A little play isn't a big deal. The forcing cone takes care of it, that's why it's beveled. Also, lots of times there'll be less play when you pull the trigger due to the hand moved up and pushes the cylinder closer to the stop. But, don't sweat the side to side play. The front to back play is called end play or shake and if it gets excessive, that's more of a concern.
Taurus 605SS Cylinder Movement When Cocked
Hello: Guys I am new to this forum. Glad to see a Taurus Forum.
I bought a New 605SS yesterday and have a question about cylinder movement.
When I cock the weapon in single action mode, there is a slight movement of the cylinder side to side. In other words I can rock it slightly back and forth.
There is almost no front to back movement.
I eyeballed the barrel alignment for each chamber and that looks good.
When I bought the gun I compared it to a SP101 and with the hammer rested or uncocked it had more side to side play than the Ruger. But it seemed within reason.
With the gun cocked should there be any side to side play with the cylinder.
Thanks, looking forward to reading the posts here.
I bought a New 605SS yesterday and have a question about cylinder movement.
When I cock the weapon in single action mode, there is a slight movement of the cylinder side to side. In other words I can rock it slightly back and forth.
There is almost no front to back movement.
I eyeballed the barrel alignment for each chamber and that looks good.
When I bought the gun I compared it to a SP101 and with the hammer rested or uncocked it had more side to side play than the Ruger. But it seemed within reason.
With the gun cocked should there be any side to side play with the cylinder.
Thanks, looking forward to reading the posts here.
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
Just checked mine and I have alittle play side to side in single or double action, but it shoots fine. No problems at all 
When cocked, a bit of play is ok, and even normal. When the trigger is held all the way to the back is when you want very little or no play. That is when the revolver is in battery and the hand is bearing on the cylinder. When it pushes up on the cylinder, the cylinder should lock in place.
Thanks guys for the replies. I havent shot it yet and probably wont for a few days.
I checked the cylinder with the trigger pulled back and it has almost no play then.
Ive owned a few handguns and rifles over the years but I am no gunsmith.
I am assuming because of the design of a revolver there is a small amount of play in the action right up till it fires to allow the action to run smoothly.
If the tolerences are too close the action will be jam prone.
The fit and finish of this gun is excellent. Comparing the trigger action I would say its as smooth as the Ruger SP101 I almost bought.
This gun was not cheap..........I spent 372.00 including fees and a box of ammo, before I got out of th store.
The Ruger sp101 was exactly 100 dollars more. I didnt get the Ruger because this gun for the most part is going to sitting around loaded. With a trip or two to the range to pop a few rounds out. So I figured the Taurus would fit the bill.
I think Ruger makes some very good guns...........the S&W's are decent guns but very overpriced.
I paid less for a stainless steel Marlin 45-70 than S&W wants for some of there 357 handguns.
I like this gun and hope it works out. If it does Im already thinking about a 44 mag revolver by Taurus......lol
Safe Shooting Guys
I checked the cylinder with the trigger pulled back and it has almost no play then.
Ive owned a few handguns and rifles over the years but I am no gunsmith.
I am assuming because of the design of a revolver there is a small amount of play in the action right up till it fires to allow the action to run smoothly.
If the tolerences are too close the action will be jam prone.
The fit and finish of this gun is excellent. Comparing the trigger action I would say its as smooth as the Ruger SP101 I almost bought.
This gun was not cheap..........I spent 372.00 including fees and a box of ammo, before I got out of th store.
The Ruger sp101 was exactly 100 dollars more. I didnt get the Ruger because this gun for the most part is going to sitting around loaded. With a trip or two to the range to pop a few rounds out. So I figured the Taurus would fit the bill.
I think Ruger makes some very good guns...........the S&W's are decent guns but very overpriced.
I paid less for a stainless steel Marlin 45-70 than S&W wants for some of there 357 handguns.
I like this gun and hope it works out. If it does Im already thinking about a 44 mag revolver by Taurus......lol
Safe Shooting Guys
Yeah, it's a nice defense gun for sure. I have the Ruger. The thing about the Ruger is its tough as nails side plateless design. But, the Taurus can fire any factory loaded .357 all day long and twice on Sunday and it's lighter to carry than the Ruger. It has its advantages beyond price over the SP101. I picked up my SP for $250. Son-in-law to be needed the cash and I took advantage. LOL
Just checked my 605, it moves a tiny bit same as yours. My Sp101 is DAO with no hammer, so I can't check it.
Yes, this is normal. The cylinder needs a little play and uses the bullet to allign itself with the forcing cone. S&W uses the same method.
You may notice that when you shoot a lot of rounds, and the gun gets hot, many of these tolerances will tighten up. Then you'll know why they are there.
You may notice that when you shoot a lot of rounds, and the gun gets hot, many of these tolerances will tighten up. Then you'll know why they are there.
I have a 605. It locks up like a bank vault.
Thanks guys for the comments. I haven't had a chance to shoot my 605 but I did go look at a blued version of my gun. It had some very slight play........but with the trigger pulled back it was locked tight no play at all. My gun varies with each cylinder. One for two cylinders lock almost tight some are a little looser. By movement I am talking about maybe a few thousand of an inch.
It had been 20 years since I bought my last revolver when I bought this Taurus. I wish I knew what I know now when I was looking at buying another revolver.
I probably wouldn't of bought this gun, but waited till I found a nice tight locking cylinder.
Is there anyway to have a gunsmith tighten this gun up or should I wait till I shoot it.
I like this gun the fit and finish is very good.
Thanks again.
Safe Shooting.
It had been 20 years since I bought my last revolver when I bought this Taurus. I wish I knew what I know now when I was looking at buying another revolver.
I probably wouldn't of bought this gun, but waited till I found a nice tight locking cylinder.
Is there anyway to have a gunsmith tighten this gun up or should I wait till I shoot it.
I like this gun the fit and finish is very good.
Thanks again.
Safe Shooting.
Just grabbed my brand new 3" SS. There is slight play with the hammer cocked... very slight. So far, no indication that this is a problem as I've only put about 30 rnds down the pipe.
I'm currently carrying .357 Federal Hydrashocks, but shooting .38 FMJ on the range. The .38 rnds really dirty chambers and breech area. In a perfect world, the cheaper rounds would be mounted on a .357 casing.
And, even with the longer barrel, there's a good bit of kick from the .357 rnds. Otherwise, for the price I think I have a quality weapon that is easily concealable anywhere but pocket.
I'm currently carrying .357 Federal Hydrashocks, but shooting .38 FMJ on the range. The .38 rnds really dirty chambers and breech area. In a perfect world, the cheaper rounds would be mounted on a .357 casing.
And, even with the longer barrel, there's a good bit of kick from the .357 rnds. Otherwise, for the price I think I have a quality weapon that is easily concealable anywhere but pocket.
Here is a pretty good explanation of how to check out a Revolver
Revolver checkout:
How to tell if a particular specimen is any good
So you're buying a revolver. New, used, doesn't matter, you want a good one, right?
How do check one over without firing it, right at the dealer's counter or gun show table?
This is how. All of this works with DA or SA wheelguns..."close the action" on most DAs means swing the cylinder in, on SA types, close the loading gate, on breakopens, close 'em. UNLOADED.
WARNING: Most of these tests require violation of the "finger off trigger" rule. Therefore, be extremely careful about safe muzzle direction and making sure the gun is unloaded ahead of time, PERSONALLY, as you begin handling it.
Note: Bring a small flashlight, something small and concentrated. A Photon or similar high-powered LED light is perfect. You also want feeler gauges if you're not used to eyeballing cylinder gaps; at a minimum, bring a .002", .004" and .006".
Note2: No dry firing is required or desired at any point. It just pisses off the gun's current owner.
Cylinder play
1) With the gun UNLOADED (check for yourself!), close the action.
2) Thumb the hammer back, and while pulling the trigger, gently lower the hammer all the way down while keeping the trigger back - and KEEP holding the trigger once the hammer is down. (You've now put the gun in "full lockup" - keep it there for this and most other tests.)
3) With the trigger still back all the way, check for cylinder wiggle. Front/back is particularly undesirable; a bit of side to side is OK but it's a bad thing if you can wiggle it one way, let go, and then spin it the other way a fraction of an inch and it stays there too. At the very least, it should "want" to stop in just one place (later, we'll see if that place is any good). The ultimate is a "welded to the frame" feeling.
Cylinder gap
4) Still holding the trigger at full lockup, look sideways through the barrel/cylinder gap. If you can get a credit card in there, that ain't good...velocity drops rapidly as the gap increases. Too tight isn't good either, because burnt powder crud will "fill the gap" and start making the cylinder spin funky. My personal .38snubbie is set at .002, usually considered the minimum...after about 40 shots at the range, I have to give the front of the cylinder a quick wipe so it spins free again. I consider that a reasonable tradeoff for the increased velocity because in a real fight, I ain't gonna crank 40 rounds out of a 5-shot snub .
If you're eyeballing it, you'll have to hold it up sideways against an overhead light source.
SAFETY WARNING: This step in particular is where you MUST watch your muzzle direction. Look, part of what's happening here is that you're convincing the seller you know your poop . It helps the haggling process. If you do anything unsafe, that impression comes completely unglued.
Timing
5) You really, REALLY want an unloaded gun for this one. This is where the light comes in. With the gun STILL held in full lockup, trigger back after lowering the hammer by thumb, you want to shine a light right into the area at the rear of the cylinder near the firing pin. You then look down the barrel . You're looking to make sure the cylinder bore lines up with the barrel. Check every cylinder - that means putting the gun in full lockup for each cylinder before lighting it up.
You're looking for the cylinder and barrel holes to line up perfectly, it's easy to eyeball if there's even a faint light source at the very rear of both bores. And with no rounds present, it's generally easy to get some light in past where the rims would be.
Bore
(We're finally done with that "full lockup" crap, so rest your trigger finger. )
6) Swing the cylinder open, or with most SAs pull the cylinder. Use the small flashlight to scope the bore out. This part's easy - you want to avoid pitting, worn-out rifling, bulges of any sort. You want more light on the subject than just what creeps in from the rear of the cylinder on the timing check.
You also want to check each cylinder bore, in this case with the light coming in from the FRONT of each hole, you looking in from the back where the primers would be. You're looking for wear at the "restrictions" at the front of each cylinder bore. That's the "forcing cone" area and it can wear rapidly with some Magnum loads. (Special thanks to Salvo below for this bit!)
Trigger
7) To test a trigger without dry-firing it, use a plastic pen in front of the hammer to "catch" it with the off hand, especially if it's a "firing pin on the hammer" type. Or see if the seller has any snap-caps, that's the best solution. Flat-faced hammers as found in transfer-bar guns (Ruger, etc) can be caught with the off-hand without too much pain .
SA triggers (or of course a DA with the hammer cocked) should feel "like a glass rod breaking". A tiny amount of take-up slack is tolerable, and is common on anything with a transfer bar or hammerblock safety.
DA triggers are subjective. Some people like a dead-smooth feel from beginning of stroke to the end, with no "warning" that it's about to fire. Others (myself included) actually prefer a slight "hitch" right at the end, so we know when it's about to go. With that sort of trigger, you can actually "hold it" right at the "about to fire" point and do a short light stroke from there that rivals an SA shot for accuracy. Takes a lot of practice though. Either way, you don't want "grinding" through the length of the stroke, and the final stack-up at the end (if any) shouldn't be overly pronounced.
Detecting Bad Gunsmithing:
8) OK, so it's got a rock-solid cylinder, a .002" or .003" gap, and the trigger feels great. Odds are vastly in favor of it being tuned after leaving the factory.
So was the gunsmith any good?
First, cock it, then grab the hammer and "wiggle it around" a bit. Not too hard, don't bang on it, but give it a bit of up/down, left/right and circular action with finger off trigger and WATCH your muzzle direction.
You don't want that hammer slipping off an overly polished sear. You REALLY don't want that . It can be fixed by installing factory parts but that'll take modest money (more for installation than hardware costs) and it'll be "bigtime" unsafe until you do.
The other thing that commonly goes wrong is somebody will trim the spring, especially coil springs. You can spot that if you pull the grip panels, see if the spring was trimmed with wire cutters. If they get too wild with it, you'll get ignition failures on harder primers. But the good news is, replacement factory or Wolf springs are cheap both to buy and have installed.
There's also the legal problems Ayoob frequently describes regarding light triggers. If that's a concern, you can either swap back to stock springs, or since you bought it used there's no way to prove you knew it was modified at all .
In perspective:
Timing (test #5) is very critical...if that's off, the gun may not even be safe to test-fire. And naturally, a crappy barrel means a relatively pricey fix.
Cylinder gap is particularly critical on short-barreled and/or marginal caliber guns. If you need every possible ounce of energy, a tight gap helps. Some factory gaps will run as high as .006"; Taurus considers .007" "still in spec" (sigh). You'll be hard-pressed to find any new pieces under .004" - probably because the makers realize some people don't clean 'em often (or very well) and might complain about the cylinder binding up if they sell 'em at .002".
The guns in a dealer's "used pile" are often of unknown origin, from estate sales or whatever. Dealers don't have time to check every piece, and often don't know their history. These tests, especially cylinder gap and play, can spot a gun that's been sent off for professional tuning...like my snubbie, the best $180 I ever spent .
As long as the gun is otherwise sound (no cracks, etc) a gunsmith can fix any of this. So these tests can help you pick a particularly good new specimen, or find a good used gun, or help haggle the price down on something that'll need a bit of work.
Hope this helps.
Jim March
__________________
I borrowed this from another forum and I'm sure it's OK to post it as it's also in print somewhere, it's a pretty good check out for new and used revo's
Revolver checkout:
How to tell if a particular specimen is any good
So you're buying a revolver. New, used, doesn't matter, you want a good one, right?
How do check one over without firing it, right at the dealer's counter or gun show table?
This is how. All of this works with DA or SA wheelguns..."close the action" on most DAs means swing the cylinder in, on SA types, close the loading gate, on breakopens, close 'em. UNLOADED.
WARNING: Most of these tests require violation of the "finger off trigger" rule. Therefore, be extremely careful about safe muzzle direction and making sure the gun is unloaded ahead of time, PERSONALLY, as you begin handling it.
Note: Bring a small flashlight, something small and concentrated. A Photon or similar high-powered LED light is perfect. You also want feeler gauges if you're not used to eyeballing cylinder gaps; at a minimum, bring a .002", .004" and .006".
Note2: No dry firing is required or desired at any point. It just pisses off the gun's current owner.
Cylinder play
1) With the gun UNLOADED (check for yourself!), close the action.
2) Thumb the hammer back, and while pulling the trigger, gently lower the hammer all the way down while keeping the trigger back - and KEEP holding the trigger once the hammer is down. (You've now put the gun in "full lockup" - keep it there for this and most other tests.)
3) With the trigger still back all the way, check for cylinder wiggle. Front/back is particularly undesirable; a bit of side to side is OK but it's a bad thing if you can wiggle it one way, let go, and then spin it the other way a fraction of an inch and it stays there too. At the very least, it should "want" to stop in just one place (later, we'll see if that place is any good). The ultimate is a "welded to the frame" feeling.
Cylinder gap
4) Still holding the trigger at full lockup, look sideways through the barrel/cylinder gap. If you can get a credit card in there, that ain't good...velocity drops rapidly as the gap increases. Too tight isn't good either, because burnt powder crud will "fill the gap" and start making the cylinder spin funky. My personal .38snubbie is set at .002, usually considered the minimum...after about 40 shots at the range, I have to give the front of the cylinder a quick wipe so it spins free again. I consider that a reasonable tradeoff for the increased velocity because in a real fight, I ain't gonna crank 40 rounds out of a 5-shot snub .
If you're eyeballing it, you'll have to hold it up sideways against an overhead light source.
SAFETY WARNING: This step in particular is where you MUST watch your muzzle direction. Look, part of what's happening here is that you're convincing the seller you know your poop . It helps the haggling process. If you do anything unsafe, that impression comes completely unglued.
Timing
5) You really, REALLY want an unloaded gun for this one. This is where the light comes in. With the gun STILL held in full lockup, trigger back after lowering the hammer by thumb, you want to shine a light right into the area at the rear of the cylinder near the firing pin. You then look down the barrel . You're looking to make sure the cylinder bore lines up with the barrel. Check every cylinder - that means putting the gun in full lockup for each cylinder before lighting it up.
You're looking for the cylinder and barrel holes to line up perfectly, it's easy to eyeball if there's even a faint light source at the very rear of both bores. And with no rounds present, it's generally easy to get some light in past where the rims would be.
Bore
(We're finally done with that "full lockup" crap, so rest your trigger finger. )
6) Swing the cylinder open, or with most SAs pull the cylinder. Use the small flashlight to scope the bore out. This part's easy - you want to avoid pitting, worn-out rifling, bulges of any sort. You want more light on the subject than just what creeps in from the rear of the cylinder on the timing check.
You also want to check each cylinder bore, in this case with the light coming in from the FRONT of each hole, you looking in from the back where the primers would be. You're looking for wear at the "restrictions" at the front of each cylinder bore. That's the "forcing cone" area and it can wear rapidly with some Magnum loads. (Special thanks to Salvo below for this bit!)
Trigger
7) To test a trigger without dry-firing it, use a plastic pen in front of the hammer to "catch" it with the off hand, especially if it's a "firing pin on the hammer" type. Or see if the seller has any snap-caps, that's the best solution. Flat-faced hammers as found in transfer-bar guns (Ruger, etc) can be caught with the off-hand without too much pain .
SA triggers (or of course a DA with the hammer cocked) should feel "like a glass rod breaking". A tiny amount of take-up slack is tolerable, and is common on anything with a transfer bar or hammerblock safety.
DA triggers are subjective. Some people like a dead-smooth feel from beginning of stroke to the end, with no "warning" that it's about to fire. Others (myself included) actually prefer a slight "hitch" right at the end, so we know when it's about to go. With that sort of trigger, you can actually "hold it" right at the "about to fire" point and do a short light stroke from there that rivals an SA shot for accuracy. Takes a lot of practice though. Either way, you don't want "grinding" through the length of the stroke, and the final stack-up at the end (if any) shouldn't be overly pronounced.
Detecting Bad Gunsmithing:
8) OK, so it's got a rock-solid cylinder, a .002" or .003" gap, and the trigger feels great. Odds are vastly in favor of it being tuned after leaving the factory.
So was the gunsmith any good?
First, cock it, then grab the hammer and "wiggle it around" a bit. Not too hard, don't bang on it, but give it a bit of up/down, left/right and circular action with finger off trigger and WATCH your muzzle direction.
You don't want that hammer slipping off an overly polished sear. You REALLY don't want that . It can be fixed by installing factory parts but that'll take modest money (more for installation than hardware costs) and it'll be "bigtime" unsafe until you do.
The other thing that commonly goes wrong is somebody will trim the spring, especially coil springs. You can spot that if you pull the grip panels, see if the spring was trimmed with wire cutters. If they get too wild with it, you'll get ignition failures on harder primers. But the good news is, replacement factory or Wolf springs are cheap both to buy and have installed.
There's also the legal problems Ayoob frequently describes regarding light triggers. If that's a concern, you can either swap back to stock springs, or since you bought it used there's no way to prove you knew it was modified at all .
In perspective:
Timing (test #5) is very critical...if that's off, the gun may not even be safe to test-fire. And naturally, a crappy barrel means a relatively pricey fix.
Cylinder gap is particularly critical on short-barreled and/or marginal caliber guns. If you need every possible ounce of energy, a tight gap helps. Some factory gaps will run as high as .006"; Taurus considers .007" "still in spec" (sigh). You'll be hard-pressed to find any new pieces under .004" - probably because the makers realize some people don't clean 'em often (or very well) and might complain about the cylinder binding up if they sell 'em at .002".
The guns in a dealer's "used pile" are often of unknown origin, from estate sales or whatever. Dealers don't have time to check every piece, and often don't know their history. These tests, especially cylinder gap and play, can spot a gun that's been sent off for professional tuning...like my snubbie, the best $180 I ever spent .
As long as the gun is otherwise sound (no cracks, etc) a gunsmith can fix any of this. So these tests can help you pick a particularly good new specimen, or find a good used gun, or help haggle the price down on something that'll need a bit of work.
Hope this helps.
Jim March
__________________
I borrowed this from another forum and I'm sure it's OK to post it as it's also in print somewhere, it's a pretty good check out for new and used revo's
According to the specs on the respective websites, there is only a 1.5 oz difference between the Ruger SP101 and the Taurus 605SS in a 2" barrel handgun.NativeTexan said:.....But, the Taurus can fire any factory loaded .357 all day long and twice on Sunday and it's lighter to carry than the Ruger.....
I too have the SP101 and debated over which gun to purchase (605SS vs. SP101) and after factoring out the price difference, which is roughly $100 difference as zero244 stated, I opted for the Ruger because of the theoretical sturdier frame. A major consideration about which one to get was the weight difference of the two for use as a CC weapon, and the Ruger came in at only about 1 - 1.5 oz heavier, which is negligible.
THIS NEEDS TO BE A STICKY FOR SURE!!! Great post!
frostyeyes said:Here is a pretty good explanation of how to check out a Revolver
Revolver checkout:
How to tell if a particular specimen is any good
So you're buying a revolver. New, used, doesn't matter, you want a good one, right?
How do check one over without firing it, right at the dealer's counter or gun show table?
This is how. All of this works with DA or SA wheelguns..."close the action" on most DAs means swing the cylinder in, on SA types, close the loading gate, on breakopens, close 'em. UNLOADED.
WARNING: Most of these tests require violation of the "finger off trigger" rule. Therefore, be extremely careful about safe muzzle direction and making sure the gun is unloaded ahead of time, PERSONALLY, as you begin handling it.
Note: Bring a small flashlight, something small and concentrated. A Photon or similar high-powered LED light is perfect. You also want feeler gauges if you're not used to eyeballing cylinder gaps; at a minimum, bring a .002", .004" and .006".
Note2: No dry firing is required or desired at any point. It just pisses off the gun's current owner.
Cylinder play
1) With the gun UNLOADED (check for yourself!), close the action.
2) Thumb the hammer back, and while pulling the trigger, gently lower the hammer all the way down while keeping the trigger back - and KEEP holding the trigger once the hammer is down. (You've now put the gun in "full lockup" - keep it there for this and most other tests.)
3) With the trigger still back all the way, check for cylinder wiggle. Front/back is particularly undesirable; a bit of side to side is OK but it's a bad thing if you can wiggle it one way, let go, and then spin it the other way a fraction of an inch and it stays there too. At the very least, it should "want" to stop in just one place (later, we'll see if that place is any good). The ultimate is a "welded to the frame" feeling.
Cylinder gap
4) Still holding the trigger at full lockup, look sideways through the barrel/cylinder gap. If you can get a credit card in there, that ain't good...velocity drops rapidly as the gap increases. Too tight isn't good either, because burnt powder crud will "fill the gap" and start making the cylinder spin funky. My personal .38snubbie is set at .002, usually considered the minimum...after about 40 shots at the range, I have to give the front of the cylinder a quick wipe so it spins free again. I consider that a reasonable tradeoff for the increased velocity because in a real fight, I ain't gonna crank 40 rounds out of a 5-shot snub .
If you're eyeballing it, you'll have to hold it up sideways against an overhead light source.
SAFETY WARNING: This step in particular is where you MUST watch your muzzle direction. Look, part of what's happening here is that you're convincing the seller you know your poop . It helps the haggling process. If you do anything unsafe, that impression comes completely unglued.
Timing
5) You really, REALLY want an unloaded gun for this one. This is where the light comes in. With the gun STILL held in full lockup, trigger back after lowering the hammer by thumb, you want to shine a light right into the area at the rear of the cylinder near the firing pin. You then look down the barrel . You're looking to make sure the cylinder bore lines up with the barrel. Check every cylinder - that means putting the gun in full lockup for each cylinder before lighting it up.
You're looking for the cylinder and barrel holes to line up perfectly, it's easy to eyeball if there's even a faint light source at the very rear of both bores. And with no rounds present, it's generally easy to get some light in past where the rims would be.
Bore
(We're finally done with that "full lockup" crap, so rest your trigger finger. )
6) Swing the cylinder open, or with most SAs pull the cylinder. Use the small flashlight to scope the bore out. This part's easy - you want to avoid pitting, worn-out rifling, bulges of any sort. You want more light on the subject than just what creeps in from the rear of the cylinder on the timing check.
You also want to check each cylinder bore, in this case with the light coming in from the FRONT of each hole, you looking in from the back where the primers would be. You're looking for wear at the "restrictions" at the front of each cylinder bore. That's the "forcing cone" area and it can wear rapidly with some Magnum loads. (Special thanks to Salvo below for this bit!)
Trigger
7) To test a trigger without dry-firing it, use a plastic pen in front of the hammer to "catch" it with the off hand, especially if it's a "firing pin on the hammer" type. Or see if the seller has any snap-caps, that's the best solution. Flat-faced hammers as found in transfer-bar guns (Ruger, etc) can be caught with the off-hand without too much pain .
SA triggers (or of course a DA with the hammer cocked) should feel "like a glass rod breaking". A tiny amount of take-up slack is tolerable, and is common on anything with a transfer bar or hammerblock safety.
DA triggers are subjective. Some people like a dead-smooth feel from beginning of stroke to the end, with no "warning" that it's about to fire. Others (myself included) actually prefer a slight "hitch" right at the end, so we know when it's about to go. With that sort of trigger, you can actually "hold it" right at the "about to fire" point and do a short light stroke from there that rivals an SA shot for accuracy. Takes a lot of practice though. Either way, you don't want "grinding" through the length of the stroke, and the final stack-up at the end (if any) shouldn't be overly pronounced.
Detecting Bad Gunsmithing:
8) OK, so it's got a rock-solid cylinder, a .002" or .003" gap, and the trigger feels great. Odds are vastly in favor of it being tuned after leaving the factory.
So was the gunsmith any good?
First, cock it, then grab the hammer and "wiggle it around" a bit. Not too hard, don't bang on it, but give it a bit of up/down, left/right and circular action with finger off trigger and WATCH your muzzle direction.
You don't want that hammer slipping off an overly polished sear. You REALLY don't want that . It can be fixed by installing factory parts but that'll take modest money (more for installation than hardware costs) and it'll be "bigtime" unsafe until you do.
The other thing that commonly goes wrong is somebody will trim the spring, especially coil springs. You can spot that if you pull the grip panels, see if the spring was trimmed with wire cutters. If they get too wild with it, you'll get ignition failures on harder primers. But the good news is, replacement factory or Wolf springs are cheap both to buy and have installed.
There's also the legal problems Ayoob frequently describes regarding light triggers. If that's a concern, you can either swap back to stock springs, or since you bought it used there's no way to prove you knew it was modified at all .
In perspective:
Timing (test #5) is very critical...if that's off, the gun may not even be safe to test-fire. And naturally, a crappy barrel means a relatively pricey fix.
Cylinder gap is particularly critical on short-barreled and/or marginal caliber guns. If you need every possible ounce of energy, a tight gap helps. Some factory gaps will run as high as .006"; Taurus considers .007" "still in spec" (sigh). You'll be hard-pressed to find any new pieces under .004" - probably because the makers realize some people don't clean 'em often (or very well) and might complain about the cylinder binding up if they sell 'em at .002".
The guns in a dealer's "used pile" are often of unknown origin, from estate sales or whatever. Dealers don't have time to check every piece, and often don't know their history. These tests, especially cylinder gap and play, can spot a gun that's been sent off for professional tuning...like my snubbie, the best $180 I ever spent .
As long as the gun is otherwise sound (no cracks, etc) a gunsmith can fix any of this. So these tests can help you pick a particularly good new specimen, or find a good used gun, or help haggle the price down on something that'll need a bit of work.
Hope this helps.
Jim March
__________________
I borrowed this from another forum and I'm sure it's OK to post it as it's also in print somewhere, it's a pretty good check out for new and used revo's
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