S&W Model 36 Sticky Cylinder

**volanova** · June 5th, 2012, 04:42 PM

So I've noticed that after firing a full cylinder of rounds through my old Model 36, the cylinder can be hard to open. It's not a huge issue, as it locks in nice and tight and cycles perfectly, however I'd hate to be in a situation where I need to reload and not have the cylinder open with a push of the finger (which hopefully would never happen...if 5 shots isn't enough, you've gotten yourself in a situation you never should have been in the first place).

Anyway, after a little reading it sounds like it may be an issue with the screw on the latch not being tight enough, or possible residue underneath the ejector. I'm at work at the moment, and I don't think they'd appreciate me pulling out my firearm and fiddling with it on my desk, so I thought I'd pick your brains before I went to town on it.

**GrumpyBear** · June 5th, 2012, 06:13 PM

I don't have a model 36 but do have a model 686 and had a similar issue.The extractor rod had backed off and was causing the cylinder to hang up on opening.Retightened the rod and have had no further issues.Hope that helps.

**PennsyPlinker** · June 5th, 2012, 06:41 PM

Sounds like a Model 60 I know. It was the same thing. Tighten up the extractor rod, and you should be good to go.

**mrnyman** · June 5th, 2012, 11:41 PM

use a piece of RIG cloth and clean off the soot buildup from the face or the cylinder.

**Sparxfly72** · June 6th, 2012, 07:26 AM

Common issue with Smiths, ejector rod.

**volanova** · June 6th, 2012, 06:41 PM

So, I was unable to tighten the ejector rod by hand (although I haven't had a chance to wedge something between it and the barrel and try turning the cylinder), I wasn't able to tighten up the screw on the release latch, and the ejector and surface below it were free from any grime. I noticed while fiddling with it though that if I put pressure on the cylinder before pressing the release latch, it would pop out easily. It's only when I press the release latch and then try to press the cylinder that it gets sticky. So, this may just be normal operation.

**pennlineman** · June 6th, 2012, 08:37 PM

You should be able to tighten the extractor rod enough by hand to see if that is the problem. So it seems something else is binding it up. Try cleaning under ther extractor star. Sometimes unburnt powder/dirt/grit builds up under there causing problems like you describe.

**mrnyman** · June 6th, 2012, 11:41 PM

Be careful you break that Gun, if the rod were loose you could tighten it up by hand easily, nothing is wrong with the rod stop putting pressure on it.

Read my other post Clean off the soot buildup on the front of the cylinder face , it is rubbing against the forcing cone, wipe off the forcing cone also.