Sad to say S&W is not my most reliable handgun

Love my Smith and Wesson revolvers but I’m cursed when it comes to them because they inevitably fail on me. The most reliable gun I own is a Glock.

19-3 jammed up when I was using factory .357 158 grains
28-2 locked up after firing 6 rounds
36 no dash must have had a trigger job as it short stroked way to easy - trigger felt great in the store but not so good for range or self defense
All three had to be taken to my gunsmith for repair
637-2 has been back at the factory for 45 days and no updates
The hand spring popped loose and they are charging me to repair it which sucks since I bought it NIB “supposedly” - was a warranty replacement gun that the previous owner “never shot” but looks like that previous owner bubba’d the inside. Report was the inside was tampered with and had machine and polish marks. I’ve called and complained but no luck so waiting to see how much they’ll charge me.

Own two Ruger .22s but any .22 can be finicky so that doesn’t count

Had a VP9 anything other than 115 grain jammed up as the chamber had very tight tolerance

So my most reliable gun is actually my home defense gun…a Gen 3 Glock 19. That thing has never jammed. My son had it down south for several years as his carry gun so it’s a little marked up. When he moved back we swapped his Glock for my VP9 as that fit his hand better and all he shoots is ball ammo.

To date I’ve fed it reloads, steel case junk, old ball ammo, many brands and various weights of hollow point and not one jam or failure to feed or anything. It just chugs along.

So I may be at the point of selling off some Smiths to get a new Python and see if my luck changes

I differentiate between a bad design and a bad part/assembly. I'll replace a bad part and fix a mis-assembly, but bad OEM design gets traded off ASAP.

So far, only Ruger and CZ have haven't forced any attention from me. Knock Wood.

My G-19 never jammed but she did rust out and I didn't like the angle.
My Smiths never jammed and didn't rust out .just saying.

My G19.3 has failed 3 times out of ~2000 rounds. 2 of them were in my carry permit class. Not sure what that says.

I have only ever had one reliability problem with an S&W revolver. It was on a .22 J frame. The ejector rod loosened up and jammed the cylinder. Bought the correct tool to tighten it and never had the problem again.

Have never had a problem with one.

I equate firearms with food...

I like pretty much everything. Haven't tried a Glock yet but I haven't eaten an earthworm either.

I've got 3 S&W (1 revolver & 2 semi-auto) and have never had any issues with them. I had a Shield .45 but traded it off. I've had Ruger, S&W, Canik, Tisas, RIA, Colt, Springfield, Llama and Glock and Glock is the only one I have gotten rid because it didn't fit my hand.

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I think I'm cursed

I must have offended a witch or gypsy in a past life. All my buddies and family use S&W without an issue. They also use many other brands but don't seem to have my "luck" with guns. It seems I always ending up having an issue down the line.

Three exceptions
- a Model 60 no dash from an estate sale. Knock on wood- very accurate at 10 yards practice and no issues after about 100 rounds mixed weights
- a 66-1 snub - I shot it a few times before my son took it for his carry gun (kid has good taste) so that doesn't count
- 19-5 safe queen - I ran maybe 30 rounds total through it but I have other shooters - my son will get this as a wedding present eventually

I have the same luck with cars
Ford Taurus 2015 AWD with 22,000 miles on
Clean Carfax, one owner who had it undercoated for our winters. In pristine shape and full-service records from the dealer
Always wanted to try a car with heated and cooled seats and my wife said I should drive something nicer than the old 2009 Silverado and my Mitsubishi Lancer - so traded in the Lancer.
in the 11 months I owned the Ford all repaired under warranty
- tie rods twice
- front wheel bearings twice
- all four tires twice - first replacement set were off in their tread causing alignment issues
- four alignments
- steering column failure full replacement
- full rebuild of transmission with a month left to go on factory warranty

So, my wife threatened to buy a car at full sticker (back before this craziness) if I didn't trade it in. I got a great deal on a RAM classic, so we use that for towing and vacations and family.
That RAM in 32,000 miles have had replaced
- tires - expected normal wear
- brakes - expected
- frozen brake caliper smoked like crazy when I got home one day from shopping and had it towed in
- three rear window seals due to leaking issue
- radiator - we literally were on our way to a much-needed vacation on the St Lawrence and 5 miles away from our house a piece of steel kicked up and pierced the radiator. Luckly our dealership is close so got it there just as the last of the fluid gushed out.

I am not looking forward to the future where we are forced to drive electric cars - guarantee I make the news when that goes up in flame or drives off on its own looking for another owner

Smith&Wesson revolvers tend to be very reliable. Obviously, a botched action job or failed gunsmithing attempt can compromise that.

I just keep mine reasonably clean and make sure the ejector rode and screws are tight.

Do that and they tend to just work and work and work.

I carried a Glock 19 on duty several years ago. I lost count after 20,000 rounds with no issues. The only other gun that I have owned that was totally reliable was a Sig P226 9 mm; it also had many thousands of rounds thru it with no problems.

I had a problem with a new Performance Center 986---the firing pin spring broke and gave intermittent misfires/soft primer hits. It was fixed but a definite confidence reducer. I never liked the firing pin in the frame of any revolver and always have preferred it on the hammer and have never had any problems with the latter in many revolvers over the last 65 years.

I like pretty much everything. Haven't tried a Glock yet but I haven't eaten an earthworm either. [/QUOTE]

I’ve tried both of those items and was very fond of either them. A friends 2nd gen Glock 23 detonated this summer using factory ammo the slide separated from the frame. My first year sp101 in 357 mag went back 3 to be fixed for timing issues. I’ve had or seen other guns **** out as well. But it doesn’t keep me from buying others. I’ll still recommend Glocks just not the 40cals and I still buy Rugers.

My father always told me if a man can make a man can break it.

Glock 22 and 23 in .40 S&W, the best combat handguns ever made. IMHO

Some guys have all the (bad) luck. If there is an issue with my firearms, I can usually find the culprit in the mirror either from sloppy reassembly, too cheap or too light of ammo, or going too long without a thorough cleaning.

Have a 3914 and a M&P Shield Plus PC, both eat whatever you feed them...

swagmeister said:

I carried a Glock 19 on duty several years ago. I lost count after 20,000 rounds with no issues. The only other gun that I have owned that was totally reliable was a Sig P226 9 mm; it also had many thousands of rounds thru it with no problems.

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Yep. The most reliable ( by far ) semi-auto handguns I own are my MKII and MKIII Ruger .22 pistols. In centerfire, my Sig P365X.


I don't even mention any of my revolvers; all always reliable.

Sorry you missed my Model 10 Heavy Barrel. A June of 1971 shipping date, I bought it used in December of 1975 and have tormented it ever since with heavy use and abuse.

It just won't die. I'm afraid that I will before I can kill it off.

And, that dependability has been repeated here with several other long held and well used Smith & Wesson revolver favorites.

I wouldn’t be able to tell you how many S&W revolvers I’ve owned. From
early to present, most manf from WW2 to 2000. Well into the hundreds.
Have never had a problem. I have bought S&Ws with broken parts and bent cylinder rods, mostly due to abuse.
A lot of guys have a handgun in a shoe box that is in need of repair. They just haven’t got around to sending it back or taking it to a smith. After about 30 yrs these turn up in yard sales. I’ve bought several, never got a S&W this way.

Puller said:

Glock 22 and 23 in .40 S&W, the best combat handguns ever made. IMHO

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I selected the Glock 22 and 23 (.40S&W) back in the 1990's when my small department transitioned from revolvers. Retired now and the department has transition to Glock 9mm. I only had one misfire with the G23 and that was during qualification. The channel in which the firing pin sits apparently needed cleaning and caused it. Did the drill and all other rounds fired. No other problems.

The ejector rod in my S&W Model 63 (J frame, .22) loosened one time but a good tightening corrected that. All other quality revolvers and pistols that I own operated flawlessly. Beretta, S&W, Colt, and Ruger. I am a stickler for cleaning after each range session and I am sure that helps prevent some problems folks encounter.