Hammer won't cock, cylinder doesn't rotate. Any ideas?

[kozak6]

I'm the gun guy in the family. But I'm not a revolver guy (yet).

So my dad shows up and hands me his pal's Rossi M68. When the trigger is pulled or the hammer is cocked, the hammer only goes about halfway back before it stops, and the cylinder doesn't turn. The cylinder isn't frozen, as it will turn freely when swung out. If I close the cylinder and turn it by hand, it will turn until the cylinder stop engages.

The cylinder face is clean and does not contact the forcing cone when I try to cock it or pull the trigger, so it's not that.

My revolver experience is limited to firing a couple cylinders years ago. I'd have to buy a gunsmithing screwdriver set just to get the sideplate off, which is fine because I've been meaning to buy a set anyways. I have some mechanical aptitude, but it still makes me a bit nervous.

What do you think the problem is? How likely is it to require a gunsmith? If I could just click in a new part, I'd be a hero. Otherwise, I'm concerned that hiring a gunsmith might cost more than the pistol is worth.

It's an Interarms Rossi, so the warranty isn't valid.

Thanks guys.

 

[schnarrgj]

It sounds like the hand. I'd get it to a gunsmith. With my small motor skills, if a hammer doesn't fix it, go to a pro. There are a few videos on YouTube on replacing the hand.

 

[gotboostvr]

Could be powder flakes under the extractor. I'd clean and lube it up throughly and see if it still has an issue.

 

[Kp321]

Possibly the locking bolt ( cylinder stop) is not dropping to allow the cylinder to rotate. Try cocking the hammer with the cylinder open and watch the bolt to see if it drops down in its window as the hammer comes back. You might have to hold back on the cylinder release button to move the hammer. There is an extension on the front of the trigger that activates the bolt. Either this extension or it's mating area on the bolt could be broken.

 

[Jim NE]

It might be the hand, as schnarrgj said. But I would clean and lube first, as others suggested.

Regardless, the most important thing would be to disregard any "Rossi's are junk" comments which might come along, because that would mostly reflect an ignorance of the model 68's, which are often quite good. I love mine - it's very reliable.

Best wishes.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

The first thing I would look for also is something under the extractor star also. I've had it happen to my Smiths before and it sounds like the problem your having.

 

[chicharrones]

My revolver lore is a bit foggy and I'm at work without one with me.

Considering that, if the cylinder latch is forward, doesn't that prevent the hammer from coming back? Open the cylinder and see if you can cock the gun or not as that could replicate your problem.

If that is true, perhaps the spring loaded centerpin on the cylinder isn't poking out at full strength and isn't pushing the internal part of the cylinder latch that is in the center of the recoil shield. Or, the latch mechanism itself is jammed up and won't go backwards with pressure from the centerpin.

Evidence of the latch being stuck would be it won't move backwards against its spring pressure.

EDIT: What I'm really trying to say is, pull the cylinder latch (thumb piece) backwards with a finger (or thumb) and see if you can cock the gun.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I had the exact same thing happen to my Taurus 82.

You would close the cylinder and the center pin would go in and wouldn't spring back out to latch shut. The cylinder would swing freely in and out.

There was a burr inside the mechanism causing the center pin to catch. My smith took it down, polished it up and cleaned it out really good and it's as good as new. Cost a whopping $25.

 

[kozak6]

I popped the sideplate off. One of the sideplate screws under the grip was boogered, so I wonder if someone else tried to take a crack at it. It's interesting to see the mechanism in there. It seems simple at first, but then a little poking around reveals it as nothing of the sort. There's an impressive amount of clockwork going on inside when that trigger is pulled.

Anyways, it looks like somehow, the hand escaped from its slot and just needed to be set back into place. With the hand back in place, the revolver appears to function correctly.

The new problem is that when I was reinstalling the mainspring, it went sproing and sent the mainspring retaining swivel into low Earth orbit.

Dang. I'll see if Rossi will send me another one if I can't find it.

Anyways, what could allow the the hand to escape from its slot? Would a hard drop do it, or does it suggest some other issue?

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Anyways, what could allow the the hand to escape from its slot? Would a hard drop do it, or does it suggest some other issue?

Being reassembled incorrectly.

 

[Drail]

All due respect but you are not going to get a solution asking questions on a forum. Someone experienced in revolvers needs to open the gun up and examine it. Anything less than that will not solve your problem.

 

[bluetopper]

A couple of months ago I had the same thing happen to me on my S&W 14-3. The hammer would only come back a fraction. After taking the sideplate off and working the action and shaking the gun I was able to free it up, pull the hammer back and discover the hammer nose (firing pin) had broke off the hammer and fell in the internals.

 

[Coyote3855]

All due respect but you are not going to get a solution asking questions on a forum. Someone experienced in revolvers needs to open the gun up and examine it. Anything less than that will not solve your problem.

All due respect, I've seen a lot of gun problems solved by the experts on this and other forums. Even had one or two solved for me that way.

Oh, and look. The OP found the problem and solved it himself.

 

[chicharrones]

Anyways, it looks like somehow, the hand escaped from its slot and just needed to be set back into place. With the hand back in place, the revolver appears to function correctly.

The new problem is that when I was reinstalling the mainspring, it went sproing and sent the mainspring retaining swivel into low Earth orbit.

Glad to hear you figured it out, but sad to hear you have another "situation".

 

[sgt127]

I'm pretty sure , short of a frame, I could build an entire, functioning revolver, if I dragged a magnet into every nook and cranny of my toy room.

 

[Seven High]

Numrich arms has the parts that you need to fix the Rossi 68.

 

[BCRider]

I think I'd be moving furniture and spending some quality time with a big magnet.....

Given the buggered up screw and the hand being out of place I'm going to guess that someone went inside and re-assembled it incorrectly as well. Likely it was your Dad's pal that owns the gun since I'm pretty sure he would not have bought a non working gun to start with.

 

[kozak6]

It looks like the swivel shot behind me, ricocheted off the wall behind me, flew over my head, and ended up on the far side of the room in front me, hiding between the trash can and the wall.

Even after I got it all back together, it still wouldn't work. It was just when the revolver was tilted downwards that it appeared to operate correctly. Otherwise, the hand would back out of the slot.

On another forum, they suggested that the hand spring was broken or disengaged. It was just disengaged, so that was a quick fix.

In conclusion, I think one of the previous owners took it apart wrong (boogered screws and gouges), and then put it back together wrong. I'm glad I could get it fixed without a gunsmith.

Thanks guys!