Quote:
Originally Posted by mbliss57
Fastbolt: So if I am understanding you correctly, if I don't know what I am doing (and I admit I don't) have it done by someone who does. l plan to send it back to S&W. It's worth the extra $ for the peace of mind it was done at the OEM.
|
Yep, why risk doing something (albeit unintentionally) that could compromise the
safe & reliable operation of a firearm?
Granted, to someone who knows what's involved and how to do it ... and has done it ... it's a pretty simple installation. Even fitting a new sear release lever isn't a particularly difficult thing to do (once you'd learned how to do it and have
successfully done it at least a couple of times).
I remember back before I'd been to my first armorer class, and was a firearms owner & enthusiast who simply wanted to work on my own guns. There were times I ended up taking a box of parts to a gunsmith (or the former armorer where I worked) after I'd gone down the wrong road and had a non-functional gun, or had ended up with an inconsistently functioning gun that wasn't really safe to operate. I shudder to think back to those times.
Then, to show how things can go, I remember after becoming an armorer, and the times someone brought me one of our agency guns in pieces, and/or with mangled parts, after they'd either tried to "work on" the weapons themselves, or had let someone else (unauthorized) do so.
I've also had an occasional personally-owned gun brought through our range in the hands of someone who said that their "friend, experienced in working on guns, had tuned that gun" for them, and they wanted to use it as an off-duty weapon. However, once it demonstrated poor function when they were trying to complete some course-of-fire, and they were told the weapon wouldn't be authorized until it had been properly repaired (by someone else, at their expense) ... and exhibited proper functioning on the range ... they'd get all bent out of shape.
I sometimes like tinkering as much as the next fellow, but I've run up against my limits often enough to have become a bit cautious. Especially when it comes to equipment that can cause serious injury or death.
I've returned an occasional gun to a company, even as an armorer, if I think something might be beyond me ... or I don't have the time for some trial and error work ... or if I'd rather they make the mistake (especially under warranty) in an uncertain situation.
They've typically been glad to oblige, too.