I have done a search and have seen several others have had this same common problem, but I'll describe it again anyway. This problem is on a gun that I am purchasing (with full disclosure from the owner) in hopes its something simple.

His words;

"Today, I went to shoot my recently aquired S&W 29-3. Wanted to get it sighted in at 25 yards and practice with it, so that I could take it hunting for deer soon.

Started with some bunny fart ammo. After moving the sight nearly all the way to the right, and all the way down, I got it on paper, but the groups looked more like a shotgun pattern.

Switched ammo thinking that was the only problem, and the "pattern" tightened up, but had to move the sight even further to the right. Was using WWB 240gr, JSP this time. Also, every other cylinder, on one shot out of that cylinder, it would unlock the cylinder after firing a round, and rotate backwards. Pulling the trigger again would land me on a already fired round."

Now from the research I have done, it seems like the cylinder lock spring is the culprit. I dont mind working on my firearms at all, and I'm sure that part cant be that terribly expensive. However I am worried a little bit about that sight/group issue. I'm hoping its just maybe an inaccurate pistol shooter or something, as I am not that good myself and cant get pistols to group.

I want to have the option to send it back to S&W if my work does not fix the problem, how long are wait times at this point and would anyone have an idea on cost for this repair?

Shoot it first yourself and verify the sight / POI issue...it might be him. The unlocking issue is more serious IMO and it was this exact problem that lead to the 'endurance package' being added by S&W. If this is indeed the case, I wouldn't bother doing anything myself, rather call S&W and see what the deal is. You will probably have to send it on your dime which can be high unless you have a friendly FFL who can send for you. I can't say if they will charge you or not...possibly on a 29-3 they may. Unless I was getting the gun at a steal, the $50-70 for shipping and any repair costs would put me off of it quick since I could easily see putting $100 more into the gun than you paid unless the repairs were free.

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Run Fast, Bite Hard!

Ran 50rnds of Georgia Arms 240gr FMJ today and 10rnds of WWB 240gr JSP as well (good lord the WWB is muuuuuuch more recoil).

Happy to report that after returning sights back to zero and a quick sight in, the gun was keeping all shots on the paper. From a makeshift rest I was happy with this, groups were 3-4" at 25yrds. Never had one hiccup, no reverse cylinder etc. I took it down last night and made sure everything inside was lubed and tight. Apparently maybe something was just loose with him, I'm going to run more rounds through it before I deem it 100%, but so far its looking like its going to do just fine.

Reverse indexing is rarely, if ever, caused solely by the cylinder stop spring. The cause is complex and generally starts with excessive endplay. Or at least it did with every example I saw that had the issue. Those were cured by correcting endplay, yoke alignment, the B/C gap and making sure the piece both ranged and timed correctly.

Hope everything continues to work well for you. I've acquired a couple of guns where the issues were the nut behind the trigger.

The "reverse indexing" or cylinder float is caused by the cylinder stop sucking back down into the frame during recoil and usually has little if anything to with endshake. As mentioned, the cure for this was part of the endurance package. Another sure sign of this condition developing is fired primers with two firing pin indents. The fix on earlier guns is usually a new and/or stronger return spring for the cylinder stop. The funny thing is that before Smith "invented" the E-package, they denied that the problem existed. I never had a issue with it on guns with the screw in front of the trigger guard.



Bruce