Headspace and firing pin advice provided is very good. Many of the factory firing pins measure below .490".

I have had good results with the newer designed Apex pins, which are around .510", and the Power Custom pins. Just a heads up to everyone about Cylinder and Slide firing pins, which are also .510", do not dry fire with them without snap caps, as they are prone to breakage.

As always, be sure to test fire the revolver after replacing this critical internal part.

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Customer Service:

My opinion about the prevailing issues with S&W Customer Service is that things have changed. Years ago, the people who were repairing the returned guns used their vast knowledge of the inner workings of the firearms to diagnose specific problems and to repair them properly. Back then, the guns were repaired by the experienced fitters who assembled them.

Nowadays, I think repair techs are often simply "exchanging" or replacing parts with the notion that somehow, the new replacement part will fix the reported issue. Many times this "modular" repair approach is not coupled with an actual test firing. Such live testing is always required to ensure the repair has been successful, and if done, would end the repeated cycle of returns. Finally, there is no final "arbiter" in this whole process. A knowledgeable, experienced tech who checks all of the finished repairs and determines that the issue has been resolved successfully......without further cosmetic harm being done to the gun. To me, this is kind of a "hit and miss" approach to solving mechanical problems, which does both harm to the gun, and to the company's customer base.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer