I just bought a new 637-2 J frame last week, so yesterday I took it to the range for the first time. After I shot 35 rounds of +P 38 special ammo through it I noticed the locking bolt pin fell out of the barrel. Luckily the spring and locking bolt didn't get lost but the pin is gone.

This doesn't impact the revolver from shooting so I continued but with target loads instead but was surprised to see the pin missing. Today I called S&W and they are sending me a new pin.

Has anyone one else had this problem ?

I have been regularly working at a shooting ranger for 11 years and never saw that happen. Very odd.

We had the pin (as well as the other 2 parts) fall out of our 642 a couple of years ago, which happened within the first 100 rounds.

The only thing I was unable to find was the spring. The gunsmith at the shop where I bought the gun had one and fixed me up while I waited......

Edited to add: For what it's worth, we were only fireing standard pressure factory .38 spl loads at the time. No +P

I had the same thing happen last week on one of my 442-1's. S&W replied quickly that they were sending a replacement pin out at no charge. Is there any thing I should know about inserting the new pin to 1) avoid damaging anything and 2) keeping the new pin from falling out?

They are sending me one also. It can't be that difficult to install maybe some Loctite applied so that it doesn't fall out again.

would like to know in more detail just where this pin is located.

never mind---I figured it out.

And what does it do....duh?

It's that little pin that goes under the barrel through the lug which holds the springloaded mechanism that the ejector rod snaps into. Does that make sense?

I saw that happen with a 642. I couldn't believe it. I have been fooling with Smiths over 30 years and had never even heard of that happening until then.

It will shoot fine without it. I guess it just ensures that the ejector rod stays put if it gets hit on the side.

When you go to install the new pin, place it between two pieces of masking tape, place a flat punch in the middle of the pin and lightly rap it with a hammer. This will make a flat spot in the pin that will help to keep it from backing out, once it is driven into the hole in the lug.

The masking tape keeps the pin steady when you smack it.

OK that makes sense, thanks for the tip.

Yeah, thanks. That sounds more secure/cleaner than loctite, and less risky than staking.

I got my pin from S&W today in the mail. The pin was over a 3/16" too long and the fit was loose. So I ground off some of the pin to the correct
length and took a chisel and dinged the pin in the middle to stake it as suggested by ColbyBruce. That worked great and its nice and tight now.

Another thing I did was replace the rubber grips with the factory S&W checkered Dymondwood grips product #199276 from MidwayUSA.
The hold is much better plus conceal easier and for $27.99 you can't go wrong. Shooting +P with the rubber grips resulted in my
thumb rubbing against the knurled cylinder release button under recoil...ouch but not the case now!

had this happen to me today. pin fell out, still have plunger and spring. smith said they are sending me a spring today, also. hope it gets here soon! hev read on ideas on how it keep it in place, will try as soon as it comes in the mail.

Same thing happened to my brand new 642-1 Pro Series. Smith sent me the parts pretty fast. Wraped the new pin in tape and gave it a rap with a hammer and punch like ColbyBruce said, and it worked great. Just don't haul off and use a sledge hammer. Doesn't take much. Don't feel bad S&W, I had to do the same thing to the rear sight hinge pin on my Ruger GP-100. Pins just seem to fall out.

^^^^what he said. This pin drifted out to the right side, but I pushed it back before losing it. The slight-flattening (say 3x quickly ) trick worked. Now the pin is secure.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

What is the size of this pin? Or better yet what is the correct punch size for this pin?

its the 1/16".