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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 03-26-2015, 07:14 PM
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Default 640-1 Pro Series Back to the Mothership --- Second Time Back

I dropped my 640 Pro Series off at the FedEx shipping center and sent it off for it's second trip back to the mothership for repairs.

Background: This revolver was a replacement for a broken 642. S&W agreed, for a few extra $$$, to send me a 640 as the replacement. After a four month wait it finally arrived in Jul 2014.

I had to send this new revolver back before I even shot it. Poorly executed etchings on the barrel, the front sight was damaged, the barrel was "clocked", and when handling the gun while doing the transfer paperwork the rear sight fell off of the gun!!

It took another month, but they repaired everything... Well kinda... The barrel, although not perfectly straight, was much straighter than it was out-of-the-box. Over the eight months I've owned and shot the revolver the barrel has slowly rotated from straight-"ish" to again clocked. It is so much so it now has shifted the point of impact.

Back to S&W: We will see what they do. Apparently the initial barrel install and subsequent first barrel straightening repair didn't take. I'm not smart enough on the process, but I guess they will have to replace the barrel or the whole gun to get things properly straight.

More to come...

Edmo

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Last edited by Edmo; 03-27-2015 at 08:48 AM.
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Old 03-26-2015, 08:01 PM
629shooter 629shooter is offline
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Good luck. I would hope that it would come back "right" this time.
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Old 03-26-2015, 09:14 PM
9mmsubgun-m11 9mmsubgun-m11 is offline
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Man that sucks! It is a nice looking gun,love the sights on it.
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Old 03-26-2015, 11:50 PM
HarrishMasher HarrishMasher is offline
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Yeah I know it is very frustrating. I have 3 guns out for warranty repairs at the moment. One is on its second trip. None are S&Ws.

Last edited by HarrishMasher; 03-27-2015 at 03:05 PM.
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Old 03-27-2015, 06:01 AM
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I have 2 out right now one to S+W and one to Ruger. I thought I was just the unlucky one
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Old 03-28-2015, 01:42 AM
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I'll give an update when she returns...

Edmo
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Old 03-28-2015, 07:59 AM
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That sucks. I am contemplating buying one of these. Hopefully they will get it right this go around.
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Old 04-16-2015, 02:23 PM
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FedEx guy dropped it off this morning and everything appears to be straight. We will see if it holds this time... Hopefully, the third time is the charm when installing a barrel.

It was three weeks door to door.

Edmo
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Old 04-16-2015, 06:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Edmo View Post
FedEx guy dropped it off this morning and everything appears to be straight. We will see if it holds this time... Hopefully, the third time is the charm when installing a barrel.

It was three weeks door to door.

Edmo


You are saying I hope it "holds" this time. Does that mean that it will become "clocked" with use? Is that what happened the first time?
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Old 04-17-2015, 05:11 AM
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You are saying I hope it "holds" this time. Does that mean that it will become "clocked" with use? Is that what happened the first time?
I'm no S&W gunsmith or barrel installation expert, but after talking to a couple of local S&W gunsmiths this is what I understand as my gun's problem.

The barrel is threaded into the frame and is intended to snug up tight just as it becomes straight. Additionally, the rifling keeps the barrel tight by attempting to torque it in the correct direction every time you fire it.

Having said that, my barrel was originally tightened a smidge too far. This resulted in the front sight being too far to the left as viewed by the shooter.

I sent it back to S&W and to align the barrel they had to slightly loosen the barrel. Over the 8 months I've owned and fired it, the barrel was repeatedly torqued as bullets twisted through the rifling. This tightened the barrel back to the canted position.

For those who understand the barrel installation process, is this correct? Again, this is what was explained to me by two different gunsmiths so I assume it is my issue. The bottom line is I hope it is fixed.

We will see how the new barrel alignment holds up.

Edmo
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Old 04-17-2015, 05:53 AM
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That sounds right to me. I once sent a K38 back. I had them cut the forcing cone and take one turn on the barre. I think they have to machine some off the barrel for proper fit.

It was a good job but did not cure the leading problem. I ended up trading the gun.

David
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Old 04-17-2015, 07:08 AM
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Hopefully this time they cut the barrel back so it went in one full revolution more than before and re set the b/c gap. I'd imagine that is the proper way of doing it, over loosening it a smidge.

Hoping the gun has all the bugs worked out this time!
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Old 04-18-2015, 04:16 AM
Nalapombu Nalapombu is offline
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I love the looks of this model. Wish I had one.

Nalajr
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Old 04-18-2015, 08:01 PM
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I love the looks of this model. Wish I had one.

Nalajr
Let me take it to the range a few times and I might have one for sale with a slightly tweaked barrel.

Edmo
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Old 04-19-2015, 01:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogsawaste View Post
Hopefully this time they cut the barrel back so it went in one full revolution more than before and re set the b/c gap. I'd imagine that is the proper way of doing it, over loosening it a smidge.

Hoping the gun has all the bugs worked out this time!
I suspect that they wouldn't do that much "smithing", unless the BC gap was out of their specs. Not ours. That is at least .010 inch with S&W. I just got a new M686, everything is "perfect" except the BC gap is .009 inch. Again, its "in spec"!
Likely they just tweaked the torque a little.
Having everything come together correctly at the same time seems a bit tricky to me. That is why I like the concept of a two piece barrel. Barrel torque does not affect the sight alignment. Nothing has to be "set back" to get the BC gap spot on.

Best,
Rick
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Old 04-20-2015, 05:49 PM
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I took the 640 Pro to the range today and it still goes bang. The left/right impacts are back in line with the point of aim, which was the reason I finally sent it back to S&W.

I shot WWB 38 Special rounds and Remington 125 grain SJHP 357 Magnums. I forgot how unpleasant 357s can be out of this little gun. Generally, I'm good for 15 or so before I've had enough! 38 rounds are smooth and easy.

It was "5 shot day"... I also took a no-dash model 60, a 642, and a Ruger LCRx 3" 38 special. All shot well and the 3" barreled Ruger proved to be the easiest to shoot accurately.

Primers were popped, powder was burned, paper was punched, and smiles were made!

Edmo
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Last edited by Edmo; 04-21-2015 at 02:24 AM.
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