A moment of thoughtlessness

[kbstenberg]

I know I'm the only one on our website that in a moment of thoughtlessness did something they tell everyone else not to do. Everyone that is new to handling handguns I tell not to close the cylinder like they see on television by flipping the gun to the side. I have no idea why I did it but i did. And I got cought at it.
After the 1 time. My cylinder now binds before it opens. The cylinder looks like it is not in alignment with the barrel. And the cylinder does not lock up tight.
Well it looks like I am going to see the Gun Dr.

[thegreatdane]

Bummer! What revolver was it? Hopefully not a real expensive one.

[44man]

It has to be a S&W.
Did you know you can bend it straight by hand? A gunsmith might do that without tools but he can make sure it is in line for you.

[x101airborne]

After many rounds with my 29 smith, (and I mean thousands), I had major cylinder binding. Sent it to Smith and they repaired the crane-yolk alignment for no charge. Mine was due to wear, but I think it is the same affliction. I saw my son do it once with my model 65 in 38 spl and he now shoots the iver johnson.

[9.3X62AL]

Sorry to read this, sir. It is 100% repairable, though.

Most "swing-out" revolvers have this 'Achilles' heel', some more than others. 'Cylinder whipping' is DEFINITELY a practice to avoid and to discourage others from doing. A lot of those that belong here do mentoring for newer shooters, and this cautionary warning needs to be instilled early-on.

[tacklebury]

Whipping and Fanning. 2 big no-no's the movies include lots. 8(

[Hardcast416taylor]

Years ago when I ran an indoor pistol range I saw this same thing happen. A husband and wife had just started into indoor shooting with a pair of Colt Pythons. The couple owned a tool & die shop so they had a few more than normal bucks to toss around. Well they both were closing their revolver cylinders with the "whip & snap" method as on TV shows. I tried to warn them their pistol cranes may get bent doing that action. They ignored me. By the 3rd week of their Fri. night shooting both guns were binding and shaving lead. I love it when people listen to me!Robert

[Rio Grande]

Drives me bonkers when I see people do that. I asked to see a Smith Model 28 once in a pawn shop and the salesboy took it out of the case, opened it, 'whipped' it shut and tried to hand it to me. I said "no thanks, I don't want to see it, not after what you just did".
The guy actually followed me out the door and yelled at me.

(Another time a dumb clerk pulled a Brit .303 (WW1 vintage) off the rack, shouldered it and happily dry fired it about ten times, to show me how fast one could work the action. I gently corrected him, saying I'd be MUCH less likely to buy it after that demonstration.)

Tool and Die Shop owners? You'd think they'd have more sense about precision equipment...

[BruceB]

I certainly agree that slapping the cylinder in-and-out on the S&W is horrible maltreatment.

However, the Lee Enfield rifles are designed and intended for practically-endless dry-firing. We spent many hours in dry-firing and rapid reloading drills, and the rifles were immune to the procedure.

Military rifles in general are dry-fired extensively.

SPORTING rifles, on the other hand, are often easily damaged by extensive dryfire, and shotguns, especially doubles, NEVER should be dryfired if it can be avoided. At least use snap-caps!

On the ol' .303 though...no worries.

[David LaPell]

I remember one time when I showed a supposedly knowledgable gun handler Smith & Wesson Model 19. Then I saw him whip that cylinder shut and I quickly relieved him of my gun. He got mad telling me that he has a friend who does it with his gun all the time. I told him to go play with his gun and leave mine alone.

[jgt]

To your credit you did it to your own gun and was honest about it. It is repairable and you will probably never do that again. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[NoZombies]

I was working in a gun shop some time ago, and had a father and son that would come in regularly, the father was very knowledgeable, and the son always respectful, so when they would come in, I would let the son look at the guns (with dad's permission of course) and one day after looking at a revolver, he whipped the cylinder shut. I used it as a teaching experience, bringing a nice old smith model 28 from the back that was in to see the gunsmith for just such carelessness. A few minutes of kind speaking, and I'm sure to this day, the kid has never done that again.

[Frank46]

Had gone to a local gun shop to pick up a used model 10 I had ordered. One of the employees did the whip and snap thought it was cool. gently removed the revolver from his hands and proceeded to explain just why it should not be done that way. No screaming or yelling and calmly explained. Must be getting mellow in my old age. Frank

[429421Cowboy]

My best friend does it to has poor S&W mod 18(?) (i think) .22 revolver that came with 4 factory options and was a beautiful gun when his grandfather gave it to him, after a couple years on the ranch with such behavior however its showing the signs... This is the same guy that was inspecting my Super Blackhawk and felt the need to get the cylinder up to about 2500RPM before snapping the loading gate shut. To my credit the only outward sign i showed was a slight eye twitch as i took it from him and explained about what happens when you throw a stick in between the spokes of a bicycle, also explaining the fact that the un-fluted cylinder only adds to the momentum of the spin...

[smoked turkey]

I once made the mistake of letting the guy in the next shooting lane shoot my Colt Officers ACP. I handed him the empty pistol along with a loaded magazine. He promply dropped the magazine on the concrete floor. It evidently landed on the cartridge end bending the feed lips. He was amazed afterward that the Colt jammed on him! I learned a valuable lesson that day about loaning my guns to someone I don't know.