624 chambers .44 Mag

[LouisianaJoe]

I bought a 624 no dash 6.5" .44 Special. I did some research on the 624 and found some recalls were made because of issues with the cylinder. Some said that there were heat treatment issues and one post quoted Roy Jinks as saying that there were no heat treatment issues but that some would chamber a .44 Mag, and that there were no problems as long as you shoot .44 Special.

This one has a Serial number AHBxxxx which indicates that it was made in 1985. The inside of the grips is stamped May 1985.

I am interesting in any comments forum members have on the issue.

Photo Canon T1i mounted on a tripod 18mm f/16 ISO 100 5 sec exposure no flash room is lighted by 6500K CFL's

 

[ckprax]

I wouldn't shoot 44Mag through it but I wouldn't worry about swapping cylinders or anything like that.

 

[handgunner356]

So will yours' chamber .44 mags? If you have the original box and it has a red circled "C" on it then it has been checked. Calling S&W with the serial number seems to be hit or miss rather or not the person knows of the recall. They will send a pick up tag for your gun if it falls into the range but the downside is that there are no .44 special cylinders, and if your gun doesn't meet specs they won't return it, just offer you a replacement. There was more info in the sticky FAQs' (notable threads) at the top of the page on this.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

There was no mention in the FAQ about the 624 allowing it to chamber a .44 Mag.

I have no intention of returning the 624 to S&W. I plan to shoot my own .44 Special reloads in it. They range from 850 to 1000 fps with most being in the 850 range.

 

[murphydog]

Somewhere on the Forum (or Internet) there is a copy of the factory recall notice, which specified the problem with the steel and the range of SNs potentially affected. Sorry I can't find it at this moment.

 

[69HEMI-R/T]

That is a beautiful revolver you have there and I would not worry about shooting your specified loads in it. I do not know the real specifics about the recall but I know there was one supposedly for the cylinder heat-treating. I would not worry too much. I guess I would make a call to S&W to see if it was in the recall but, I, personally would not send it back as they definitely would keep the revolver rather than sending it back to you if it was found to have a bad cylinder.

By the way, I have one of these too and they were only made a couple of years and are hard to find.

 

[Forrest r]

These pistols are highly accurate & a pure joy to shoot. I only shoot wadcutters in mine & it will stack them on top of each other.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

So will yours' chamber .44 mags? .

It chambers Federal .44 Mags. I have also put some .44 Mag reloads in the chamber and they will chamber with less than 1/16" left. I can then press them in with little effort.

I will check the cartridge length before I load them again. I shoot the reloads in a variety of revolvers including a 10 1/2" Super Blackhawk and a 6 1/2" 629-5.

 

[zeke]

A suprising number of S&W 44 special revolvers may be able to chamber 44 mags, especially loads that used min length brass and short light jacketed bullets.

 

[jdickson397]

I am not sure which way the wind is blowing in this thread but I would NOT shoot 44 mags in this gun. Whether they fit or not. It was designed for 44 Special. Period

 

[Keith Brown]

I think someone is misquoting Mr. Jinks. I've posted the recall as it ran in 1985 in Shooting Times magazine. It involved model 624 "AND" model 629 revolvers, this seems to be passed over quite a bit when the recall is discussed. What I was told over the years on the phone and in emails when inquiring about 624s that I own is that the box on checked revolvers are marked with a Red stamp, the guns are not marked in any way that they have passed the recall. Any letters, numbers or symbols on these guns were put there during manufacturing, not the recall. It seems silly that the factory would take the time to check the guns and not mark them but that is exactly what they have done.
Also included is a recall notice from the magazine that I pulled off the forum for reference, I have since found the original of this recall for my records, Bruce was who had posted it on the forum.

My favorite 624

Keith

 

[Hondo44]

Your AHB number is in the recall range.

2006 post from the Smith Forum


624/629 Cylinder Recall

The Skeeter Skelton article in the October 1985 issue of Shooting Times magazine stated: "A steel supplier has just advised Smith & Wesson that they shipped a very small quantity of incorrect stainless steel material (11 bars) to us that was not in accordance with their certifications. The incorrect material was used in the cylinders for some large-frame stainless-steel revolvers, Model Numbers 624 (.44 Special) and 629 (.44 Magnum). The approximately 500 units containing this material were shipped from Smith & Wesson between January 1, 1985 and June 8, 1985. They would be included in the following ranges of serial numbers: ADXXXXX, AEXXXXX, AFXXXXX, AGXXXXX, AHXXXXX, ALVXXXX, N910000 thru N953000."

Skeeter goes on to say that the bad cylinder steel caused the recall of about 21,000 guns to find 500 with improper steel.

Today, Kate Fredette of Smith & Wesson basically confirmed this same info. The serial number range includes:

ADXXXX
AEXXXX
AFXXXX
AGXXXX
AHXXXX
ALVXXX (the "V" is not a typo)
N910000 thru N953000

Recalled guns were shipped between Jan 1, 1985 and June 8, 1985 only. The cylinder has to be checked on these handguns and the only way to know is by checking the full serial number against their records. The problem involves 500 guns shipped during that period.

If a handgun in the recalled range has already been returned to the factory for testing, a red letter "C" that is circled will be stamped on the box label, indicating that the gun passed re-inspection. No marks are made on the cylinder of checked guns, only the red "C" in the circle stamped on the box label.

If your gun is within this range and you do not have a box or know for certain that it has been tested, you should contact Smith & Wesson. S&W's records prior to 1986 are not computerized, so it takes them a l ittle longer to look up the particulars.

You can E-mail your gun's serial number to: [email protected]. S&W will contact you regarding the status of your particular gun. If your gun is included in the recall, you'll be sent a prepaid FedEx label and shipping instructions. While E-mail is best, you may also call S&W Customer Support at 1-800-331-0852.

Recalled cylinders are tested by magnafluxing. If your recalled gun does fail, there are no replacement cylinders. S&W will keep your gun and you will be offered the choice of another handgun of equal value or a refund.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I emailed [email protected]. I will post the response.

 

[Nemo288]

I have all 3 624's and a 629-1 from that era. All were marked
with the red circle C. I have never tried to put a magnum shell
in a special. An unsafe practice.
Oddly enough the 6.5" 624 does not shoot as well as the 4"
which is a dream. It has timing issues as well. I have always
thought about sending it to one of the major revolver guys to
have it made into a 5". Even the 3" shoots better.
Hope yours was not made on Monday

My favorite 624:

The 6.5":

---
Nemo

 

[jglsprings]

Whatever the problems, those are beautiful revolvers!

I feel a new quest coming on! LOL!

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I took some photos with the grips off. Can anyone tell me what these markings are?

 

[LouisianaJoe]

NEMO288 what is the height of the fiber optic front sight?

I have seen them in either .250 or .300

 

[Hondo44]

I took some photos with the grips off. Can anyone tell me what these markings are?

The 5 digit number on the left side is a factory assembly match # that is also on the inside of the sideplate and on the yoke opposite the serial #. It's used to get the parts of the gun back together again when they are separated during production. These have been used from the very earliest at the factory.

The other stampings are inspectors' approval marks as it goes thru various stages of production/inspection. Yet other stamps are code numbers that identify the frame for various things, i.e., to be assembled as a 44 Spl, an N frame, etc. I believe the 'S' means stainless since the stainless guns and carbon steel guns are indistinguishable before bluing and a SS gun would need all SS parts fitted to it.

Thru the years these marks changed quite a bit but current revolvers seem to have more marks than ever before which probably add to production efficiency and accuracy.

Maybe an expert who may know more will comment in more detail.

 

[Nemo288]

NEMO288 what is the height of the fiber optic front sight?
I have seen them in either .250 or .300

It's a .300 but .250 might actually work better as I have the
rear sight jacked up about all the way. The original sight
was .300 but moving the aiming point back most of an inch
seems to have raised the rear sight even more. I would get a
.250 if I had to do it all over again.
The gap between the frame and the bottom of the rear sight
is .080. A .250 would reduce that to .030.

...Nemo...

 

[Nemo288]

The markings on my 6.5" 624 are thus:

...Nemo...