My beloved Ruger LCR .357 magnum popped it’s cylinder open while I was firing.
I was doing some little drill and didn’t stop. I just pushed it closed and carried on after pausing to consider whether there was any danger in doing so. I don’t recall what I was firing at the time but it was either 110 gr or 158 gr factory magnums. I only fired a couple cylinders more afterward as I was finishing up for the day and it didn’t happen again.
After cleaning and inspected the gun later I couldn’t find anything wrong with it. I’m not exactly why it happened.
Has about 2K rounds through it.
About 1000 rnds of .38, 500 of .38 +p, and another 500 of .357 magnum. About 350 of those being lighter-powered magnum loads.
So about 2000 rnds total. I don’t keep records I just estimate how much ammo I’ve bought and how much I have left so I could be a bit off.
Any guesses? I did some research but didn’t find anything that said, “this is the problem”. But I suppose it will get worse and not fix itself.
Assuming you are a right handed shooter, do you think your thumb could have moved under recoil and bumped the cylinder release? Maybe the knuckle of your thumb?
Sounds most logical. I’m impressed this gun ( and the shooter) has held up so well. Most people don’t shoot these little guns so much. Keep rocking that wheel gun.
I wish I’d have seen this thread earlier. I recently completed a Ruger LCR armorer course and would have asked our instructor.
Looking over the armorer manual I don’t see this under the troubleshooting section. That tells me it isn’t common and/or few people have shot the 357 Magnum enough to make it a known issue.
So anyway, there is a spring inside the yoke that pushes the center pin out and into the yoke latch in the frame. My guess is this spring might be getting a little weak and allowed the center pin to bounce under recoil. Or it could have been something like a piece of grit or dirt that didn’t allow the center pin to lock fully.
These are pretty simple little guns. I’ve had one since 2009 or 2010 but have a new respect for the design now after taking this class.
I read about that happening in other revolvers. Especially lightweight ones with a steel rear locking pin. Then I read that the LCR .38 used a titainium pin to lighten the pin and reduce the odds of this. I don’t know if that includes other calibers of LCR.
I clean the gun after every shoot. This malfunction occurred after about 125 rounds or so. My wife was with me so I know we had shot mostly lead bullets. But I was firing .357 at the time.
Now that I think about it, it may have been while I was finishing up a box of Federal 180 gr sjhp’s. I recall those having much less blast than 125 and even 158 gr loads but a lot more muzzle rise/torque on the wrist.
At this point I’ll just be watching for it next time I fire it. Thanks again.