Originally Posted by Nightowl

That looks like a 4 inch. I'm not sure if they were included in the recall or not, but from what I have observed from discussions here, very few have been found to be "defective". There is a list here somewhere of the serial numbers involved from guns made in the first 6 months of 1985, if I remember correctly.

Originally Posted by JT

624/629 Cylinder Recall

The Skeeter Skelton article in the October 1985 issue of Shooting Times magazine stated: "A steel supplier has just advised Smith & Wesson that they shipped a very small quantity of incorrect stainless steel material (11 bars) to us that was not in accordance with their certifications. The incorrect material was used in the cylinders for some large-frame stainless-steel revolvers, Model Numbers 624 (.44 Special) and 629 (.44 Magnum). The approximately 500 units containing this material were shipped from Smith & Wesson between January 1, 1985 and June 8, 1985. They would be included in the following ranges of serial numbers: ADXXXXX, AEXXXXX, AFXXXXX, AGXXXXX, AHXXXXX, ALVXXXX, N910000 thru N953000."

Skeeter goes on to say that the bad cylinder steel caused the recall of about 21,000 guns to find 500 with improper steel.

Today, Kate Fredette of Smith & Wesson basically confirmed this same info. The serial number range includes:

ADXXXX
AEXXXX
AFXXXX
AGXXXX
AHXXXX
ALVXXX (the “V” is not a typo)
N910000 thru N953000

Recalled guns were shipped between Jan 1, 1985 and June 8, 1985 only. The cylinder has to be checked on these handguns and the only way to know is by checking the full serial number against their records. The problem involves 500 guns shipped during that period.

If a handgun in the recalled range has already been returned to the factory for testing, a red letter “C” that is circled will be stamped on the box label, indicating that the gun passed re-inspection. No marks are made on the cylinder of checked guns, only the red “C” in the circle stamped on the box label.

If your gun is within this range and you do not have a box or know for certain that it has been tested, you should contact Smith & Wesson. S&W’s records prior to 1986 are not computerized, so it takes them a little longer to look up the particulars.

You can E-mail your gun’s serial number to: [email protected]. S&W will contact you regarding the status of your particular gun. If your gun is included in the recall, you'll be sent a prepaid FedEx label and shipping instructions. While E-mail is best, you may also call S&W Customer Support at 1-800-331-0852.

Recalled cylinders are tested by magnafluxing. If your recalled gun does fail, there are no replacement cylinders. S&W will keep your gun and you will be offered the choice of another handgun of equal value or a refund. However, only one gun has failed the test so far … apparently the one sent in by our own dogdoc from Alabama. He says he was offered a 629 as a replacement.

I hope this clears the recall questions up once and for all.

Originally Posted by cherrypointmarine

Like stated above check and see if it will take a .44magnum round . Mine does , but it's not going back . If I ever sell it I will be up front and say so . But my 624 is not going anywhere , at least until I bite the bullet .

Originally Posted by FlyFish

I have a 624 in the serial number range for the recall. I wouldn't consider sending it back to be checked for the reasons others have stated, and I've shot it for years with no issues. There remains considerable confusion and disagreement over the "bad steel" vs. "deep chambers" reason for the recall, but whichever it is (I tend to go with the "deep chambers" crowd, which I understand is Roy Jink's explanation), I can't imagine the problem could be all that serious if guns that passed the check are designated as such by stamping a red "C", or anything else, ON THE BOX. (Consider, for example, how they stamp the "M" on the 586/686 recalled/repaired guns, which is a relatively trivial issue.) S&W has to know, as we all do, that guns and their boxes often part company over the years - if the recall was all that important, they'd have marked the guns themselves so there'd be no question.

Originally Posted by Big Cholla

...I am like many others that believe the original recall was really about 44 mag cylinders fitted to a few M 624s at the factory and not lower grade steel being used. S&W probably just didn't want to admit such a junior varsity mistake so they came up with the wrong steel meld being used...

Originally Posted by StrawHat

S&W doesn’t seem to care they deep chambered the 625 in 45 ACP. Why would they care if the 624 was deeper?

Kevin

Originally Posted by Muley Gil

I guess they didn't want folks to shoot .44 Magnum rounds out of a .44 Special.

Originally Posted by walrus2

I just got my "new to me" 624 back from S&W yesterday. Turn around time for the testing was a nominal 6 weeks, and that was over the holiday season. The cylinder had no identifying marks on it to indicate that it was tested. The only "new" mark on the cylinder at all was a tiny tiny dimple on the face about the size of a pin prick that I'm guessing was the result of a hardness test.