I bought a new 500 HI VIZ 3.5” PC revolver (11623) several weeks ago. After purchase I noticed the ejector rod showed signs that it was clamped on stem with pliers! and has a very slight almost insignificant bend to it. When I removed the grip I noticed the tension screw was chewed up, looks from sloppy tool use (in CCW direction). The saddle piece the the grip screw fastens to was also rusted. I also noted 3 of the 4 side plate screws were loose. I took the cover off and there was slight corrosion near each threaded area for the screws (my not have been properly stored at one point). I cleaned it all up, fired about 20 through, and when I cleaned it again the same 3 side plate screws were loose again. The rear sight also a little loose.

My question is: should I have paid the listed price for a weapon cared for in such regards? Obviously the performance center didn’t wanker those things up, I hope. Is it normal for the screws to loosen, or does that just need a thread compound? I can post pictures of the above details if needed.


Are these valid issues or am I just over-concerned?

-Edited- for additional questions concerning this revolver (starts on post #18)

Thanks, steve

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I will say, to the buggered spring screw and bite marks on the extractor don't look like factory issues. As you noted gun storage looks questionable before your ownership. I would have talk with your dealer.

On the loose side plate screws and sight screws I find it to be come for those to loosen over time and require tightening- typically those have a lock compound from the factory. I would use purple Loctite or fingernail polish.

__________________
be safe
Ruggy

Thanks, I will try the loctite.

I’ll drop by the dealer as it does seem legitimate. They have not answered my email either

Everything on a 500 will loosen up if you shoot it enough. It looks like your problems are cosmetic and if you can live with it, I'd leave it and just enjoy shooting it. The x frames are a different animal and if you can learn to deal with the recoil and blast, you will find that they are very accurate.

Thanks, there’s a part of me that wants to live with it as such (55%)

Then another part of me (about 45%) feels that for the price I paid, maybe it should have been prepped for storage and handled better. furthermore why in the world would a dealer remove a tension bar screw on new merchandise? Also, the ejector rod shaft. Would like to smack the technician who did that, on the hand.

Thanks for your feedback, I just wanted to get a small collection of opinions to help me decide.

I really doubt that the guy that did the damage was a "technician" of any kind. Sounds like typical "bubba" work.

Bubba got that for sure. God bless ya with the short barrel shotgun! Amazing round. I don't own it in a handgun but liked it enough I bought a custom lever action in 500 SW.

My 460's work loose when shot regularly, I make it a point to check all screws before, during and after each range visit. I got several spare screws from Midway for each of my revolvers just in case I miss something.

Two more things: I noticed as the hammer moves to the back during DA it shifts all the way to the left (1st image). Does that need addressing?

And lastly, is this forcing cone show normal wear for about 260 shots (2nd image)?

Thanks

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Looks like it only fired 2 rounds from the cylinder ?
260 shots ?
Make up your mind.....
"Bubba Work" YES
Send it BACK to the MOTHER SHIP
For some Tender Loving Care....
SMITH & WESSON
PRECISION GUNSMITHING
1-800-331-0852

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Is that the Big Horn Amory 500 ya got?? Some Pic's Please!!!!

Not meaning to Hijack the Thread but,,,, Pic's Please!!!!

Yes. I will put it and post in another thread so not to hijack.

Yes, it had only 2 cylinder chambers with the unremovable burn marks when I purchased. Probably test fires from S&W or a gunsmith. I myself have shot it 260 times over last 3 weeks. Was just checking as I noticed mild erosion.

Thanks

With the higher pressure comes more erosion, some of it can avoided by not shooting light for caliber rounds, shoot 400 grain and larger bullets.

__________________
be safe
Ruggy

thanks, that is good to know

The forcing cone looks like about normal ware. It, along with any top strap cutting, should get to a point and stop. Looking at yours, I think you should be about there. It's hard to tell without looking inside but hammer slop is also not unusual. It can be addressed by using a shim. Let common sense guide you. If the gun is working properly and you're not crazy anal about it, then shoot it and don't worry until it doesn't shoot. Even with that big X frame, the 500 is like a small hand grenade and it beats the snot out of the gun so loose, bent things just become a part of the game. The only way to keep the gun from wearing is to not shoot it. That kind of defeats the purpose, if you ask me.

I’ve never had the pleasure if shooting a .500, but the yoke screw on my 629 and sight screw loosen most every time i shoot it.

Also, you mentioned you couldn’t remove the powder marks from the from of the cylinder. Get a lead cleaning cloth by Birchwood Casey. It’ll do the trick, but only use on Stainless Steel.

I assume the cylinder may expand due to pressure, but my 500 shows marks on each of the 5 bores, and one underneath top of frame. The clearance seems normal and everything looks fine. But the two surfaces (top of cylinder and adjacent frame hood) are flexing under pressure enough to scuff. Is this a normal occurrence? (refer to 1st and 3rd pictures)

2nd additional question: Do the 2 assembly #’s (yoke and frame) always match? (refer to 2nd picture)

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What you see is the reflected powder residue from the top of the back strap. Look at the first photo and you can see the pattern on the backstrap that is be reflected onto the cylinder. Nothing to worry about. They wipe off with a little elbow grease and a lead away cloth if they are bothering you.

No - and today they rarely match. They are of no real value outside the manufacturing of the gun and no records of them are kept. For all practical purposes they are useless.

__________________
be safe
Ruggy

Thanks ruggyh

I worked the pee out of this beast with the lead towel (smells like coconut). Got 70% of the lines off the cylinder, but the hood of the strap still has the line on it

Here are the pics of it clean

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Double posting, to display those images at close up after cleaning.


I just can’t see those marks as anything other than surface to surface contact. They are changes to the surface

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My PC 500 10.5" Hunter had those marks on the underside on the topstrap and on the cylinder.

I had purchased some of the Hornady 300 grain FTX ammo and shot it all up. (three or four boxes) Some months later I got a phone call from my local gunshop. They had been contacted by Hornady, apparently there was a recall for that particular lot of ammunition. Overpressure.

I wasn't real happy that I had fired overpressure ammo in my PC 500. But it is what it is.
There weren't any overpressure indications when firing that ammo. No loose primers, no pierced primers, no difficulty with extraction.

Hornady sent me hundreds of FTX 500 projectiles at my request instead of replacing the defective ammo. (which had been fired)

S & W Performance Center said as long as the revolver was intact, accurate, and exhibited no lockwork timing issues, it was their belief that no permanent damage had been done.

I believe that the cylinder "grew" enough to touch the underside of the topstrap. The surfaces are bead blasted stainless steel.
It's pretty easy to see where the surfaces touched.
Mine looked EXACTLY like yours.

Guys your cylinder is not expanding enough to contact the back strap.

If the extraction of the brass was not sticky then your gun was not exposed to any over pressure. I have pressure tested many 500 loads and extraction is fine to about 62k after which it becomes sticky or worse.

The gap between your cylinder and the top strap (typically .115 to .130) is greater than the thickness of the cylinder at its thinnest. Cylinders do expand some but in the range of .00001 and would require a strain gauge to measure.

The elasticity of your cylinder would be exceeded is was expanded to contact the top strap.

If you believe your gun has issue call the service department (1-800-331-0852) and get return sticker and have S&W inspect/ repair the gun.

Remember powder/gas residue is being pushed by roughly 55,000 PSI and the BC and residue is going to take some effort to remove.

Fine machine marks are going to natural point of accumulation.
Continued use of Lead Away cloth or similar will smooth these areas over time and residue accumulation will be less noticeable and a little easier to remove.

Welcome to world of the super magnums.

__________________
be safe
Ruggy

Good to know that info cee_Kamp, that I am not the only one witnessing this. I have gone through a box of the Hornady 300gr FTX have no idea the LOT. I have had some tough extractions with a local 350 gr jacketed lead variety do so.

Thanks for your patience here on my uncertainty Ruggy.

About the 350 gr local round that seems to stick about 10% extractions. I don’t believe those are necessarily sticking due to pressure. Seems more of a residue issue because the affected cylinder remained sticky after extraction (other cartridges tough to load), and freed itself with twisting a sheet of paper through a few times - then good to go on the fly. This 350 round also seems to kick much harder than any other ones, including the 300 and 500 Hornady’s both rated mid to high 2000 ft/lbs.
A chronograph seems an ideal investment.

I do have an idea which might reinforce to me the clearance isn’t compromised during fire. Twisting a string of solder about 3/4” aft of barrel. If it shows squished ends after fire, it can at least identify it does happen.

ruggyh,
It did cross my mind you may be speaking metric.
I don't want to derail the OP's thread.
But I did get my PC 500 10.5" out of the safe and went and got a feeler gauge set. I measured the gap between the cylinder and the underside of the top strap. At the rear of the cylinder just forward of the cylinder locking notches, a 0.004" feeler gauge passes through the gap. A 0.005" does not.
A sheet of computer/copy paper will slide in the gap with drag.
Anyway, my PC 500 DID NOT have the marks illustrated above until my revolver fired 3 to 4 boxes of the Hornady FTX ammo that was recalled for overpressure. Hornady specifically said DO NOT fire the ammo that was recalled. But that warning was too late for me as I had already fired it all.

My measurements using very generic metric gauge:

Fwd strap to fwd cylinder (area with scuff marks)
0.21-0.26mm (0.008-0.010”)

Aft strap to cylinder
0.17 -0.21mm (0.007-0.008”)

Barrel/cyl gap, static, after a DA dry fire (cyl at rest)
0.10-0.15mm (0.004-0.006”)

Barrel gap pushed fwd:
0.004-0.006”

Barrel gap pushed aft:
0.008-0.010”

0.004” movement

It is all in what you like, but I hope that you load your own rounds. The gun is not really that super expensive, but factory ammo is as expensive as baby formula.

It is definitely a handful of fun! Seems to take the flinch out of many other pistols.
This particular PC model was on expensive side of the 500’s though, and marketed as a little more beefy. But you are right about cost of firing this thing, for this reason it is very likely I will be loading my own SW500 in the not-so-soon future.

Sending back to mother-ship. Looks like the barrel needs to be adjusted from my ticket response.

Sounds reasonable to me, the cylinder has close to a 0.010” distance from barrel with 0.004” of movement of both radial and axial cylinder end play.

I got my model 500 S&W 3.5” back today. The gunsmith note was “repaired yoke”. Looks like they fired a couple cylinder full.

Before I sent it to them the gap measured at 0.010”. The cylinder end play measured to 0.004”.

Now: gap is 0.009” and end play is just 0.001”.

They must have shimmed it up with a spacer to close the end play. But how in the world did they close the gap from 0.010” to 0.009”?

Hopefully get to fire it soon, over my new chronograph santa claus dropped off early

Keep an eye on the strain screw. Mine was bad about loosening up and causing misfires. Last time I tightened it up, I put blue Loc-tite on it. I will see if that holds it.

I'm not trying to say "mine's better than your's" etc but I'm not surprised at the numbers you quote. I have a Performance Center 6.5" 500 Mag. I can't get a .003" feeler gage into the barrel/cylinder gap. Makes for better velocity. Don

Congratulations on your PC 500 with JR cylinder/barrel gap of 0.003”.

Went out to test fire it. It seems more accurate accurate than before. I still need to make trip to range with chronograph to get base velocity readings.

25 yards, no support:




This is the video shooting of the plate. After reeling in target it is the lower plate.

Test fire model 500 S&W - YouTube

Got two in 1” at 25yd. This gun is easier to aim than my 5” 44 magnum.

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