Is it true...Airweights are constantly breaking studs?

Y

yanici

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I had to send my 642-1 back because of a broken hammer stud after only about 400 rounds. A fella that is pretty knowledgeable about firearms informed me yesterday that the studs and pins that fasten to the Airweight revolvers have a history of breaking. In fact he, himself, had a gun he was getting ready to send back and so was another aquaintance of his. His other friend's Airweight broke at about 350 rounds. Seems to be a common occurrence.

OK, so how many others out there have had this stud, pin, breaking problem? If I'm counting on my 642 for protection, I gotta know it's not gonna break when I need it.



Edit: I did get a new frame from S&W as the repair for my broken hammer stud. But, now I do not feel too confidant about the gun. Also, I have to incur a cost of recording the firearm in MA, every time the ser. no. is changed, as in with a new frame.
 
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Sorry to hear about your problem. My 642 is a little over 5 years old, has in excess of 2k rounds through it, plus countless hours of dry firing, and has never failed me once. It is my primary CCW weapon and I have complete faith in it's reliability. I am sure S&W customer service will take care of you...just a bummer you have to return it.
 
I don't see why they would be any more likely to break on these than any other Smith. The Airweight design has been around since the Fifties, and I think they are as reliable as any other revolver that they manufacture. Sounds like just a fluke to me.
 
Have owned a 642, 637, 638, and 442. Wife has a 637, I have a 442.; This is a total
of five different Airweights in about Eight years. No broken parts of any kind. The only flaw
I find on the stainless airweights is the coating applied to the aluminum frame. I much
prefer the 442 over the 642 for this reason. However My wife will never part with her
637 even with the flaking of the coating. She loves her 637.
 
My S&W 442 is over 15 years old and pre-dates the +P up grade so it has only seen standard .38 Spl loads and it has been flawless. The finish is a little worse for wear, but it is a great carry gun.
 
I carried a 638-2 for ten years, the only reason I retired it was I bought a new one. My wife also has a 638-3 and no problems out of any of them. The two new ones don't have a ton of mileage on them but my old 638 was shot every time I went to the range soooo--I would say a 1500-2000 rounds went through that pee-shooter. Not all were power house loads but I shoot my carry ammo every 6 months and replace with new. Hope you buy the light guy, You will enjoy.


------- pisssst-- take a look at the bodyguard design--- they are ugly, but they have a hammer.
 
I own a pair of Airweights - a J frame model 38 (circa 1985) and a K frame model 12-2 (circa 1970). I also own a Colt "Cobra" snubbie (1974) which is also an "Airweight" but good ol' Sam Colt doesn't refer to it as such.

I think your problem is a combination of things.

1. Firing of +P ammo.
2. Newer production revolvers.

Let's face it guys. Some things improve with age. IMHO, Smith & Wesson revolvers is NOT one of them. I refuse to buy/own a S&W revolver, unless it is of legal age (at least 21 years old) and I have no need for +P ammo. A J frame snubbie really isn't meant to be used as a primary weapon. It's more at home as a BUG or hideout gun. It's main purpose in life is meant to be used when the chips are TOTALY down and an all out assault has now become "up close & personal" instead of from here to there. In a "get off me" gun, +P ammo doesn't have any benefit over standard pressure ammo when the muzzle is jabbed into some *******'s ribs.
 
The Pins on the Airweights are Aluminum..
That said I have a 642-0 No Dash that I carry more than any other handgun period.. I trust mine to do what it does always..
The Early 642s have an anodized frame & there finish is supperior to any sprayed on finish used in the last 15 years.
Gary/Hk
 
Thank you for sharing your experience. I will remember it. Myself, I have had about half a dozen airweight .38's, and no problems, except that my 37 backs up with some +P's, and I once bought an old 42 that didn't get any newer (center pin hole in the rear of the frame enlarged very slightly - it was already large). Like I say, I will remember your experience, but considering mine, it may be just luck of the draw.
 
I have owned S&W snubs for over 15 years and none of them has ever had a problem that wasn't caused by a previous owner. I did have a 3" 36 sq butt .38spl that the trigger wouldn't return when let out slowly. The owner before must have done a trigger job and messed it up. I ended up selling it for a loss (and I bought it cheap) but now I know it probably just needed a stronger spring. Wish I had that gun back, it was a sweet little momma.

I have heard a lot of BS from a lot of people. This stuff about J-frame breaking studs sounds like BS to me. Maybe it happened a few times but everything has happened a few times when you consider how many millions of J-frame are out there. I don't think this is a known problem and it is not something I would worry about.
 
I never had a hammer stud break on any of my air weight or air lite revolvers. My 340PD has close to 5000 357 Magnum rounds through it so far. My 442 easily has that many 38s through it as well. The rest of my J-frames are steel, but they have had 10s of thousands of rounds through them over the past several decades all with no issue.

j-frames.jpg
 
Airweights

Airweights and "J" frames are caarry guns, not shooters.
Why do you think the old Model 36 was called a CHIEF'S SPECIAL.
The chief never had to shoot it.
 
albanian said:
I have heard a lot of BS from a lot of people. This stuff about J-frame breaking studs sounds like BS to me. Maybe it happened a few times but everything has happened a few times when you consider how many millions of J-frame are out there. I don't think this is a known problem and it is not something I would worry about.
Click to expand...

I am the OP on this thread. You sir, may be the one slinging the BS. I'm not a troll or looking to stir the pot in any way. I honestly think that there could be a problem with these aluminum framed guns. As you say there are many of them out there without any documentation of this problem. However, a lot of these owners do not participate here. Who knows how many guns have gone back for broken stud repair. Just because you don't hear of it, doesn't mean it's not happening. It would be nice if we could get some honest info from S&W on the frequency of this problem, but that just ain't gonna happen.
 
The same thing happened on my new 642-1. All the reports I have seen are recent 642-1's. I got a replacement from S&W 642-1 which was a little strange but no lock. The clear coat had yellowed, was used(lot of powder burns on cylinder), and the SN letters were much different(I am thinking older) than the original gun. I had to send the replacement back to Frank Smith after the trigger would stick or misfire. He said that I had a trigger job done on the pistol and sent it to S&W to decide about the warranty. He is the only smith to touch the gun. I was called by Frank on the first gun to tell me the frame was changed and note the SN change before they shipped it back to me. It was a totally different gun. Both guns were just dry fired to break in the triggers and never shot. It is going on a year and still don't have a working firearm and have lost confidence in Frank Smith.
 
I have a pre 37 which I use for ccw sometimes. I am not the first owner. It is tight and mechanically sound, even after the thousands I have fired in it. This includes some pretty stout 38 special loads, but the majority have been milder target loads. Nothing has broken yet. Keep in mind this is an older aluminum frame and not a newer titanium one.
 
I am wondering where the parts for the 642-1 came from as both I have owned don't match the peoples experiences posted on here with a 641-2.
 
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