999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? - The Firearms Forum

Spikedog · 03-30-2011, 07:21 PM

I've been lurking for a few days, searching your forums for info on an H&R top break revolver I just bought. It's a 999 Sportsman, 9 shot .22 revolver, serial #AZ011xxx (I think that makes it built in 1985). So, first post, here goes......

The cylinder is dinged up at the top of every hole. My guess it that its been dry fired quite a bit, and the firing pin has been slamming into the top of each hole. Some of the holes are hard to get the ammo into, and I think there is some beat-down metal protruding into the hole. The second batch of ammo I ran through it wouldn't eject smoothly, and it appears the cylinder catch spring is broken (I've got 2 new ones on order from Numrich).

Does a new cylinder have a smooth face about where the firing pin hits (the Numrich schematic shows it as very smooth - no cylinders are available, however)? Is it advisable to use a small round file or even a tiny dremel bit to clean up the top edge of the cylinder holes?

Bill DeShivs · 03-30-2011, 08:49 PM

No! The gun will misfire badly if you remove the metal.
The metal should be "swedged" back in place, not removed. Any gunsmith should have a tool for this.
Brownells sells them.

jamesjo · 03-30-2011, 09:18 PM

Bill's right!!
I think they are called irons.

Spikedog · 03-31-2011, 09:03 PM

Thanks for the replies. I think I catch the gist of what you mean by not removing material from the cylinder top. Certainly a picture would help, but the amount of metal I'm talking about filing off is miniscule. Plus, I'm planning on removing it from the inside of the cylinder bore, not planing off the entire top of the cylinder face.

Gabob · 03-31-2011, 09:08 PM

Brownell's sells a tool to "iron" out the burrs
www.brownells.com
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=0...2_chamber_iron
sells for $21.95

Hawg · 03-31-2011, 09:11 PM

It probably won't hurt anything to file it carefully. Repeat "PROBABLY". No guarantees. If the cylinder is dinged the firing pin is probably battered also..

Spikedog · 04-03-2011, 11:18 AM

Thanks for the link - very helpful to see what the tool looks like.

Hawg - I dithered about buying a new firing pin, but looking at the way its tied in with a pin that's been squashed at both ends, that might be beyond my skill level to replace. It's got a round pin, and most of the .22's I've owned have a spade-like pin. It looks like the 999 came with several firing pin shapes, and we suspect that maybe it's a replacement item already.

We did smooth out the the burrs a tiny bit, but I think the iron might be able to do a better job. The ammo drops in smoother now, but might as well get the iron coming.

Spikedog · 04-18-2011, 09:58 PM

The iron did a fairly good job of pushing metal out of the cylinder wall, but didn't really push it up into the divots. That being said, the gun fires pretty good now, and ejects properly. A few misfires here and there, not really sure if it's the same hole every time. Mainly while using double action - it fires every time with single action.

Thanks for the help - I never would've found the iron.

Old Gun Guy · 04-19-2011, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spikedog

The iron did a fairly good job of pushing metal out of the cylinder wall, but didn't really push it up into the divots. That being said, the gun fires pretty good now, and ejects properly. A few misfires here and there, not really sure if it's the same hole every time. Mainly while using double action - it fires every time with single action.

Thanks for the help - I never would've found the iron.

If it fires every time in single action, then it usually means that your hammer spring is weak. DA mode doesn't allow the amount of hammer travel that single action does. Therefore you will experience misfires in DA.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Old Gun Guy

jamesjo · 04-19-2011, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Gun Guy

If it fires every time in single action, then it usually means that your hammer spring is weak. DA mode doesn't allow the amount of hammer travel that single action does. Therefore you will experience misfires in DA.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Old Gun Guy

YEP!!!
Here you go, scroll down to part # 37, and 37A, page 4 or 5.

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/...spx?catid=7937

03-30-2011, 07:21 PM	#1
Spikedog Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 4	999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? I've been lurking for a few days, searching your forums for info on an H&R top break revolver I just bought. It's a 999 Sportsman, 9 shot .22 revolver, serial #AZ011xxx (I think that makes it built in 1985). So, first post, here goes...... The cylinder is dinged up at the top of every hole. My guess it that its been dry fired quite a bit, and the firing pin has been slamming into the top of each hole. Some of the holes are hard to get the ammo into, and I think there is some beat-down metal protruding into the hole. The second batch of ammo I ran through it wouldn't eject smoothly, and it appears the cylinder catch spring is broken (I've got 2 new ones on order from Numrich). Does a new cylinder have a smooth face about where the firing pin hits (the Numrich schematic shows it as very smooth - no cylinders are available, however)? Is it advisable to use a small round file or even a tiny dremel bit to clean up the top edge of the cylinder holes? -->

03-30-2011, 08:49 PM	#2
Bill DeShivs Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Contributor Posts: 1,470	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? No! The gun will misfire badly if you remove the metal. The metal should be "swedged" back in place, not removed. Any gunsmith should have a tool for this. Brownells sells them. __________________ Bill DeShivs www.billdeshivs.com

03-30-2011, 09:18 PM	#3
jamesjo V.I.P. Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Nebraska Posts: 438	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? Bill's right!! I think they are called irons.

03-31-2011, 09:03 PM	#4
Spikedog Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 4	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? Thanks for the replies. I think I catch the gist of what you mean by not removing material from the cylinder top. Certainly a picture would help, but the amount of metal I'm talking about filing off is miniscule. Plus, I'm planning on removing it from the inside of the cylinder bore, not planing off the entire top of the cylinder face.

03-31-2011, 09:08 PM	#5
Gabob Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SW GA CSA Posts: 1,161	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? Brownell's sells a tool to "iron" out the burrs www.brownells.com http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=0...2_chamber_iron sells for $21.95 __________________ NRA Endowment Member Keep Your Powder Dry Last edited by Gabob; 03-31-2011 at 09:31 PM..

03-31-2011, 09:11 PM	#6
Hawg Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 1,559	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? It probably won't hurt anything to file it carefully. Repeat "PROBABLY". No guarantees. If the cylinder is dinged the firing pin is probably battered also..

04-03-2011, 11:18 AM	#7
Spikedog Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 4	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? Thanks for the link - very helpful to see what the tool looks like. Hawg - I dithered about buying a new firing pin, but looking at the way its tied in with a pin that's been squashed at both ends, that might be beyond my skill level to replace. It's got a round pin, and most of the .22's I've owned have a spade-like pin. It looks like the 999 came with several firing pin shapes, and we suspect that maybe it's a replacement item already. We did smooth out the the burrs a tiny bit, but I think the iron might be able to do a better job. The ammo drops in smoother now, but might as well get the iron coming. Last edited by Spikedog; 04-03-2011 at 06:33 PM..

04-18-2011, 09:58 PM	#8
Spikedog Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 4	Re: 999 Sportsman H&R - cylinder nicked, how to repair? The iron did a fairly good job of pushing metal out of the cylinder wall, but didn't really push it up into the divots. That being said, the gun fires pretty good now, and ejects properly. A few misfires here and there, not really sure if it's the same hole every time. Mainly while using double action - it fires every time with single action. Thanks for the help - I never would've found the iron.