# Taurus Public Defender Cylinder Problem/?



## shaddaddy

I have little experience with revolvers so any thoughts on the following issue are greatly appreciated.

I have the public defender with 2.5" cylinder. I have noticed that when the cylinder is locked in place, loaded or unloaded, I can sometimes gently manipulate the cylinder to rotate. I am not sure if this is a problem. It doesn't seem to affect the function but I am thinking it might be an issue if I was ever in a stress situation such as gun being wrestled from my hand or if dropped and then picked up up the cylinder might rotate out of battery and be rendered useless.

So - is this a concern ? If so - what is the probably cause -- will Taurus fix it or should I take it to a local gunsmith ?


BTW - I love this GUN !!! -- lots of people talk about inaccuracy, lack of power of .410 loads, poor penetration of .45 from a short barrell but I say Who Gives a Flying Fart about such issues. At 10 yards this gun shoots .45 loads pretty darn accurately. Sure there are gun/load combos that might offer more wallop but I am fairly confident that a 225 gr corbon hollowpoint in a Winchester factory load will suffice for any 2 legged critter. The 000 buck load from Federal and the Winchester PDX? load looks pretty darn menacing - I am going to do a phone book penetration test as soon as I get the opportunity and will report those if anyone is interested. I don't see the logic in the .410 slug but if I ever find a box of them I would like to compare them with the .45 colt load.

I shot 3 copperheads last summer in my back yard and a several water snakes as well that seem to like my boat dock. I am expecting some snake lovers to scold me for that last statement but those brown water snakes are aggressive SOB's and having gotten a nasty bite and infection trying to gently persuade one to leave the particular area of my dock it claimed I am a little less tolerant of them.

This gun might be gimmicky - but it is effective - and if a menacing look of a large pistol makes a perp stop what he is doing - there aren't too many that look much meaner !


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## Steve M1911A1

If a modern revolver is fully cocked, or if its hammer is down due to a trigger pull, its cylinder should remain locked in place and should not be able to rotate.
The possible causes of improper rotation might be:
• Bad timing, in that the cylinder locking bolt rises in the wrong place, or at the wrong time, to allow it to rise into and secure the appropriate cylinder notch,
• Weak locking-bolt spring, which allows the bolt to be displaced out of its notch by movement of the cylinder of any kind,
• Oversize (or even undersize) locking bolt, which keeps the bolt from securely remaining within its appropriate notch, or
• A locking bolt with rounded edges (that are supposed to be sharp), allowing it to be forced out of the notch by cylinder rotation.

In any case, the revolver is defective and at least potentially unsafe. If it is within warranty, Taurus should repair it at no charge. Contact them for instructions.
If it is out of warranty, a good pistolsmith can repair it, but the job may be expensive.

What say you, *Eli*: Am I on the right track? I believe that you know more about revolvers than I do, so please chime in.


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