Revolver Cylinder to Barrel GAP ???

dingus

dingus

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OK i noticed my Antique Revolvers have set diffrent barrel to cylinder gaps.
I have a few British guns with a gap of like
.018 tho and there not Worn! no End slop were talking orignal gap being set large.
thats on a Webleys Army Express and a Wilkinson 1892
My S&W are tighter at around .008

My Question is how does the Barrel gap effect the shooting :confused:

Honestly my Army express and the Wilkinson are tack drivers and shoot 1.5 inch groups at 25 Yds
The S&W do the same but with a tighter gap!
I figger gas escapes outa a bigger gap but is it really as important as some write in books.
 
Gap is important but that the cylinders line up with the barrel is important also.

If the gap is too tight, after a while fouling will bind up the cylinder.
 
The Dan Wesson's guage for changing barrels was .006", and sometimes we preferred to set a little tighter for improved accuracy. A certain amount of gap is required for carbon build-up, but at the same time, a tighter gap lessens it and improves bullet alignment. .......so, .006 to .008" is fine with modern powders. The larger gap was needed with the dirtier powders from earlier times.
~Arctic~
 
I set S&W barrels at .003-.005" gap. It also depends on what you are doing with the gun. If it is a competition gun then I keep the gap closer to the .003 mark. If it is an old reliable type then I will let it go closer to the .005.
Dave
 
OK thanks thats all good BUT how does a wider gap cause problems?

I shoot smokeless in all my Antiques. The guns with big gaps shoot as good as the tighter gaped ones.
Is there a loss of Power with a bigger gap?
 
Last edited:
"...how does a wider gap cause problems?..." It can bleed off too much of the gasses. It'd have to be really bad for that to happen though.
 
A larger gap will allow a bit of pressure to escape, more flame out leading to erosion, and more of a chance for the bullet to become misaligned before hitting the leade. If you're shooting a hot cast load, it also allows for more lead spitting and build-up, and a bit of a danger to anyone standing too close.
~Arctic~
 
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