Loose (?) cylinder on S&W M19

[Stimovsky]

I have a S&W M19-6 that used to shoot 99s at 25yds on a steady basis.

It recently started to spray all over the target with odd sideways impacts, with either my handloads or factory ammo.

I cleaned the barrel and chambers with little to no effect. I shot my handloads in another revolver and they did fine.

This is when I noticed my cylinder has more play when cocked than any other revolver I could put my hands on. It isn't much, something like 1/16".

Does it seem too much to you? May I have broken something? Are there parts I should replace to tighten the cylinder?

Thank you for your help,

 

[edwardware]

It isn't much, something like 1/16".

If you mean they outside edge of the cylinder rotates 0.063" while locked. . . that's a lot.

Before you open it, you really need to get Kuhnhausen. Don't just start dickering around in there. . . there's much more to break than fix!

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Fore and aft movement or rotational?

Also, take a close look at the bottom of the forcing cone to make sure its not cracked.

 

[Stimovsky]

I just measured it, that's actually .028" max rotational play depending on the chamber. Can this be considered as acceptable tolerance?

Edwardware, thank you for the reference book, I ordered it. I won't try anything myself though, there's too much at stakes and too little skills to be relied upon.
Nightlord40K, the forcing cone is fine. The Emperor protects!

 

[243winxb]

Use a range rod to check cylinder lockup/timing. . https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...s/range-rods/revolver-range-rods-prod655.aspx

 

[boom boom]

I just measured it, that's actually .028" max rotational play depending on the chamber. Can this be considered as acceptable tolerance?

Edwardware, thank you for the reference book, I ordered it. I won't try anything myself though, there's too much at stakes and too little skills to be relied upon.
Nightlord40K, the forcing cone is fine. The Emperor protects!

I suspect that you are having a problem with the cylinder stop locking into the cylinder if this was a sudden issue. An easy thing to do is to clean the cylinder notches as dirt in them can do it. Check the cylinder stop of yours versus pix. The other issue could be the hand.

Might find this short link useful on diagnosing problems in S&W actions. https://friedmanhandguntraining.com/Gun_Maintenance/S&W_revolver_inspection.pdf

 

[Stimovsky]

There was some dirt in the cylinder notches indeed, and it seems like the cylinder stop doesn't move as high as in the video 243winxb embedded in his post. There's probably some more dirt inside the frame preventing it from acting as it should.
My conclusion is: it's time for a thorough cleaning session.

Thank you very much, all of you.

 

[BBBBill]

Revolvers do wear, especially K frame Smiths shooting a steady diet of .357 Magnum. They will do it even with .38 Special although not as rapidly. The good news is that they are usually easily repaired by a qualified smith or skilled amateur. There are some oversize hands and cylinder stops, yoke stretchers, yoke endshake washers, and other parts available to bring it back up to spec. I have done quite a few with excellent results.