numbering cylinders ?

[gregdemars]

What is the purpose of numbering the chambers on a revolver ?

[revolverman]

Believe it or not, the different chambers in your cylinder may (and usually do) group differently.  Many seasoned shooters want them marked so they can see which one(s) group the best.

[gregdemars]

If the gun was timed and tuned, wouldn't that all but eliminate alignment problems ? Even if the cylinder was line-bored like Freedom Arms, would numbered chambers make a difference ?

[revolverman]

Well, someone else could probably add more technical info than I could, but I believe it is just a phnomenon that regardless of manufacturing techniques, some individual chambers on a revolver will group better than others.  I don't really believe that it has anything to do with the timing or mechanical function of the gun, but rather the shooting tendancies of each chamber.  Does anyone else have anything to add???

[jgalar]

its an imperfect world we live in...multiply that by 5,6,7 or 8 holes bored in a cylinder

[Dan Chamberlain]

Years ago, a gunwriter did an article which really delved into the myriad of problems facing creating the perfect cylinder.  It's not just a matter of timing, but of boring true, and concentrically.  He was surprised revolvers were as accurate as they really are, and were in the olden days as well.  Supposedly, you will get your absolute best accuracy if you were to fire a group from the same chamber.  A way of doing this is to place 6 targets up, and with numbered chambers, fire at each one making sure you use the same chamber on the same target each cylinder full.  I don't have the patience to see how closely my revolvers can group, when they already group close enough for me.

Dan C

[The Pistoleer]

Now I don't know if it's true or not but back when I was shooting serious NMLRA pistol shooting I was told that most companies bore 2 cylinders at a time but that Ruger bore 3 at a time and this was why the Old Army shot better than the Ubertie reproductions.


Pete

[Steve P]

I have the cylinder on my Dan Wesson 357sm marked so I do not shoot silhouette with one of the holes.  It is obviously different.  Some of the guys have gone so far as to numbering the cylinder holes, then shooting 5 shot groups with individual hole.  They learn which holes are most acurate and have used this in shooting shootoff targets.  If all targets are the same size, no big deal, but if you are shooting at one small target, you want to use your most accurate hole on that specific target.

Some of them don't have that big of a difference.  Some do.  Try marking them with a sharping and checking it out.  You may suprise yourself.

Good Luck,

Steve

[gregdemars]

Thanks for the input.Too bad for me, eyesight dictates a scope for comfortable shooting sessions. I probably could'nt utilize the full potential offered by numbered cylinders.

[Winter Hawk]

Which sighting system you use shouldn't make a difference.  

Try firing five shots using only one chamber at a target off sandbags, then do the same on another target with the next chamber, etc. until you have a target for each chamber in the cylinder with a five shot group on it.  

If all the groups are the same then you don't have to think about it.  If one group is obviously tighter than the rest, you would want to make sure you use that chamber to sight in and also for your most "challenging" shots.

-WH-