Here's a fun video:

[John_Wayne777]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbkoutGwA78

[dirksterg30]

But I thought revolvers never malfunction.

[mario]

Any mechanical object can fail, even a revolver.

[rat31465]

I owned a Colt Diamondback once that the Cylinder gap was so tight on that after firing 30-40 rounds I couldn't fire it double action. Using cast lead semi-wadcutters and Hercules Unique powder in my reloads the fouling would build up on the face of the cylinder causing enough drag that I would have to stop shooting and wipe it off. Yep, Revolvers can fail to.

[Trempel]

I've jammed up a Ruger Service Six tight as a vault. Was doing some run and gun in sandy conditions, fired the first six and reloaded. Apparently, during the reload, a speck of dust got under the extractor star, but it wasn't immediately obvious. Slammed the cylinder shut and that was all she wrote. A revolver full of live ammo that we had to very carefully bang on the side of the cylinder with the latch open to get the thing unstuck.

So yeah, revolvers don't jam often, but when they do there's no likely immediate action drill to get you back in the game. I've never seen anything like what happened in the video though. My thought is that someone was tuning their game gun and forgot to tighten the screws.

[JimmyB62]

While it's possible (though very unlikely) that the yoke screw broke, more than likely it had been backing out for some time. A basic weapon check should have caught this long before it became a problem. As a rookie cop I carried a revolver and always made basic function checks just as most of us do now with autos. Interesting none the less.

Edit: man those were some powder puff loads he was shooting.

[John_Wayne777]

The shooter claims that the yoke screw was still in the weapon when they checked it over after the cylinder left the revolver.

[woodandsteel]

Originally Posted by JimmyB62

While it's possible (though very unlikely) that the yoke screw broke, more than likely it had been backing out for some time. A basic weapon check should have caught this long before it became a problem. As a rookie cop I carried a revolver and always made basic function checks just as most of us do now with autos. Interesting none the less.

Edit: man those were some powder puff loads he was shooting.

I agree. I have a S&W M36 that the screw is constantly backing out on me. I got some medium strength loc-tite to fix that problem. Oddly enough, I haven't had that problem with my M66. (knock on wood)

I wish they would have shown a close up of the revolver and all the parts afterwards.

[S45]

This should be a great reminder for everyone to do daily checks on your firearms, especially if you carry.

[gtmtnbiker98]

I've seen a similar thing occur, last year during our departmental qualifications. Our Chief's Mod. 36 did the same thing; however, when he opened the cylinder for a reload, the entire cylinder fell into his hand. No parts failure, just a loose screw. A simple two minutes with a screwdriver fixed it.

[Robb Jensen]

There isn't a brand of gun nor type that I've not seen have some kind of trouble in competition. A lot of times the more someone pays for them $1K plus the more trouble I see. A lot of people are shooters/competitors but few really know how to keep their guns running. If you shoot anything enough it'll break.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Originally Posted by JimmyB62

While it's possible (though very unlikely) that the yoke screw broke, more than likely it had been backing out for some time. A basic weapon check should have caught this long before it became a problem. As a rookie cop I carried a revolver and always made basic function checks just as most of us do now with autos. Interesting none the less.

Edit: man those were some powder puff loads he was shooting.

I thought he was shooting a 22lr revolver or something. It sure wasn't the loads jiggling things loose!

[Sam]

That kid was shooting an N frame 625. The RO is a friend of mine and he's a multiple graduate of Hackathorn's and Vickers classes.
Back to the kid, he's always tinkering with his guns, I've never seen him shoot a gun twice. I bet he disassembled the gun and didn't put the thing back tight and secure.

[decodeddiesel]

Wow!

[HK_Shooter_03]

Boy I'm a little late to this one.

Originally Posted by Sam

I've never seen him shoot a gun twice. I bet he disassembled the gun and didn't put the thing back tight and secure.

Funny thing is, ever since this video was taken, I've shot production with my Beretta and not looked back.

The cause of the failure was the screw backing out just a little over time. It didn't actually leave the gun; it came just loose enough for the cylinder to peen itself right off the frame.

Technically, it is "operator error" for me not checking the screw every single time I took the gun out to shoot.

I do think the engineers could have made a captive screw assembly so the screw could be eliminated as the failure point.

Here is another case of this happening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzxdz...257&feature=iv

[loupav]

At least he didn't get hurt and everyone is ok. I was expecting <bang bang bang BOOOM!>

[four]

Originally Posted by HK_Shooter_03

Boy I'm a little late to this one.



Funny thing is, ever since this video was taken, I've shot production with my Beretta and not looked back.

The cause of the failure was the screw backing out just a little over time. It didn't actually leave the gun; it came just loose enough for the cylinder to peen itself right off the frame.

Technically, it is "operator error" for me not checking the screw every single time I took the gun out to shoot.

I do think the engineers could have made a captive screw assembly so the screw could be eliminated as the failure point.

Here is another case of this happening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzxdz...257&feature=iv

that's awesome, you're an internet movie star!

seriously though, I've seen that screw come out of a few revolvers, I dont' usually check mine unless I can feel some play in the crane.