J Frame Ultra Carry Question

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FloridaGun

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I recently purchased the Lipsey's J Frame Ultra Carry in 32 HR. Great looking firearm. I took it to the range for first time yesterday, the first six shots fired great. I loaded it back up and the first time I pulled the trigger, nothing. The cylinder would spin, but it would not fire. I released the cylinder, snapped it back into place a couple of times. I pulled it again, and again the cylinder would spin like it should, but no bang. I unloaded and reloaded the ammo (standard store bought ammo), still nothing. I took out the bullets and replaced with Hornady Critical Defense, and no change based upon the bullets. Cylinder spins, looks lined up, the hammer is not exposed so can't see what that is doing, but there is sufficient weight in the trigger pull. Put the gun down and strarted shooting my Python (no issues!) Came back to the little J Frame, tried in again. For some reason, when I pulled the trigger, it was harder to pull than normal, almost like it was not fully lined up, then bang. From this point forward, the gun shot about 50 rounds with no problem.

Not sure what was going on, but I purposely bought this revolver because revolvers where supposed to "go bang" every time. Thinking maybe I'll just go back to my G43 glock! Does anyone have an idea of what was going on? Do I need to send back to SW? I don't have a lot of confidence in the gun now. It does look and feel great and hopeful that maybe it just needed to get broken in?
 
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Any revolver that doesn't do what it is supposed to out of the box needs to go back to the factory. Judging from multiple / numerous posts on the forum it would seem the Ultra Carry revolvers have unusually high rates of failure to function properly! Search Ultra Carry to find many posts about these issues.

Call S&W Customer Service, describe the issues you have, and they will send you a shipping label to send the gun back by UPS. Phone: 800-331-0852
 
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I really think my 43c was my last new smith.,just sent it in yesterday never worked right. The worst part is it seems like it’s normal now to have to send in your brand new pistol to get work done. What a shame.my 642 “new” works so far . When I get the 43c back I will sell it if it don’t go bang 99.9% time.get an older 63 .
 
SEND IT BACK. If I may...... ask S&W if you can do an even trade for a 5 shot 38 spl. J frame. At least the 5 shots don't normally exhibit this issue and have been road tested for 75+ years.

Sometimes we as humans think to improve on an almost perfect item - human nature I suppose. Maybe we should be satisfied and accept 99% perfection after all.
 
stansdds said:
I can postulate that there is some manufacturing/assembly debris or a bur within the lock work, but I agree, this is a new revolver, let finding the problem be S&W's problem. Contact S&W and obtain a shipping label.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. A new in the box product should work perfectly every time. Why should I have to spend my time and money to fix S&W’s problems? Send it back and let them correct their mistakes.

That’s what I did. An email yesterday from FedEx said my 432UC will be back by Tuesday. I’ll post the results after I put enough rounds down range to insure it is working correctly. FYI: that will be a five week turnaround time.
 
Not acceptable if cylinder properly inserted in frame. I say this because I have seen more and more people placing the cylinder by snapping their wrists.
 
You got a bad one. They can be great, I have a 432PD, (6 shot 32 H&R), and it has been 100% over the aprox 500 rounds I have put through it. Send it back, they can make it a great gun.
 
Send it in for repair.

Sounds like the tip of the firing pin may have broken off and is stuck in the action? If you pull the trigger on an empty gun and keep the trigger pulled back, you should be able to see the tip of the firing pin protruding from the frame.

Also make sure your side plate screws are tight. If the plate come loose from the frame, the internals can get misaligned. But if it's a new gun, I doubt that's the issue.
 
jcelect said:
Did the firing pin leave ANY indentation on the primer! IF not, send it back! If it was a light strike, try a good cleaning and light lube to the moving parts! This means removing the side plate to be done properly!
jcelect
Click to expand...

None, it was like the trigger pull was just spinning the barrel. The gun was brand new, I didn't think to clean and lube it first. I'm not a firearms expert by any means but I've had other revolvers that just load and shoot, which was the idea behind switching from a little pocket pistol to a J-frame (reliability.) Even my KelTec 32 and Glock 43 fired well out of the box without any initial cleaning.
 
And what was even weirder was after trying it one last time, there was a harder than normal pull of the trigger (more friction than usual) and then it fired, and somehow corrected itself with about 40-50 more rounds going off without an issue. I put it back in the bag not sure if it was OK or if it needed to be sent back. Now its more of a trust thing than anything.
 
I don't know why there would be so many issues reported with the new UC pistols. Most of the complaints I've heard center around the .32H&R version. Possibly because it is the more popular of the two. Smith has been making J frames for decades and they are well proven. Why there would be issues with these I don't know. I know that some of the complaints I've read about were just guys whining about minor things that aren't really issues. However, for some reason there are a number of folks who are just having the worst time with them and who have legitimate complaints. Seriously, a revolver is NOT a semi auto. They should work just fine right out of the box. I'm in my seventies and grew up on a farm so I have been shooting for a long time over a variety of firearms. I have NEVER had a revolver fail to function. I understand that it's possible, it's just never happened to me. Also never failed to feed or eject. I doubt there are many guys who can say that about semi auto's.
 
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That sounds like an internal issue. Put another 100 rounds through it to verify it’s working properly. If not, send it back to S&W.

Unfortunately, today’s quality control with firearms manufacturers isn’t what it used to be. And a lot of people prefer the older built guns. Although there were still some lemons, but not on the scale we see today.

One thing that can cause what you described is short stroking the trigger. Not letting the trigger all the way out prior to pulling it again. Not saying that was your issue, but it can happen. Especially with the Ruger LCR series of revolvers.

And as I mentioned, make sure all the side plate screws are tight. Just don’t over do it and bugger the screw.
 
Dump1567 said:
That sounds like an internal issue. Put another 100 rounds through it to verify it’s working properly. If not, send it back to S&W.

Unfortunately, today’s quality control with firearms manufacturers isn’t what it used to be. And a lot of people prefer the older built guns. Although there were still some lemons, but not on the scale we see today.

One thing that can cause what you described is short stroking the trigger. Not letting the trigger all the way out prior to pulling it again. Not saying that was your issue, but it can happen. Especially with the Ruger LCR series of revolvers.

And as I mentioned, make sure all the side plate screws are tight. Just don’t over do it and bugger the screw.
Click to expand...

I thought about either short stroking the pistol or for some reason not having the cylinder all the way in. But I regularly put the cylinder in (didn't sling it) and the first squeeze of the trigger did the same thing as the second (wheel spins, no bang) so something's not right. I'll send it in and hope to report back in a few weeks (or more) when I hear back. Thanks for everyone's input!!
 
chief38 said:
SEND IT BACK. If I may...... ask S&W if you can do an even trade for a 5 shot 38 spl. J frame. At least the 5 shots don't normally exhibit this issue and have been road tested for 75+ years.

Sometimes we as humans think to improve on an almost perfect item - human nature I suppose. Maybe we should be satisfied and accept 99% perfection after all.
Click to expand...

I'm 100% with the chief on sending it back and swapping for a .38 is a good idea too. But an even swap, no, those UC's are an extra $200-250.

The things should be made right the first time. I carry a 442 no lock that I'll never let go. It runs like a Swiss watch. Couple of years ago I bought a new Kimber K6 DAO 3" jammed up the first cylinder full. Sent it back and got it back fully repaired one week flat. It hasn't missed a beat since. Still, I don't trust it and won't carry it. I'd sell it tomorrow and never look back. Or ever buy another Kimber.

Trust is everything with a revolver, you can never make trust whole again. Yes way too many complaints about the UC invention, a solution to a non-existent problem. It takes a serious amount of time, ammo and practice to become one with a J frame. Upon that arrival 5 shots of .38 is enough.
 
So, if the trigger causes the cylinder to turn but the hammer is not cocking and falling, I would suspect a sear problem such as the sear sticking in the hammer, or being improperly cut. If the trigger is turning the cylinder and the hammer is cocking and falling, but the primer is not getting hit, the rebound slide may not be withdrawing the hammer block. I think a sear problem may be the most likely, but while I have been to the S&W Armorer’s school, it was in the last millennium so I am “rusty,” to say the least. Unless you have access to someone with the right skills, a trip back to S&W is the best thing to do.
 
I’ve been carrying a J Frame since 1968 & current EDC is a 340PD or 442 Pro. I shot the Pro last week, did well out to 10 yards and will hold off on the new UC for the time being.
 
Your problem is not THE problem---simply a symptom of THE problem!

S&W's objective for the first hundred years was to be successful by building the best possible product for the price----which is one of only two such objectives for any manufacturer in the world!! The other objective is to be successful by building the product at the lowest possible cost. When the change began can be a matter of opinion.

Mine is the change began in the mid 1950's, and I dare say nobody got their knickers in a knot about it---not even me. I recognize it now for what it was, but that's only because of my subsequent training and work experience.

They've been at it ever since then, and to hear the horror stories we read about here, it's a well entrenched matter of policy now.

More's the pity!

Ralph Tremaine

A prediction: Chapter Next in this sad tale will be either the victim will have been waiting two months for his gun-----OR that it came back with the same exact problem------and has been damaged in the process!

MARK MY WORDS!! They are born of reading such sad tales here for quite a spell ------as in "Been there--Done that!"
 
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