Need a little help with a wheel gun

[hurley431]

So this Christmas I was given my grandfather's service revolver, as I am the only gun guy in this generation. It's nothing too old or rare by any means of the word, just a Colt Cobra in 38 special; but, I've never owned a revolver and have no idea how long it's been sitting around for, it's seen better days, that much is for sure. So I have a few questions.

The cylinder has a little wobble in it, is this safe? How much is too much?
Are there any additional maintenance steps for a revolver? (I assume no, as it is a much simpler design than a semi-auto)
Should I have a gunsmith check it out? It's probably closer to 40ish by now... if not older.
Who around central mass, as far as a gunsmith, would be good to bring it to?

The gun may not be a collectors piece; but, it's what my grandfather carried when he was a detective for Lexington, so it means a great deal to me. I'd rather err on the side of caution. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Independence Arms]

Is there slop in the cylinder when the hammer is cocked, or only while at rest?

 

[hurley431]

both, I can see a gap between the swing arm and frame when it wobbles. It's only a two pieces of paper thick or so but I know nothing about revolvers.

 

[WanMan99]

Definitely bring it in to a gunsmith for a tune up. Have the internals checked out and any old springs replaced. Depending on the Gunsmith it shouldn't be that expensive and the gun will be good to go for 40 more years.

 

[Pilgrim]

all revolvers have a little front to back 'slop' and also a little rotational slop. 3-4 thousands of an inch of space should be between the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone of the barrel and you'll probably have about that much rotational movement too.

I'd be very surprised if your was out of spec. I'd only suspect a possible issue if the gun were really beat to crap.

I would suggest taking it to a smith and get it checked out and cleaned and oiled.