Smith & Wesson Model 610 Problems

aware3218 · May 5, 2023

I purchased a new Smith and Wesson 610-3 in March of this year and I like nearly everything about it, but there have been some concerning reliability issues that I am hoping some on this forum can help with.

The Problem: It will fire the first 3 or 4 moon clips without any issues, but with subsequent clips I start getting light primer strikes and failure to fire.

Here were some of my initial thoughts and troubleshooting:

Maybe this ammo I am using has particularly hard primers? I have now tried several different brands with the same results.
Smith and Wesson says you can shoot .40 S&W, but maybe it works best with 10mm? I switched to shooting all 10mm and was still having the issue.
Maybe some of these moon clips are slightly out of spec and that is the problem? But loading 10mm directly into the cylinder without moon clips does not resolve the issue.
Maybe this revolver doesn’t like to shoot “dirty”? Ok, but how dirty is it after 3 moon clips (18 rounds)? Not very.
Maybe this revolver doesn’t like to shoot “hot”? Maybe, but that seems like a flaw for a revolver.

Any ideas?

MajorD · May 5, 2023

Make sure the strain screw is fully tight. What may be happening is as the gun warms up the screw backs out. Lock it down tight

505Gibbs · May 5, 2023

MajorD said:
Make sure the strain screw is fully tight. What may be happening is as the gun warms up the screw backs out. Lock it down tight

And, if this was the issue, you might put a drop of blue loctite on it.

aware3218 · May 5, 2023

Worth a shot, I will take a look at that.

Thanks for the suggestion.

mscampbell2734 · May 5, 2023

Make sure your not getting flakes of unburnt powder under the clips. These could "cushion" the new clips and prevent the hammer from delivering full power.

BLUEDOT37 · May 6, 2023

New as in from the factory? Not new to you?

Just asking in case someone (previous owner) might have changed out the hammer spring for a lighter one. Either way it should be the flat style hammer spring, not the one with the groove in the middle.

The next item to look at should be the firing pin's length.

Some factory S&W firing pins run .485"-.490" long & are the ones likely to cause a problem. Their others run .492"-.499" & have been fine for me. The factory S&W F/Ps I last ordered from MidwayUSA were .498" long & had the broad rounded nose.

That said my 610's firing pin measures .490" long & it's never caused any problem in mine but ever revolver is a little different so the same length doesn't always work in every one.

APEX and C&S make longer firing pins (.500-.510") that can be beneficial in some cases.

My 610's firing pin, as others have also reported, is hollow which is different from every other firing pin in my S&Ws. Not saving they're a problem, just different. No idea why.

I like the firing pins with the broad rounded nose instead of the pointed nose. I don't think APEX is making the later style anymore, which is good.

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aware3218 · May 6, 2023

Revolver is new from the factory new production.

Thanks for the info on firing pins, that could prove to be very useful.

aware3218 · May 6, 2023

MajorD said:
Make sure the strain screw is fully tight. What may be happening is as the gun warms up the screw backs out. Lock it down tight

Well, I removed the grips panels this morning and put a screwdriver on the strain screw...it wasn't even snug!!

Off to the range again to see if that is the fix--would be surprised if that doesn't fix the issue.

Thank you for the advice. Really frustrated with myself that I didn't think of that! I was too far down the road thinking it was a problem with an auto loading cartridge in a revolver.

I will report back after my next trip to the range.

jdlii · May 6, 2023

If tightening the strain screw doesn't solve the problem, I would suggest that that BLUEDOT37 has diagnosed the problem.

I had the same problem with my 610. Changed the hammer spring and firing pin. It has been 100% since those changes were made.

aware3218 · May 6, 2023

Well, she couldn't be stopped today! I put over 200 rounds through it this morning with no issues. Even .40 S&W rounds functioned 100%.

Building on what MajorD suggested, I think the problem was that the strain screw was never properly tightened when it left the factory. For whatever reason, the cold spring had enough "snap" for proper ignition of the primer, but once it got a little heat in it, the problems started.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Smith & Wesson Model 610 Problems

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