I had a similar discussion on this in the Gunsmithing section a couple of weeks ago regarding chamber polishing. I found a decent local(ish) smith to ream and polish the chambers. Since I was warned it would be a 2 to 3 month wait for the work I thought I'd see if anyone here has any other thoughts on the issue since I am not positive reaming and polishing the chambers will absolutely fix it. As long as the gun is empty or loaded with unfired ammo it feels smooth when cocking and lowering the hammer. I loaded up 7 rounds with no powder or primer and with them in the pistol everything works fine as long as the barrel is not pointed upward. When firing it can be difficult or even impossible to cock the hammer. When that happens you can push forward on the next round that would be coming up and as soon as it pushes forward the hammer will lock back properly. In double action the trigger will simply not pull back far enough to fire the pistol when the lockup occurs. It looks to me like for some reason the rounds in the cylinder slide back and either make everything very stiff or just prevents it from working. With the uncharged rounds it will do this if pointed up as that allows the rounds to slide back against the recoil shield. The recoil shield itself seems smooth and the clearance does not seem any less than my other smiths. This happens with any ammo including factory ammo and reloads that function perfectly in all my other S&W's. It is not rubbing against the forcing cone and with an empty cylinder everything is glass smooth. Loaded rounds just drop right into the cylinder and the seat all the way down. There is no debris under the extractor nor are ther any burrs I can see with a magnifying glass. Any thoughts? I am not under factory warranty because like an idiot I forgot to mail in the card. I want to add that a couple of months back I had a local retired smith take a look at it. He took it apart said he couldn't really find any issues and upon reassembly said it was working fine. Of course the issue was always that it only does it when firing. I figured everything was okay but when I took it out it is still happening. This is an issue that was occurring before it was inspected so it's not a new issue and everything works fine otherwise.

I'm not sure the warranty card makes any difference.

A couple of things you could check to rule them out....after a thorough cleaning, use feeler gauges and measure the rear gauge between the breechface and the rear of the cylinder. This "headspace" should be between .060" and .068".

Another possibility is that the firing pin bushing is not flush with the breechface and is catching on the case rim.....or there may be a burr on the perimeter of the hole in the f.p. bushing itself.

__________________
Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

From Smith and Wesson's website:

"Failure to return this card will not diminish your warranty rights."

Thanks guys, that's good to know about the warranty card. I thought I had screwed myself by forgetting to turn it in. The firing pin bushing is flush with no burrs of any kind I can see or feel. While I don't have complete confidence in their warranty service it couldn't hurt to send it back to S&W. Judging from what I've seen in numerous posts I kind of expect them to say it's within spec but I should at least give them the opportunity to make it right. It's driving me crazy which is a shame because it is nicely balanced and a really accurate pistol.

Well never mind on sending it back to the factory I guess. I just went to their site to find contact info and it says they will warranty defects for only one year (I've had it longer than that) and it must be accompanied by a copy of the original receipt or a copy of ATF form 4473. I don't have a form 4473 and doubt seriously that I can find the original receipt. So, back to square one.

If you don't trust the "mother ship" or don't like the turn-around time, I would highly recommend Denny Reichard at the Sand Burr Gun Ranch in Rochester In. He works on S&W revolvers only and went to the S&W "school" three times learning the trade. Contact him at sandburrgunranch.com. In this area, he is "the man". You won't be disappointed!!!! He has had guns sent to him from S&W when they couldn't fix them!!!!!

I'd check with mommy anyway. My bet is they'll take care of it.

You can register it on line. Use the date that you purchased it but you do not need the actual receipt.
Apparently the warranty is one year instead of lifetime. As there are a lot of problems I would register it on line then call cs in Springfield MA and describe the problems.
Let them say what they would o they may cover it no problems.
Otherwise they would go over it and my guess is replace parts as needed plus repair it.

I went online and registered the pistol. It was easy to find the exact date of purchase because I was pretty happy about it at the time and so I posted on the forum as soon as I bought it. About a week or so after that I started posting questions regarding the issue I'm still having but it actually took quite a while to narrow it down. We'll see what they have to say regarding the repair. Nothing against S&W but if I have to pay for it then I'm probably better off taking it to someone I can speak to face to face and who will be willing to actually take it out and shoot it enough to really get to the heart of the problem and know if it's really repaired. It's a pretty obvious problem but I'd hate to have Smith check it over, run 3 or 4 rounds through it and have it be the one time it works properly. Then send it back after collecting their payment and I still have the issue. I thought about just buying a new complete cylinder and having it fit but the only ones I can find are for L frame six shooters. Nothing for a 7 shooter.

Even though S&W changed their warranty to one year. It seems that a low round count well taken care of new 686 pwould be fixed as this is a manufacturer fault.
For reference, I bought a new 686-6 four inch in 2007.
It worked great, for about two years.
I took care of it and only shot it at the range with commercial ammo.
In 2009 it started to get many light strikes and hammer hesitaion in the double action mode.
I called S&W and went over the problem description. I also wrote a detail memo.
S&W reworked the action and replaced the firing pin under warranty.
They did have the lifetime warranty and the problem was due to a manufacturer fault. S&W never provided detail report.
The repair worked great. I have been shooting it and have had zero problems.
I would still talk to S&W.

Thinking you are stressing too much about the factory might not want to fix your gun... the description of the problem may very well be a problem they are familiar with and although they have no obligation to tell you that, a quick fix may be the end result. Even if you have to pay for a fix, wouldn’t you rather have the guys that made it, fix it? Make the call, they will likely send you a prepaid ship tag and send it in.

If it was me I'd call S&W and have them email a Fedex label and ship it to them. Yes, although you probably won't see it for 2-3 months, and yeah you "might" have to pay, you will have peace of mind knowing that S&W performance center is the ones that will be inspecting/repairing the pistol. It will most likely come back to you in better than new condition.

I've sent two pistols to S&W, the quality of the work performed was exceptional. They currently are refurbishing my 10-8 model 10.

I will be contacting S&W customer service regarding the issues I'm having with my PRO series pistol. It's only fair to give them an opportunity to try and correct the problem. I do think some responders are misunderstanding my concerns with their repair service though. If it's not under warranty and I have to pay for the repair that's fine. Any independent smith I brought the pistol to would also charge me. I'm not really concerned about the long wait for repairs since most smiths are backed up and even locally there is a longish wait. My concern is that with many, many, firearms either being serviced or repaired under warranty that whoever is assigned to inspect my pistol is not going to have the time it might take to properly diagnose the issue. I have read on this forum many accounts of pistols being returned for warranty repairs that are quite obvious such as obviously canted barrels only to have them returned with the notation that they are within spec. So yeah, I am going to give them a chance but with some reservations. If they can't fix it at least with a local smith I can spend face to face time to make sure they understand the problem correctly. If the service tech assigned to inspect my pistol can at least take the time to fire it they should be able to see what's happening. Lets hope anyway.

Reading through this thread and this
What's the easiest way to polish cylinder chambers

Only a thought...but perhaps...
Could it be that the catridges / case-rims "hang up" (especially if you are holding the revolver with the muzzle pointing up)
somewhere on a "burr/edge/step" in the "marked aera" (see pictures) ?

If I understand it correctly...you have already made some dummies...
so it should be a safe and easy check-out...

Another idea:
As the empty revolver seems to function fine...
You could sooten(?) the bottom of your dummies with a match/candle
before loading them into the cylinder and (working the action = "shooting"
the revolver) it should show up the places of the "binding"...


P.44
(Sorry in advance for my for sure not perfect English)

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P.44, thanks for the reply. Your English is at least as good as mine and I was born here. In any event, while that area is a likely looking suspect the spot I seem to be hanging up at is 180 degrees to that spot. I have tried using only one dummy round, pointing the muzzle up and repeatedly cocking and lowering the hammer with my eyes closed. It doesn't hang up every time but when it does that one round is always one chamber away from being under the hammer. I like the idea of blackening the case base though. Soot may rub off too easily but I'm going to give it a try with the bases colored in with a felt pen (magic marker) to see if that shows me anything.

Taking off on a suggestion by P.44 I painted the case rims and bases of my dummy rounds with a sharpie and after they dried I held the pistol muzzle up and cocked and lowered the hammer enough times for the cylinder to go around maybe half a dozen times. Several times I could feel it catch but naturally with sized and cleaned cases it didn't stick like it normally does when firing. Anyway, when inspecting the dummy rounds later there were several quite noticeable nicks in the edge of the rims. I can't feel any burrs anywhere around the recoil shield but I'm wondering if somehow they are catching at the top of the slot cut for the hand. I wouldn't think that simply rubbing somewhere would cause nicks in the brass. Anyway, I'm going to go out Saturday and try putting a hundred rounds or so through it with factory ammo and some handloads using new brass that I know to be nice and smooth. It's not possible for the hand itself to be nicking the brass is it?

Hello 1sailor,
I'm no pistolsmith and without seeing/handling the revolver and "from a few thousand miles away"...

but it seems (perhaps "an unhappy summary of tolerances" ??) that the catridges/case(rim)s get catched/hanging up/binding somewhere in the recoilshield area (around the slot for the hand / the firingpin-bushing ??).

With the "sharpie-trick"... are there any "rubbing marks" visible on the recoilshield or only on the case(rim)s?
If not...perhaps if you try something thicker to color the casebottoms/-rims (Somehow lipstick -or whatever you/your wife have at home- cames to mind...)

Good Luck

P.44

A word on the warranty:

S&W clearly states their products come with a 1 year warranty. However, their firearms also come with a lifetime service warranty: Service Commitment | Smith & Wesson

In this case, the gun should be covered but..... as has been evidenced by others, sometimes complex problems can be tough to convey from customer to the person responsible for factory repair work. So sending it back to the factory could be a quick fix or an experience in frustration. Tough call. In a situation such as this it might be best if an actual cause cannot be offered by members here, for the OP to physically take the gun to a smith and demonstrate the problem so there's no misconception of the issue.

__________________
So many S&W's, so few funds!!

[QUOTE=Garman;139980611]From Smith and Wesson's website:

"Failure to return this card will not diminish your warranty rights."[/QUO

THANKS FOR BRINGING THIS IMPORTANT BIT OF INFO TO OUR ATTENTION, Garman......

__________________
'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Unfortunately it also states " Eligibility for this Lifetime Service Policy requires returning the Product Registration Card within 30 days of purchase". And as I already mentioned I was a total idiot and forgot to mail it in. Without retuning the card you only have warranty rights for the first year of ownership. Honestly at this point I am not so concerned about warranty or no warranty as much as i am having it actually repaired. As was pointed out by Tom S, when dealing by mail with a middle man it is quite easy to have a lapse in communication as opposed to a face to face sit down where the issue can be clearly demonstrated. I would love to have S&W fix my pistol but only if they have the time and information to actually fix it. I would prefer to have the actual cause of the issue diagnosed prior to sending it in.

When dealing with warranty or non warranty service I make a detail list of symptoms.
Break each sympton into it's own numbered line. This becomes a good reference for the tech.
Again regarding warranty cards and time since purchase. Communicate that you have followed cleaning and lube per S&W and only used commercial ammo.
Estimate how many total round shot.
This should show that something is wrong with the function and that it is caused by some manufact problem.
Diagnosing the root cause is not needed but listing all symptoms and any observations and questions will
help in trouble shooting and repair.
Have all this info prepared before you call S&W to describe the problem.

My experience with their warranty service has been quite satisfactory at the end of the day. When /i have called in to explain the issue, the person I am talking to on the phone generally doesn't seem to understand the problem I am describing at all. However, I also send in a detailed, written description of the issue in the packaging with the gun. In every case, the gun has been fixed beyond my expectations. I surmise that the technician isn't spending time on the phone and the guy on the phone isn't fixing the guns.

And it has never taken anywhere near "two or three months" for the repairs to be completed. The longest was a bit shy of one month.

I've had 4 of them shipped back- without having any warranty card filled out- and never paid a dime to fix!

With SAW, forget about the fine print. They'll help you!
(Granted if you are the original owner and honest!)

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Exactly my experience.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95