smoothing out the back of the cylinder (i use a hard arkansas knife sharpening stone) should eliminate the binding you are experiencing. smoothing the frame area where the cylinder ratchets rotate couldn't hurt either.
my rule is to stone a little then try it. you can't get it back if you go too far.
hope your daughter doesn't get too frustrated. this is all part of the game. and a very good learning experience. it won't be the last time a firearm doesn't work perfectly from the getgo.
luck,
murf
I figured honing could help. The only problem I saw is losing bluing where I hone, but heck, it's already wearing off where it's binding anyway!
She's a tough little girl. I've explained to her that she "doesn't have big hairy monkey arms like Dad" (at which point I thumped my chest and acted like a monkey, and chased her around a bit). So I told her she'll need to practice cocking and pulling the trigger at home to build up some muscles in her hands.
The little girl can walk around the house on her hands, climb a door frame and hang upside down from the thing, and do back-bend stuff that would paralyze me. I told her we all have strengths, but even if she has trouble now she will get stronger with practice.
One thing I noticed, when she cocks the revolver she tends to keep her trigger inside the finger guard. (I do this, too, I found, but I'm pushing forward with it, and not touching the trigger). So I'm working with her when she practices to remove her finger from the trigger guard before she cocks it. We'll also use it as an excuse to practice dry fire.
She was bugging me non-stop to shoot it! So I took her out on the back deck (day after I brought it home). She's not tall enough to see (or shoot) OVER the back rail of my deck... so I tossed a soda can on the ground out back and let her shoot it
between the rails. Seemed like a great idea indoors, but man I was nervous handing her a loaded gun when we got out there. I found she had to hand it to me, to cock, then hand it back to her to shoot.. I'm a little uncomfortable with this (handing a cocked weapon over...my hand is inevitably covering SOME part of the cylinder gap when doing so... an accidental trigger pull would be painful)
Right before she fired the last shot, I noticed (too late) that the muzzle was aligned very near one of the deck posts she was sighting through... but couldn't say STOP in time, she creased it just as I noticed.
So now my deck has a little battle-scar.
Anyway this weekend we'll get some real range time in, with targets. I think I'll get a pack of balloons to blow up & staple to the backstop for her to shoot.
