What do you look for in a used revolver?
- Thread starter ruger22
- Start date
happiness is a warm gun
Regular
By Chuck Hawks
Specific things to check on used revolvers
1. Note the condition of the forcing cone at the back of the barrel. Slight erosion in this area, particularly on magnum revolvers, is not cause for concern, but it should not be seriously eroded. The more erosion you see the more the gun has been fired with heavy loads.
2. Check for cutting of the top strap at the cylinder gap, particularly with magnum revolvers. A little erosion here will not hurt, but excessive cutting is undesirable and indicates a lot of shooting with heavy loads, or a wide cylinder gap, or both.
3. To test the safety notch of a traditional single action revolver, pull firmly (about 8-10 pounds--this is not intended to be a test to destruction) on the trigger with the hammer in the safety notch to see if it can be easily forced. Put the revolver on half #### (the loading position) and repeat the test, applying about 5 pounds of pressure on the trigger. The hammer should not drop. This test does not apply to New Model (two screw) Ruger SA revolvers, as they use a different lockwork than traditional SA revolvers.
4. The cylinder of Colt double action revolvers should be completely tight when the trigger is pulled all the way back (the hand forces the cylinder against the bolt). S&W revolvers are never as tight as a Colt, but at least they should not rattle. Slight cylinder play is permissible with S&W DA (and also Ruger SA) revolvers.
5. Check the cylinder gap. It should not exceed .010", and .006" is ideal. #### the gun to turn the cylinder so that every chamber, in turn, lines up with the barrel. The cylinder gap should remain constant.
Also, the cylinder should not slide back and forth appreciably on the cylinder pin. This is called endplay, and it generally increases with use.
6. The crane of a swing out cylinder DA revolver should fit tight to the frame (when closed) without any unsightly gaps. If it doesn't the crane may be sprung. When you wiggle the cylinder with your fingers the crane should barely move, if at all.
While you are at it, check to make sure that the ejector rod has not been bent. This is easy to see if you spin the cylinder, which should spin true.
7. Use you fingers or thumb to put a small amount of drag on the cylinder while you manually #### the revolver (single action mode). The cylinder bolt should click into the locking notches in the cylinder, locking the cylinder in place, at the end of each segment of cylinder rotation. If it does not, the gun is out of time and needs work. Then rapidly thumb #### the gun (don't "fan" a revolver)--the cylinder should not rotate past the proper locking notch. Also, the bolt should not be dragging on the cylinder as it turns. If it does it will leave a clearly visible wear line in the cylinder's finish.
8. Examine the sideplate of a DA revolver. If it has been improperly disassembled it may show pry marks at the edge or have been warped. The sideplate should fit flush and tight, without any gaps.
9. Check the tip of the firing pin, it should be smooth and rounded, not sharp or broken. The firing pin hole should not be chipped or burred.
Specific things to check on used revolvers
1. Note the condition of the forcing cone at the back of the barrel. Slight erosion in this area, particularly on magnum revolvers, is not cause for concern, but it should not be seriously eroded. The more erosion you see the more the gun has been fired with heavy loads.
2. Check for cutting of the top strap at the cylinder gap, particularly with magnum revolvers. A little erosion here will not hurt, but excessive cutting is undesirable and indicates a lot of shooting with heavy loads, or a wide cylinder gap, or both.
3. To test the safety notch of a traditional single action revolver, pull firmly (about 8-10 pounds--this is not intended to be a test to destruction) on the trigger with the hammer in the safety notch to see if it can be easily forced. Put the revolver on half #### (the loading position) and repeat the test, applying about 5 pounds of pressure on the trigger. The hammer should not drop. This test does not apply to New Model (two screw) Ruger SA revolvers, as they use a different lockwork than traditional SA revolvers.
4. The cylinder of Colt double action revolvers should be completely tight when the trigger is pulled all the way back (the hand forces the cylinder against the bolt). S&W revolvers are never as tight as a Colt, but at least they should not rattle. Slight cylinder play is permissible with S&W DA (and also Ruger SA) revolvers.
5. Check the cylinder gap. It should not exceed .010", and .006" is ideal. #### the gun to turn the cylinder so that every chamber, in turn, lines up with the barrel. The cylinder gap should remain constant.
Also, the cylinder should not slide back and forth appreciably on the cylinder pin. This is called endplay, and it generally increases with use.
6. The crane of a swing out cylinder DA revolver should fit tight to the frame (when closed) without any unsightly gaps. If it doesn't the crane may be sprung. When you wiggle the cylinder with your fingers the crane should barely move, if at all.
While you are at it, check to make sure that the ejector rod has not been bent. This is easy to see if you spin the cylinder, which should spin true.
7. Use you fingers or thumb to put a small amount of drag on the cylinder while you manually #### the revolver (single action mode). The cylinder bolt should click into the locking notches in the cylinder, locking the cylinder in place, at the end of each segment of cylinder rotation. If it does not, the gun is out of time and needs work. Then rapidly thumb #### the gun (don't "fan" a revolver)--the cylinder should not rotate past the proper locking notch. Also, the bolt should not be dragging on the cylinder as it turns. If it does it will leave a clearly visible wear line in the cylinder's finish.
8. Examine the sideplate of a DA revolver. If it has been improperly disassembled it may show pry marks at the edge or have been warped. The sideplate should fit flush and tight, without any gaps.
9. Check the tip of the firing pin, it should be smooth and rounded, not sharp or broken. The firing pin hole should not be chipped or burred.
- Location
- Southeastern Michigan
The first thing I check is the barrel, next the top strap (is the a lot of flame cut?), and then cylinder lock up (does the cylinder move a lot when it is locked up?). What is lock up? it is when the cylinder doesn't move and this takes place on Smiths when the hammer is cocked and on Colts when the hammer is gently dropped on an empty cylinder with the trigger still in the rearward position. Regards, Richard
I have all the revolvers I am going to have a use for/opportunity to shoot in this life and possibly the next. So it has been awhile since I've purchased a used revolver for myself.ruger22 said:
However, I do help others once in a while, and my test is simple: get one that has been barely used. Unless things have recently changed, there seems to be no end of people who have liked the idea of a revolver, bought one, shot a couple of boxes of ammunition through it, then put it away to gather dust. Eventually, they sell them for another toy.
That might be a flip statement, but generally, with enough patience and looking, in larger centers it isn't too hard to find a barely used revolver at a reasonable price. A cylinder that bears hardly a mark is evidence of an almost new revolver.
I don't see any particular advantage to stainless. My PPC guns have a ridiculous number of rounds through them, and one Model 19 a fair number of stiff .357 loads, and all seem to be doing fine without being stainless. Maybe if you were in a legal carry situation or vowed to go through life without ever cleaning your handguns...
