Gomar83 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I was wondering what is the average life expectancy (as in how many rds shot) will a Competion revolver shooting major PF go before have problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Depends on the frame and caliber. A .45 ACP N frame with 230 gr. bullets will go way longer than a .357 K frame with any weight bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 Let’s say for a S&W 625/ 625JM. At what point do you have to start worrying about end shake and cyl gap/ gas cutting? Are there more things to watch for and to worry about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 If the endshake is good to begin with, around 10 to 15 thou., then reset it. Some new guns aren't in spec. right out of the box. Ratchets will wear eventually, cylinder stop slots will get peened. Most of the wear items have to do with the cylinder.You can peen the slot material back where it came from with a punch and hammer in 10 minutes. You can replace the extractor (with ratchets ) in 15 minutes. I usually expect 50 to 100 thou. rounds out of a gun, depending on how hard you thrash it. When it's worn out, you can put a new barrel and cylinder on it and start over. All these are a maintenance item like points and plugs or brake pads on a car.. It takes me about 5 or 10 minutes to reset it. No big deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Do you recommend a good tech book to learn the ins and outs on S&W revolvers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 The standard one, "The S&W Revolver - a shop manual" by Jerry Kuhnhausen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWP Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I honestly don't think a round count itself will determine a competition revolver wearing out. Especially a low pressure round like 45acp. Now bad gun handling, that can wear a gun out in as little as a single season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Agreed about the rough handling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Dumb question what do you mean bad/rough handling of a revolver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perttime Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Slamming the cylinder open and closed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 That's pretty much it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 12 hours ago, perttime said: Slamming the cylinder open and closed? Flicking the wrist to close the cylinder ala Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 15 hours ago, Gomar83 said: Dumb question what do you mean bad/rough handling of a revolver? To the previous responses I'll add slamming the moonclips into the cylinder. I've seen a competitor that slammed the moons in so hard that over a period of time he wore a V shaped notch in the grooved portion of the yoke that retains the cylinder in the gun. The result was that he dumped his cylinder on the ground and the screw that retained it was still snug in the side of the frame.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 How common is gas cutting and is it a big problem with shooting competition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatJones Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Gas cutting is a self-limiting problem. It slows down as the surface gets further away from the cylinder.Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan454 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Poorly fit guns wear out faster, people who manhandle the cylinders will also experience more wear. Keep your gun tight and lubricated and it should last you a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alecmc Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Whatever the case is, you can always expect it to fail at the biggest match you are shooting that year. That much we can all agree on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan454 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 20 hours ago, alecmc said: Whatever the case is, you can always expect it to fail at the biggest match you are shooting that year. That much we can all agree on. Yup, that much is certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 There is one thing that is consistent in ruin life is that Mr. Murphy show up at anytime and with make you or break you. At least with a revolver you have to worry about bending feed lips or a mag going out of spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 What would the routine maintenance / parts replacement be? Do you have to replace the springs after x amount of rds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perttime Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I have probably less than 10,000 on my Ruger .357. It is barely run in.... I clean what I can reach without removing any parts. Maybe a drop of oil into the trigger mechanism every once in a while. Maybe strip it a bit once a year, to get soot and gunk out of the internals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatJones Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 I would agree with stripping it down once a year, but it depends on usage. Shooting 10k a year my revo was ready for a clean each year before our ICORE regional. Now, shooting a lot of production, I could probably go two years. It is good to go thru the gun periodically looking for problems, but our guns are sealed up pretty well. Most of the dirt inside mine appears to be powder residue that blows in thru the slot for the hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomar83 Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 How long do trigger jobs last? Do lighter trigger jobs last the life of the gun? What is the lightest double action trigger pull that can be obtained and yet be reliable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makicjf Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 I'm not certain the "V" notch in the yoke is caused by aggressive moon clip insertion. Moreover, even if a push is required, does not a Comp II require a push to release the rounds? My 625, 610 and 627 all have a v notch: my 1917 ( made in 1917) does not. I've not fired it a ton, but at least a 1000 rounds ( or a close number divisible by 6). I've shot several Outlaw Wild Bunch matches with it. My reload swap hand reload technique is the same. I simply drop the rounds. I exert more force swabbing a cylinder between stages than I ever would reloading with moon clips. My inexpert opinion on the V notch in the yoke: The spring plunger system coupled with yoke screws that do not insert far enough into the yoke coupled with soft steal in the yoke assembly creates the notch. The 101 year old veteran of WWI, made with wartime production techniques has no yoke notch while all three of my modern S&W's do... The perspicacity of this group is astounding : the yoke on my 627 failed utterly on the last stage of a local match 2 days before I was leaving for my first IRC. I was able to hodge podge a semi functioning revolver with the crane from my 610. Opening the cylinder was a challenge, it would get tighter by the shot. I'm not certain that my accuracy wasn't affected, but I was able to muddle through the 14 stages with a patched together revo. It should be back from smith this week. I think the redesign of the yoke system is to blame, at least partially, for this failure. I was frustrated enough I haven't fired a revolver since the IRC. Failing at the perfect time is a very accurate statement! Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatJones Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Your hundred year old Smith uses a completely different retention screw design for the yoke. The old design requires hand fitting of the screw, and requires the correct screw to be put into the front sideplate hole on reassembly. I've worked on a lot of old guns with the hand-fit yoke screw put into the wrong sideplate hole.The current S&W yoke screw design is a copy of the old Colt system. It works great unless excess force is used at the back of the cylinder. Only have to push it out once to damage the yoke, then it pops out easier. If you have a small notch in the edge of the V-groove, it didn't leave the factory that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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