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.

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Slava Ukraini!

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.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

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.

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'Merica!

Have never had a problem with one.

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No baby we aint

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.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

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.

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There are no bad pig parts!

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

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Live long and prosper

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...

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-Swede-

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.

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John

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.

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.

My S&W semi auto pistols are not top drawer for reliability either, despite being in excellent mechanical condition.

I have a pair of Model 39s and one is very reliable with holllow points while the other is a bit iffy with anything other than FMJ ammo.

My Model 59 is about 95% reliable with hollow points - not bad, but not reliable enough for carry. My 6906 is only slightly more reliable.

My CZ-75s have been much more reliable as have my 1911s, and all of them, once broken in and/or with reasonably fresh factory standard recoil and hammer springs will go at least 200 rounds without a failure with my preferred carry hollow points.

——

All that said, the only handgun I would trust out of the box is a Beretta 92.

That’s ironic as as much as I love the inherent reliability of the model 92, they have never fit me well, except for the Type M sub compact. I am in the process of fitting a 92 Compact L out with a short reach trigger and ultra thin grips (the “thin” grips were not thin enough) in an effort to see if it will meet my standards for fit and trigger reach. I hope so, as I otherwise have always liked the Model 92 for its accuracy and inherent reliability.

The Beretta open top slide design eliminates most of the possible ejection related failures, while the more or less straight feed into the chamber with no need for a feed ramp in the frame makes failures to feed a non issue, unless you muck up the works with a shock buffer, or a poorly matched or worn recoil spring that creates slide over run or slide bounce issues, or an out of (Beretta) specification magazine.

They are just flat out reliable.

Of course like Korean War, and in particular Vietnam and post Vietnam era vets who disliked the 1911 as it was “unreliable”, there will be vets who are Beretta 92/M9 haters as well who feel it’s unreliable. With both the 1911 and the M9, the issue is soldiers and Marines who were stuck with worn out guns.

In the case of the M9 it’s also an issue of the US Military having its head up and locked and buying contract magazines from Checkmate, built to government (rather than Beretta) specifications. And the problem wasn’t Checkmate.

In their infinite wisdom the US military ordinance folks decided it wanted more rust protection than the standard black oxide finish and specified a phosphate finish on the Checkmate contract magazines. Unfortunately, that coarser phosphate finished didn’t mix well with the fine talcum powder like sand in Iraq and testing with the much different sand here in the US didn’t detect the problem. Downrange in Iraq however, the sand adhered to the finish causing the spring to bind and rounds to rise too slowly in the magazine resulting in failure to feed issues.

Troops in the field made it worse, believing the springs were out of spec and too weak, disassembling the magazines, stretching the springs and then reinstalling them, often backwards. When Checkmate got approval to use a dry film finish in place of the phosphate finish, the magazine reliability issues were resolved.

It was a perfect storm of the ordinance folks messing with something that wasn’t broken and a failure to properly private proof the system.

——-

Glocks have a reputation for reliability, but they are also one of the most commonly resound or returned handguns around.

Despite 5 generations of improvement the grip still has all the charm of a 2x4 for many shooters. In addition, the striker fired design with all the safety devices tied to the trigger has sharp downsides for concealed carry and requires some special considerations to avoid “Glock leg”. And the requirement to pull the trigger on an empty chamber to disassemble it, still causes more than the average number of disassembly related NDs when the chamber is not in fact empty.

Lots of people buy them, because of marketing hype and fan boy influences, and then discover they just don’t shoot the, well because they just don’t fit their hand well

I like how Glocks fit the hand.

From what I read, a few of the revolvers (the 36, the 637-2) were "bubba-ed." Can't blame S&W for those.

Were the 19-3 and 28-2 in "factory condition" or were they also "home gunsmithed?"

I perceive every gun owner has had or will have issues, regardless of brand. My first. 357, my 686, jammed with certain ammunition. S&W replaced some parts but I've found it prudent to avoid that particular round. It's still got the smoothest trigger of all my firearms. Due to the decibels incurred, I have a different platform for home defense.

Guns must like me. The only one that has genuinely failed (and then only once) is my Remington R51 in 9mm, and even then I suspect it had no love for the 124gr ammo I was feeding it. The only other malfunctions i have suffered I can lay at the door of underpowered, US made 115gr 9mm in European guns.

My S&Ws have been 100%, although the trigger on my first M&P 9mm deserved all the criticism the Internet heaps on that model.

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Release the Kraken

I’m not blaming S&W or the other brands

Just pointing out my bad luck with guns and cars is all

I’m a sucker for S&W 😁

A well maintained factory spec Smith & wesson revolver should run trouble free until very very dirty from shooting without a proper cleaning.I know on the model 19 that the yoke would expand from hot loads and binded the revolver.

Gen 3 Glock 19 sits at my bedside. Never had a failure to fire or jam.

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What could possibly go wrong?

Oft repeated internet lore, but thank you for your opinion.

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Live long and prosper

I don't have a lot of experience with S&W semi-autos. But I love the revolvers!! Never had one bit of trouble with em except for my own ignorance many, many years ago. Snapped the cylinder shut like in the movies, it bent, duh. Sent off to factory got back fixed in no time.

Perhaps your luck will change with next one?

Never had issues with Revolvers or Semi-Autos that were not ammo related.

Just give us a heads up when you put them in the classifieds. I don't think they'll last long on here.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

Awww….Show me on the Glock dolly where I hurt you….

Back in the 1980s when they first came out, I bought a S&W Model 624. When I was dry firing it, I noticed that at certain points it took more effort to cock the hammer or trigger cock the gun. I surmised that somehow parts of the cylinder were dragging against the forcing cone. Since the gun was still under warranty, I sent it back to the factory. When it came back, I saw that not only was the intial problem resolved, but it was apparent that S&W went over the entire gun because everything seemed improved and running better.

A few yrs ago I had a model 13 that needed an overhaul . Had been owned by a former LEO . I sent it back to S&W , it came back about 3 wks later in better condition than I had hoped for . Regards Paul

I love S&Ws despite the issues I’ve had with tight .22 chambers, excessive endshake, and the occasional lead-spitting demon.

My 6906, 6904, and 659 have been jam-free.

I’ve had three Beretta 92s and a 96 - never a misfeed in the bunch.

My beloved Hi-Power has been perfect, except one time where it went full-auto, which I consider just trying harder.

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Rule of law, not a man.

I had a 19 that locked up on me ,came to find out that the previous owner took a couple of coils off the rebound slide spring and that the cylinder stop spring had a bend in it causing the cylinder stop from completely retracting.I dont know if the spring problems were related but after both were replaced the 19 has been flawless.

The most common malfunctions with older S&W revolvers are not due to manufacturing or design flaws but because of tampering with them. I had excessive end shake on high round count guns and needed to replace and fit one hand but I consider them minor adjustments that I take care of myself but even if a gun smith would perform the repairs, the repair cost would be laughable in comparison to the ammo cost.

As to Glocks, they are good guns but I had one Glock 19 with a chipped extractor and another with a broken locking lug after only 60,000 rounds!
Of course, there are no locking lugs for the 2nd gen and I had to fit a gen3.

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FFL08

First off the new Python's are really high quality guns as compared to most made today! I've only seen a couple so far, but from what I've seen, they are really strong, nice and well made. Haven't shot one yet.

Secondly, and please do not take this as an insult - I don't mean it that way, but I think you might want to take a buying breather and learn how to properly check out used revolvers. I believe that will go a looooong way in turning your luck around.

While I am not a Glock fan and do not own one, they are probably one of the world's most reliable handguns ever made! No one can take that title away!!

“Secondly, and please do not take this as an insult - I don't mean it that way, but I think you might want to take a buying breather and learn how to properly check out used revolvers. I believe that will go a looooong way in turning your luck around.”

I appreciate the advice and like the knowledge members share here

I do function check them for push off and end shake and I check the barrel and chambers. In many cases sellers won’t let me take off the grips let alone a side plate. The side plate screws have not been buggered with so a false sense of no one got inside. Plus in some case the issue doesn’t show up until you shoot it.

But my luck is changing
637-2 came back repaired
Hoping to shoot it this weekend

I've owned about 50 Smith revolvers over the years and never had a problem with any of them. I did buy a used M-28 once where the cylinder would drag on a couple chambers but I think that was from the previous owner doing the "Hollywood Wrist Flip" to open and close the cylinder.

I'm not sure what my most reliable handgun has been. I have no idea how many I've had in the last fifty+ years. There have been more S&Ws than anything else and I've had minor problems with a very few. No more than thirty Colts; only had one problem with a Colt. Never a problem with a Walther, Ruger, Beretta, or Sig, but I've owned no more than a half-dozen of any single such brand, and the Beretta, only one. It's invalid and maybe unfair to make a reliability judgement based on a small number of one brand. I've had a few of the lesser brands but I've avoided these now for years. May be good guns but their resale value isn't.

Mechanical things fail now and then regardless of quality or price. Hard to single out a brand. I shoot my handguns, many of them a lot and a number were bought new more than forty years ago.

A bit off topic, but since someone's already mentioned Beretta reliability, I'll add a little more... a relative newcomer to my pile, I bought a new Beretta 92F 9mm in 1988, the only Beretta I've ever owned.

Being a cast bullet shooter, I bought at least a dozen moulds, got about that many or more powders, a bunch of lead and set out developing cast bullet loads - for years, many years. A Beretta is a great cast bullet shooter and mine will function flawlessly with .38 Special SWC bullets, something it was never designed to do. I have no idea how many thousands of cast bullets have been fired in my Beretta and I'm still waiting on the first jam/malfunction. It does well with jacketed bullets too, but cast are probably more accurate. Again, a sample of one gun, though incredibly reliable, may not be representative of the model.

The Beretta is a big, heavy, clunky pistol and I've never been a 9mm disciple, much preferring a .38 Special revolver. I doubt there is a safer pistol than the Beretta.

I hope you don't bother buying lottery tickets.

Re: Op. Worthwhile post and thread. Here's my $ .10 worth (ah ... inflation). Have owned revolvers/pistols by S&W, Colt, Ruger, Glock. Have had to replace parts/make repairs to S&W, Colt, Ruger revolvers. To date have never had a repair issue w/ a

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<><

Thats why Powerball keeps going as I buy $10 worth every week!

Neither have I.

Not surprised Glock 19 most dependable. Mine have never puked up anything.

Well, guess I'm lucky at something after all! but I keep them cleaned and maintained best I can...And yes the new Python is a fine revolver (mine is) took delivery 3/22...