After shooting just forty factory standard velocity 38 Special 158 gr rnl rounds, my brand new S&W 442 failed. The trigger pull became very light and although the cylinder would still revolve (although very lightly) I had failures to fire (no primer strikes). Upon opening the cylinder, I was able to pull the trigger back about half way with the slightest pressure - it was loosened and noticed that the cylinder stop was loose without the usual light spring back when depressed.

I also checked the hammer spring and it was installed correctly. I did not remove the side plates for further analysis.

Well, Sportsmen Warehouse returned it to S&W warranty repair dept. for me.

Based on your experiences, you have any idea what caused the failure? I’ve owned numerous S&W revolvers including airweight j frames in the past and I never experienced such failure.

Thank you all

Im gonna guess and suspect that your trigger post possibly sheared off.

In either case :
Customer Support

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Tel: 1-800-331-0852, ext. 4125 • 413-781-8300
E-mail: [email protected]

Thank you torizus

Do they normally repair the trigger post or just replace with a new frame?

From what I understand the frame would need replacement.

Hopefully S&W fixes it in their dime. Then when you get the gun back, sell it and use the money to buy a pre-lock, pre-2000s era J-frame.

Trust me, the ones Smith is pumping out now pale in comparison to the older guns. I would not carry a new J-frame into harms way. My $0.02.

...should had purchased a Ruger LCR

Any manufacturer can have a failure in the bunch. No doubt S&W will make it right. The gun slipped through quality control but it will not slip past S&W customer service.
Keep us posted as to what S&W does to make it right.

Thank you gman51, I’ll follow up with you all.

While on-sale......

Attached Images

IMG_3788.jpg (27.8 KB, 119 views)

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triggers dog-pile egomaniacs

I have shot quite a few light frame snubnose revolvers, and I think the quality is very even between the Ruger LCR and the S&W J-frame. Both models have lots of happy customers, and also the occasional lemon that slips through quality control.

I personally am very accustomed to the feel of a J-frame, and I strongly prefer them over the LCR. Some people say that the trigger pull is better on the LCR, and I would agree that the pull is good. But I find that the trigger return on the LCR feels sluggish, so for me the overall trigger feel when shooting quickly is better with a J-frame.

Overall, people should choose for themselves whether they like the feel of the Ruger or the Smith better, and no one should worry whether the other one is better.

Regarding the unfortunate issue that is the subject of this thread, S&W will take care of it promptly, and at no cost to the owner.

I really do prefer the j frames. Had a few over the last forty years without any problems. Their double action is beyond compare...yes, I’m partial to Smiths. I’ll just be patient and have faith that the repair will go well.

Come on now, things do break. It doesn't mean you shouldn't have bought a M442. What counts is how the company handles the problem. The gun has been sent back to S&W and they will fix/replace it. I carry a M442 and it's a good carry revolver. Any company can have a new revolver fail, it's mechanical, it happens. Please keep us updated.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

My 2nd post on an old thread in 3 minutes: No update? Would really like to know what happened.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Might be a broken Trigger Stud (Boss) but that is just a guess without inspecting it.