Picked up a model 19-3 this past weekend at a local gun show from a guy on the way in. Trigger pull locked up, but overall it was in great shape and so a deal was made.

Got it home and checked the strain screw. Way loose. So I tightened it down and hoped I nailed the issue. Now if I stroke it vigorously DA, it works fine. If I pull the trigger very slow, it sometimes locks up.

So guys, what do I check next?

First of all not really sure why you would pull the trigger very slow as the process is meant to be a fluid action, Second there are numerous causes in lock up starting with lose extractor rods to hands, timing in the cylinder stop etc. The gun could be dry as a bone in the internals. Maybe a good gunsmith is in order for the old once over.

Good Luck
Pete

LOTS of possibilities If the above hints don't work out. Someone might have been bent on "improving" the action. Don't be afraid of sending it n to the factory on general principles if the solution isn't readily apparent.

I have a personal point on DA Smiths beyond which I will not go. Then I box it up and send it to the real experts. I've done that with four guns in the last few years and been impressed with their diagnostic skills, quality of work, and the reasonable cost.

Not to mention that it's much less stressful.

Well the cylinder release nob was very also loose, so I tightened that. Pulled the side plate, those screws weren't too tight either but it has definitely been opened before. Laid it on it's side and soaked it in C&S Dunkit for about 1/2 hour. Pulled it out, q-tipped the obvious dirty spots. Holding the mechanics in (like the hammer block) and sprayed it out with my air nozzle. Put it all back together and ...................Viola, it's working like a charm.

Range test next.

You should be able to stroke the trigger in DA as fast or as slow as you like without it "locking up."

Send it to S&W so you are sure all issues are repaired.

A S&W Revolver should not lock up no matter how fast or slow you pull the trigger! If it is locking up then you have a problem with it. I'd let Smith fix it!

The very first carry gun I bought (new) back in 1979 was a Model 10 2" Nickel plated RB. From the first day I had it the gun would occasionally lock up in double action. I sent the gun back to Smith 3 times over a 3 month period and no matter what they did they could not fix the problem. Finally I drove up there in person and spoke with Mr. Fran Longton (production manager at the time) and he took the gun from me, destroyed it and stamped my serial number on a brand new Blued one right off the line (disliked the Nickel so I asked for a blued one). He told me that he believed that the frame of my original was just not in spec (got by inspectors) and could never be fixed, hence the new gun. Never had any issues with the new one but sold it a year later and bought a M60. I wish I had not sold that one as it was a beauty! Mr. Longton made sure he gave me the best one he could find after all my trouble.

Also check the trigger stop on the 19-3's. I had one in 2.5 inches with a smooth trigger and standard hammer and according to the blue box it was factory original. Shooting some old Super Vel 38 spls in it locked it up tight so that the trigger would not cycle at all, and lubrication was not an issue and there was no crud built up under the extractor star. A friend was a US Secret Service agent and was on the second team for the USSS Pistol Team in Maryland. He looked at it and in what seemed like 2 minutes, he had it apart on his desk. He pulled the trigger stop and its screw out of the frame and he fitted the trigger stops that fit inside the rebound slide in a jiffy. Never had a problem with it as long as I kept it clean. Not saying that is your problem, but something to look for. I know S&W did a recall on them back in the day and changed their trigger stops on all their target frame K's and maybe other models too.

Good luck on your 19 - still a great revolver!

Thanks SpartanDCI. Early on in my investigation, I too suspected the trigger stop as it seemed like the stopping resistance was right on the trigger, as opposed so somewhere else in the action (if that makes sense from a feel perspective). I have yet to take it to the range for a real shakedown.

Try as I might, I can find no information online about this "trigger stop recall". Does anyone have any info to share on that?

I believe it was in the mid to late 1970's. most likely before 1979 since I remember reading it in Shooting Times.

I threw out all the Armorer bulletins that I was given by a US Secret Service armorer when I used to pester the range guys at the Treasury range when I was a kid. I know it was in there since they issued the Model 66 and 19 snubs.

Part to be changed was 5088 (stop 500(?)), 5114 (Trigger stop), 5155(trigger stop screw).

It is listed in my model 19 schematics from the 1970's, but those parts are no longer listed on my Numrich Catalog #14 from the early 1980's so the entire stop was replaced as an entire assembly by the trigger stop rod, which went into the rebound slide.

Hope it helps.

Added: Thanks to my man Joe D with the USSS, who actually does a great job protecting all his charges, with no fan fare and no indiscretions! Also, photographic memory about gun related issues and bad guy faces!

Recall from 1978 - S&W K frame Model 18 and others: Link

http://firearmsid.com/recalls/FA_Recalls%204.htm#SMITH & WESSON, MODEL 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 48, 53, 66, & 67, REVOLVERS

Thanks SpartanDC, YOU ROCK!

Took her to the range yesterday and she worked fine without a hitch and appears to like 158 grain over the lighter stuff. I'll be working up handloads next. BUT, I will contact S&W to see if there was any record of mine ever having been serviced for this.

However, according to this, I can simply remove the trigger stop. IS this true?

Also, while I might be chided by the purest here, I simply do not like the old style Magna-grips or coke bottle grips that others seem to love. Not for DA work. I'll be getting a JM grip soon.

Cheers.

Glad you got it fixed. The 19 is about as perfect a gun as can be invented.

I'm with you on the wood grips. Mine came with the speed loader cut out factory grips. That ridge rests right against my thumb knuckle and hurts with each shot. Switched them out for ugly Hogue monogrips and now I can shoot it all day with 357s without pain. When Christmas comes around again my present will be a pair of Jordan Troopers