Quick newbie question: in shooting my friend's single action revolvers over the years I've heard repeatedly about the catastrophic potential of a mis-aligned cylinder. My question is: how do I make sure that my cylinder is properly aligned with the barrel after loading and before firing? Does it align after each "click" of the cylinder or must I visually inspect that the cylinder looks like it's aligned with the barrel?

If the revolver is in good mechanical condition it will index itself.

The symptoms of an out of time gun is spitting of powder and bullet fragments to the sides at the barrel cylinder gap. Accuracy falling off, and sometimes barrel leading.

To check the timing, shine a strong light to the rear of the cylinder from the side and look down the barrel. You should make sure it's unloaded at this point. When the gun is timed right the chamber will be centered at the end of the barrel. If it is off to one side or the other, the timing should be checked out by a gunsmith.

All revolvers, except some Colts and some really tight target guns will have a bit of cylinder movement, both rotational and front to back. This is normal, but the front to back movement (endshake) should be as little as possible.

Some Colts such as the Python and others using this style of action lock up tight when in battery, (trigger held back). Most will not do this.

Joe

Hey, good to know, I didn't know about the self-indexing part, mostly because my friends always seemed to take awhile adjusting the cylinder just right before shooting. Thanks for the advice.

If the cylinder isn't locking up on it's own and must be rotated by hand, that revolver is seriously worn or damaged. Get it to someone who knows what they are doing pronto.....