I know that the first thing that is probably going to be said is that I can search for the information I'm asking for. Well, from here in the sandbox, my internet is spotty at best. Using the search function of the site makes my computer freak out in ways that need to be seen to be believed.

My Grandfather passed away about a month and a half ago. When he passed, I tried to get ahold of as many of his firearms as possible before my greedy, self-centered extended family got ahold of his estate and started swiping and/or selling everything off.

I got my hands on his old K-frame model 19-4, that was once his service revolver in years way back. I see a lot of love for these revolvers, so as I stated before, I know the information I'm looking for is out there, I just can't access it from where I am, and I'm burning for an answer to the question I keep asking myself.

I was home for a brief period a couple weeks ago and took the revolver out to shoot it, after it having sat for an unknown amount of time, and with unknown maintenance done to it. After a brief inspection, it was deemed serviceable to shoot, but I had a strange malfunction while shooting it.

I cocked the hammer and fired one single action shot, and then a follow-up double action shot, followed by trying for a second double action shot. On the third trigger pull, I'm wondering if it was something wrong with the revolver or something user induced, but the cylinder was locked like it was supposed to, but I could not pull the trigger, cock the hammer or get the hammer to drop.

I jammed a revolver. There, I said it, to my shame.

I attributed it to me possibly having had "short stroked" the trigger, or having pulled the trigger far enough to let the cylinder rotate and lock, but not quite far enough for the hammer to drop, and then letting go of the trigger, before trying again to pull the trigger. To "un-jam" the gun, I ended up having to pull the hammer back slightly, which was only a millimeter or two, and wiggle the cylinder until I got it to rotate by one chamber. After that, it shot just fine and the malfunction hasn't happened since.

Now that I've explained the situation, my question is what could have caused it to lock up like that? Tolerance being off in the action possibly? Me just shooting like a jack ass? Some weird sprite gun demon came down and lodged itself in the gun? Canadian magnets or something else?

I don't claim to have a whole lot of experience with revolvers, most of my handgun experience is with semi-automatics, so I'm completely oblivious as to what could have caused this kind of malfunction. I know that revolvers, like anything else, are machines and are prone to malfunction occasionally, but the way the entire thing locked up the way it did just once, then was fine after being "cleared" is somewhat baffling to me.