Hello Everyone,

I have been a j frame enthusiast for many years at this point. I shoot them well, and love to carry at least one on me at all times.
My favorite revolver is a very nice 640-1 I picked up used a few years ago. the lockwork is tight and the trigger pull is perfectly smooth and consistent.
I have also picked up a 360J for summer carry, which also has a very nice trigger out of the box. I am not a fan of the exposed hammer or the internal lock.
I have been looking for a scandium j frame with centennial frame for a while at this point. All new revolvers I found locally had locks, and the few used ones I have seen around, either were too expensive, or did not convince me for other reasons.

Anyway, I decided to order a new one from a distributor through a friend who holds an FFL, hoping that I would be blessed by a good revolver.

Obviously the one I received has a very bad trigger out of the box.
The pull is initially linear, then it hits a wall right before the hammer is released. I had j frames with the same trigger behavior in the past, but never this bad. I do not have a trigger gauge, but it must require 2-3 additional pounds in order to pull the trigger through that wall.
I really do not like it.

I have purchased an apex kit for this gun, which i plan to install ASAP. Obviously I do not expect this kit to solve my issue. At best, the slightly lighter pull will hide the issue a bit, but I do not consider that the proper way to handle it.

I am decent with tools and I have worked extensively on both sigs and glocks in the past.

I was planning to smooth things a bit while installing the apex trigger, and I am looking on a good recommendation on where to focus my efforts, considering the issue I am experiencing.

Thank you very much.

The internal parts are MIM, and should already be very smooth. However the inside of the frame is still made using mills to machine it, and I have found some pretty large burrs on the edges of some of the cuts. I purchased a 617 last year and after spending a minimum amount of time deburring the machined cuts and stoning the surface that contacts the rebound slide, a Wolfe spring kit gave me a very nice single and double action pull.

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

Sounds in all probability like a long ratchet or ratchets. I have noticed the past few years that the J-frames in particular, seem to be plagued by this fitting problem.

The hand needs room to pass by the individual ratchets after the cylinder locks into place. If the ratchets are not fit properly, the hand will rub the outside of the offending ratchet at the end of the trigger stroke.
I've worked on a couple where the trigger would actually stick to the rear when pulled fully. I'm mystified as to how any revolver can be shipped after final fitting, when it exhibits such a problem?

You can confirm it is the hand/ratchet binding by opening the cylinder and holding the thumbpiece back....then dry cycle the action. If it is smooth without the cylinder in the gun, it's probably a ratchet fitting problem.

Dry firing might mitigate the issue somewhat, if the problem is not to serious. If this is the problem, the spring kit will be no help. You'll simply end up with a slightly lighter trigger pull with the horrible speed bump at the end.

You could contact S&W Customer Service about the issue. They will in all likelihood ask you to send it in to be repaired. 1-800-331-0852

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I'd also recommend calling S&W and asking to send it back, along with a letter clearly explaining the nature of your complaint (succinct fact, not angst and annoyance).

A revolver repair tech ought to able to dress a couple spots inside the 340PD, and check the carry-up for any ratchets that need attention, and save you the trouble of opening up the gun and guessing what you're doing.

FWIW, the much lighter weight/mass of the titanium cylinder is going to change the way, to some degree, how the rotation of the cylinder feels ... especially if you're pressing the trigger very slowly, instead of performing a normally brisk and firm trigger press.

Send it back and let someone take a few minutes to inspect the carry-up and perhaps dress a couple spots.

BTW armorer951, I also once got a J-frame from the factory in which the rebound slide stuck in its return, causing the trigger to recover only erratically. I wasn't a S&W revolver armorer at the time, so I gave it to the head armorer, who was able to service and repair both S&W and Colt revolvers. He quickly corrected it, and while he was in there he also "puffed" a couple of the usual spots on the engagement & seating surfaces of the hammer and rebound seating surfaces, as well as the trigger and cylinder stop, showing me how it was done and explaining why. He was preparing me for sometime later becoming a revolver armorer, myself.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Thank you very much! I will test this as soon as I get home. Very helpful info. I would hate to send a brand new 850.00 gun back to the manufacturer. I have noticed too a lot of inconsistencies across new guns. I purchased a new 686 PC online that had a truly awful trigger, and a 642 no lock that had a better trigger out of the box than an older 642 Super Tuned i used to own. That is why I almost never buy S&W revolvers sight unseen. I made an exception in this case because I could not find what I wanted locally....

I agree with Fastbolt, that this (hand/ratchet) fitting and potential repair is definately one of those repair issues that you want someone working on who knows what they are doing, and that has the proper tools, training and experience to properly rectify the situation. This interface is the heart and soul of the revolver, and a screw up here can cause even worse potential issues down the road.....or make the gun completely unusable.

This is especially true considering you have a new gun tat is fully covered under warranty.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I tested the revolver by opening the cylinder, holding back the release, and pulling the trigger. No issue at all. The pull is a bit gritty, but I cannot feel a wall at the end of the pull. Testing with the cylinder in place, if I pull the trigger slow enough, the trigger at times will stay back and will not reset at all!
Hand/ratchet fitting seems to be the issue. I am fairly upset about having to send back the revolver. I am about to give S&W a call.

Update: I have called S&W. The gentleman on the phone was very nice, but they do not seem to be as concerned as I am about this issue. His recommendation, after I explained the issue entirely, is to shoot the gun, and buy snap-caps to dry fire for a while and see if the trigger gets any better, as all parts need to wear in a bit.
I explained that this is by far the worse binding I have ever experienced in a s&w revolver, and I am actually worried about ruining parts by keep firing away instead of fixing the issue.
S&W recommendation remains the same..... this is making me very unhappy so far.

Well, dry firing the gun will have a tendency to smooth the internals a bit, but I'm not sure it will have the desired effect on the unfit ratchets.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Agreed. Plus i really want not looking forward to shoot this revolver a lot due to the Ti Cylinder. I wanted to get familial with POA/POI and make sure it reliable for carry. I rather shoot my other guns with Steel cylinder.
Overall I am not happy.

Its YOUR gun! Tell S&W that it is not working properly and you would like to return it to be repaired properly. If you install an Apex trigger you will void the warranty. I am sure if you insist they will take it.

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst