revolver in house fire

[Justbo1901]

My grandmother had a H&K 32 S&W L revolver that was in a house fire. The gun was in a room that was not burned, just had a lot of smoke damage it was inside a stationary box. I've brought the gun home cleaned it and put some gun oil on the revolver because of some rust cleaned up pretty nice.

My question is should the gun be safe to fire, have not fired it yet?

[E4 No More]

If the box survived the gun is ok.

[Guest Andyxd]

+1 on the box. I'd say it is good as it was before the fire if it didn't get wet or anything.

[gregintenn]

I imagine the springs would lose their temper long before the strength of the steel became compromised.

[LagerHead]

Excellent observations guys. I personally would have no problems firing it.

[Guest gunsmoke308]

If the finished got tarnished on it, it might have flaked the metal causing it to not be properly heat treated. you will not even notice it. the box might not have been burned but heat will hurt metal if applied in excess. just speaking from personal experience. i had a rfile do that same thing and cracked the reciever in 1 shot. not trying to scare you but be careful.

[DaveTN]

Paper ignites around 450 F.

If the gun was held at or near that temperature for a long period of time (more than an hour), it could cause problems. But because the room did not burn I would guess that didn’t happen.

Smoke damage wipes off. Any change in the metallurgy will be indicated by color changes in the finish that won’t wipe off.

[TNFF319]

Should be fine if the box held up.

[Will Carry]

There are certain things you need to check before firing an old revolver. The clearance between the cyclinder and the firing cone, the cylinder lockup, timing ect.

If the box didn't burn and it passes inspection....give her a try.

Here is Chuck Hawks comments:

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 cock (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. Cock 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 cock 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 cock 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.