Detective special binds with ammo, not with dry fire or snap caps?

[Radlink54]

I have a mid 70's nickel Detective special, purchased used as my first Colt revolver. No personal knowledge of history but actually showed it to a gunsmith after purchase who agreed revolver looked in great shape, seems little used.

On my first trip to actually fire the gun, using several different brands of factory regular 38 special ammo, I experienced repetitive binding of the cylinder and action after firing 2-3 rounds.

The gun dry fires all cylinders without any noticeable hangup or difficulty. It "fires" and rotates all 6 cylinders with snap caps in place. I cannot reproduce the issue with snap caps.

However with real ammo, after the 2nd shot the trigger almost freezes and is impossible to pull back more than about 1/4 normal, and the hammer retracts only a small amount. If I open the cylinder and close back I can fire one or two more rounds only and again it binds.

If I place only 3 rounds equally spaced in the cylinder with an empty in between, the cylinder rotates normally and trigger functions without hanging up. No evidence of bullet pull. The cylinder can be opened and closed easily even when the trigger hangs up.

Any ideas regarding this strange scenario?

 

Anyone know a good true "colt savvy" gunsmith in the Franklin area?

[Ugly]

I had my S&W 686 bind up on me after about 10 years of ownership with light shooting. Finally took it apart to inspect and clean the innards. It wasn't noticiably dirty but after a cleaning and lube it worked like brand new.
I'd recommend doing that before I take it somewhere. Edited June 24, 2014 by Ugly

[JC57]

I had a Colt Agent from that era which had a similar issue - it was that the barrel wasn't perfectly tight in the frame.  The bullet passing through the rifling would cause the barrel to rotate just a little with each shot, and the ejector shroud would rotate enough so that it pressed against the ejector rod.  I could shoot all 6 rounds (though the sight picture would drift off to the side) but then couldn't open the cylinder because the shroud had grabbed the rod.

 

I ended up trading it to a gun dealer along with some cash (told him about the problem) for a S&W Model 66-1 2.5" back in 1980.  Great little gun, other than the loose barrel.  Still have the Smith.

[stumpy]

One of the most common causes of cylinder binding in a revolver comes from the build-up of debris that gathers between the rear face of the cylinder and the forward face of the ejector. This trash could be unburned powder, lead or brass fragmants that have come from the rounds that were fired in that cylinder. Frequently this material is so small it can be all but impossible to see, yet the revolver knows it is there and responds accordingly. The immediate cure for this is for the user to take a toothbrush and brush away these contaminates. Open the cylinder, push the ejector to the rear and hold it open. Gently brush out the rear surface of the cylinder, also the forward face of the ejector that makes comtact with the cylinder, also the ejector rod between them. Next, use a Q-tip and solvent to clean, then dry, all of these areas. If handloads are being fired examine them for high primers as well. They can cause immediate cylinder binding. If all of this does not correct the issue the firearm may have a mechanical failure that will need to be addressed.

Stumpy

[79troublehead]

Check for fired primers backing out.

[Radlink54]

Thanks for the replies. I will check and carefully clean the extractor and cylinder star, but at the start the revolver was "gun sale" clean, so if debris or fouling is the cause then I was either very unlucky (never had that happen after only 3-4 rounds with any other revolver), there is a subtle timing issue creating debris I did not notice, or the design is somehow prone to fouling. What would cause factory ammo primers to "back out" in this situation? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Guest kingarmory]

Give the gun a thorough cleaning, if the chambers are dirty/fouled then you might be having a little bit of case setback and the cases are sticking

[79troublehead]

When the gun binds up, open the cylinder and check the case head. Look for a shiny or raised area around or on the primer. The primer "flowing" back into the firing pin cut-out or recoil shield will make it hard to advance the cylinder to the next cartridge.

[Radlink54]

Decided to let gunsmith have a look, will post results when he gets to it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[TNWNGR]

Going the gunsmith route, especially if said gunsmith is knowledgeable, experienced and competent is smart business. FWIW its sounding like a barrel/cylinder end shake problem which is easily repaired. If not then its simpler i.e. it just needs a complete teardown, cleaning and reassembly to specs.  

 

Should have included I've had a bit of experience with the Colt Detective Special, Agent, Cobra and to  a lesser extent its Police Positive Special progenitor. While great revolvers they can develop timing issues and such through rough handling or being dropped, so a factory return or good gunsmiths tune-up is just a part of such wheel guns ownership.

Edited July 3, 2014 by TNWNGR