[Unclenick]

Welcome to the forum.

You may have the cart before the horse. It may kick left, and that's why the left ear hears it most. I would suspect a sharper crack if the barrel/cylinder gap were bigger. You might get out the automotive feeler gages to see. 0.004" to 0.006" seems to be pretty normal in these guns, though I did once have one with a 0.002" gap that would start to rub when it heated up.