I just got a new S&W 500 and I was letting a friend look at it the other day. The first thing he does is spin the cylinder at half cock and before I can smack him in the head he opens the cylinder then wrist flicks it back shut. I about came unglued and he'll never be handling another one of my guns. My question is though, do I need to have the gun looked at to make sure he hasn't caused any damage? Everything still seems to be fine and it shoots just fine. Thanks for any and all advice.
Can Flipping a Cylinder Shut Once Damage the Gun?
- Thread starter Timbow
- Start date
ActivShootr
New member
Doing it once probably won't hurt. Doing it over and over will bend the crane.
armsmaster270
New member
I hope you told your friend he was a complete ass for doing what he did.
This guy is a fellow police officer and prior military so I assumed he knew enough about firearms not to do something so stupid. I should have known better than to make such an assumption. I figured it being such a heavily built gun, one time shouldn't hurt anything but I just wanted some opinions. He won't be handling any of my other firearms.
Kreyzhorse
New member
I doubt that once hurt the gun. That would be the last time he handled any of my guns however.
Lost Sheep
New member
Give the guy a break
There are lots of things that you don't know until you learn them. Most of them, once learned are obvious "How could I NOT know THAT!" Slap yourself in the forehead type of things.
Military and police are not born with knowledge, but are taught. With the fall in popularity of revolvers, there is no reason to expect one would innately know how fragile the crane is. How many revolver shooters know not to let the slide of an automatic slap closed freely on an empty chamber, either?
He is your friend. Forgive him; teach him. Don't turn your back on him (in either sense of the phrase).
Lost Sheep
There are lots of things that you don't know until you learn them. Most of them, once learned are obvious "How could I NOT know THAT!" Slap yourself in the forehead type of things.
Military and police are not born with knowledge, but are taught. With the fall in popularity of revolvers, there is no reason to expect one would innately know how fragile the crane is. How many revolver shooters know not to let the slide of an automatic slap closed freely on an empty chamber, either?
He is your friend. Forgive him; teach him. Don't turn your back on him (in either sense of the phrase).
Lost Sheep
Firstly, you should be OK. I had a friend do this ONCE with my 629. I just about beat him over the head with it after! Luckily, I calmly showed him why you don't do that and explained not to do it again. As was said, so long as it looks aligned and shoots well, you're good to go.
Secondly, I've learned never to assume because somebody is an LEO or military that they know what they're doing with firearms. I've seen lots of "I was a *insert manly sounding thing here* " sweep people with loaded guns, shoot poorly, leave guns cocked and slide down on a cease-fire, not cock the hammer on a SA revolver (imagine THAT trigger pull!
) etc.LEO's
can sometimes be amazing with their lack of knowledge.
One day we grabbed a drug dealer in his apartment while he was in bed with his girlfriend.He went for a cocked and locked Star PD under the bed.We beat him to it,and apparently I was the only one there who had ever handled a single action auto.They were all nervous about me clearing it.I reminded them I was carrying an SA auto.I was working in a group where I was the only one from my agency,which at the time,still allowed single action autos.
Another time,an experienced agent,who had been a local LEO before,told me "you're gun is cocked!!"I explained that was the way it was supposed to be carried.
The first handgun I ever fired was a 1911 in the military service.I learned early.
can sometimes be amazing with their lack of knowledge.
One day we grabbed a drug dealer in his apartment while he was in bed with his girlfriend.He went for a cocked and locked Star PD under the bed.We beat him to it,and apparently I was the only one there who had ever handled a single action auto.They were all nervous about me clearing it.I reminded them I was carrying an SA auto.I was working in a group where I was the only one from my agency,which at the time,still allowed single action autos.
Another time,an experienced agent,who had been a local LEO before,told me "you're gun is cocked!!"I explained that was the way it was supposed to be carried.
The first handgun I ever fired was a 1911 in the military service.I learned early.
In spite of horror stories, flipping the cylinder closed is not likely to damage the gun, but flipping it open will, especially if the cylinder is loaded. When the cylinder closes, the crane is well supported by the frame. But on opening, the heavy cylinder is not well supported and the crane can be bent.
Realistically, the stories of "ruining" guns by "cylinder flipping" is myth. It would take a very weak crane setup and an extremely heavy "flip" to do damage. Since the .500 is not in the "weak" category, I wouldn't worry about it and certainly would not lose a friend over it.
Jim
Realistically, the stories of "ruining" guns by "cylinder flipping" is myth. It would take a very weak crane setup and an extremely heavy "flip" to do damage. Since the .500 is not in the "weak" category, I wouldn't worry about it and certainly would not lose a friend over it.
Jim
S&W-Keeper
New member
He deserved a kick in the groin, I see people working in gun shops do this,it makes my blood boil.
Hey timbow im new to these forums, but i had to register when i saw ur question. I had a friend that did about the exact thing to my new 6" 686 7-shot a few months ago. A few days after i bought it he was looking at it and opened the cylinder and before i even thought about what he was doing, he spun the cylinder and while it was spinning, flicked it with his wrist very hard and slammed it to. Later that night i was inspecting it and a few of the small sharp teeth on the extractor had been knocked back obviously from it slamming against the frame. I then cocked the gun very slowly through each charge hole and one of the holes would come a hair from locking up where it should be, but wouldnt, u would have to turn it a small bit then u would hear it click, and lock where it should be. Then i called S&W and one guy gave me some bs about how i needed to load empty cartridges into it and then cock it to check the timing, i even told him some of the extractor teeth looked damaged but he said they were supposed to look like that, even when i told him it had been slammed to, i then called right back and spoke with another tech and he said, no all the extractor teeth should look the same and not be knocked back or damaged looking. The problem was when the tooth was knocked back, and u would cock the revolver, the sear(think thats what makes contact with the extractor,right everyone?) would run on that tooth but wouldnt push the cylinder far enough up to lock one of the charge holes in its proper place, because it ran out of tooth. S&W has awesome customer service though, after i told him that my friend had slammed it to, he sent me and address label to ship it to them and then they replaced the extractor and shipped it back to me for free!