At the conclusion of the 2024 Georgia Regional, after the $100 bills were randomly drawn and awarded, the prize table was picked over for treasures, and everyone had their fill of fried chicken, you’d think it would be time to say goodbye, pack up, and head home. But not this year!

By sheer luck, the shooters assembled were invited to an impromptu “All Things Revolver” class presented by Sgt. Dan Byrd and Sgt. Jason Gregoire of the AMU. Gregoire presented his part of the class first, with tips about how to train for the CMP Service Revolver event. The second portion of the even was hosted by Byrd, who is a gunsmith-turned-shooter on the Precision Pistol team. His recent accomplishments include the Presidents 100 and is a member of the AMU team that won the Gold Cup Trophy at the 2024 Nationals.

When these guys talk, it pays to listen.

Byrd shared his tips on what items to be on the lookout for when either purchasing a new-to-you revolver, or tests you might perform when checking your own equipment. In what follows, any errors or completeness issues are mine- could only take notes so fast.

In no certain order, examine the following:

  • Honest Wear: the idea is that honest wear, such as from riding in a holster, generally is a cosmetic issue only. When you notice deep dings or scratches, that’s the time to be concerned.
  • Sideplate Marks: Following along with wear, examine the edge of the sideplate to make sure that the fit is exact and right. If there has been abuse to the revolver’s internal works, a tell-tale sign is that the edges of the sideplate will be nicked from improper removal.
  • Screws: Similar to sideplate marks, if the slot in the sideplate screws have been been torqued such that cam-out has occurred, this again is a sign of mistreatment.
  • Even Barrel/Cylinder Gap: What you are looking for here is an even gap between the entire cylinder face and the back of the barrel. Generally, using a feeler gauge is the way this is checked.
  • Endshake: Checking for this is relatively straightforward; when the cylinder is in lockup inside the frame, note if there any horizontal movement from front to back while gently pushing on the cylinder to determine if there is any movement. Any excessive movement (more than just a couple thousandths) indicates endshake.
  • Rod Runout: With the cylinder opened, spin the cylinder and watch the rod to see if it rotates in a non-symmetrical manner. If so, this indicates that the gun could have been mistreated.
  • Bent Crane: This, along with rod runout, can be the result of “hollywooding” the cylinder closed. Please don’t do this. In order to check for a bent crane, first examine the mating surfaces between cylinder yoke and revolver frame. If this looks good, use a gauge pin or range rod of appropriate caliber to see if each cylinder is lining up with the bore. The tell-tale sign of a bent crane is shaved lead from a bullet not entering the bore coaxially.
  • Check Wobble: Wobble can also be induced from improper loading. Wobble is the amount of play the cylinder can rotate while in lockup. Fix is addressing cylinder stop and cylinder stop notches.
  • Timing Check: Regardless of what kind of revolver you have, a timing check should be performed on all cylinders. The way to check if the timing is correct is to note if the cylinder stop engages the cylinder stop notch at the moment the hammer is pulled all the way back. Everything should click at the same time.
  • Pushoff: This occurs when improper stoning work has been attempted between the hammer and sear (which is located on the trigger itself). This can be easily tested for by pulling the hammer back until it stops. Once done, gently push on the back of the hammer towards the cylinder. If the hammer releases, without pulling or using the trigger, this indicates an improper trigger job has been performed.

Thanks to Sgt. Byrd!