the notch. The old Colt action, like the Detective Special and Python work very differently. In the Colt design, the locking bolt is timed to drop into the long leade, or ramp, in front of the locking notch. This prevents wearing the drag line on the cylinder, BUT, makes it more possible for the cylinder to throw-by. In the old Colt action, and in the S&W and others, it's actually possible to induce throw-by with a hesitant, jerky pull on the trigger. It's just less likely than the old Colt's. ALL revolvers will eventually develop the drag line, if nothing else, from closing the cylinder and hand turning it to lock. You can reduce the wear by having the sharp top edges of the locking VERY slightly rounded. You must be careful to just BARELY break and polish the sharp edges and the top of the bolt, since more than just a tiny bit will cause the bolt to fail to lock at all. Bottom line, it's just something that happens to all revolvers. |
+1 gajillion!!!! |
