cylinder drag mark

[vllyby]

Does anyone know of a way to prevent cylinder drag marks other than not shooting the revolver? I have a super blackhawk 44 mag and a blackhawk 357 mag that I have never fired and plan on shooting them next week. I also am interested in any method to ease the drag mark. thanks

 

[flatgate]

There are two solutions. Extend the hammer plunger via fabrication of a new part. My way is to extend the "leg" of the cylinder latch so it stays open much longer.

Both are tedious jobs that require some "skilled" work.

JMHO,

flatgate

 

[Rob72]

For "easing" drag marks, I high-polish a band around the cylinder and the head of the cylinder stop, finishing off with 1500 grit, wet. Tape it off, and matte-blast the rest.

THis fellow does a nice pistol: http://www.grantcunningham.com/gp-100_100906.html

However, as Flatgate mentions, a real job would involve fitting the stop. In their heyday, S&Ws were noted for the absence of drag marks, but in the age of EDM/MIM mass production, you won't see factory guns like that.

I fixed up my Alaskan, and have a faint mark starting abut 1/2 way between each cylinder. A dab of Tetra grease on the stop head, with each cleaning, will keep it to a minimum. One of these days, I'll get some pics up.

Edit to add: on your blued guns, I would put some elbow grease into polishing the cylinder stop, and apply a spot of grease with each range session.

 

[vllyby]

Thanks for the help with cylinder drag marks. Flatgates suggestion seems a more permanent fix, but I'm afraid it's above my abilities, so I think I will polish the cylinder stop and hope for a lighter drag mark. Thanks to both of you for taking the time to help. vllyby

 

[Anonymous]

Hello all,
Here's a simple fix that works on my guns. On my Blackhawks, the cylinder latch raises & lowers when you open the loading gate. If the latch is not lined up with a notch when the gate is closed, it raises on the side of the cylinder and a drag line is made when the cylinder is rotated to latch it. If you are careful to line it up with a notch before closing the gate, this won't happen. It's not hard; just turn the cylinder until 2 scallops are 90 degrees to the barrel before closing the gate (a chamber lined up with the barrel). I do this as an unconscious habit. This will eliminate or greatly reduce the dragline.
Hope this helps,
Flinger.

 

[flatgate]

You CANNOT eliminate the drag line on a New Model's cylinder w/o adjusting the "timing" of the dropping of the latch.

I cannot vouch for the part depicted above (stolen image) but will say that the intent is "right on"!

JMHO,

flatgate

 

[Carolina Ruger]

I guess I got lucky, but I copied the measurements in the picture
and it dropped right in on a New Model Super Blackhawk. Worked perfectly

 

[cellar701]

Bump this up. A friend was asking me about "how to do this" the other day, and it may be helpful to others. I've also tried extending the hammer plunger option which doesn't require welding, but this one seems to work best.

 

[Hondo44]

If some entity like Power Custom made these modified cyl latches, I think they'd sell more than a few of them.

 

[Hondo44]

Hello all,
Here's a simple fix that works on my guns. On my Blackhawks, the cylinder latch raises & lowers when you open the loading gate. If the latch is not lined up with a notch when the gate is closed, it raises on the side of the cylinder and a drag line is made when the cylinder is rotated to latch it. If you are careful to line it up with a notch before closing the gate, this won't happen. It's not hard; just turn the cylinder until 2 scallops are 90 degrees to the barrel before closing the gate (a chamber lined up with the barrel). I do this as an unconscious habit. This will eliminate or greatly reduce the dragline.
Hope this helps,
Flinger.

That's a good technique and one people need to remember is required even with the modified cyl latch on a NM!

But doing only that, recognize the hammer cycles the cyl latch 6 times for every one opening and closing of the loading gate and will mar the surface w/o the modified cyl latch.