442 & 642 question

[soop]

I've got a 442 and a 642 that I recently bought and I'm having the same problem with both of them. I just got back from shooting them.Sometimes they will shoot and other times not at all.It's like the fireing pin doesn't hit the primer.There is not a mark on the primers.Sometimes they will fire if I open the action and close it again.Other times not.If the first round goes off,all five will.If it doesn't,then all five won't. I took the first gun back to the dealer I bought it from and he said it was hard primers. My Ruger will eat anything I feed it. Anybody have this happen?

 

[tocohillsguy]

Never heard of this problem, maybe others have. One thing for sure....it isn't acceptable. Everyone will want to know if your revolvers have the internal lock with the little hole near the cylinder release latch. It may not have anything to do with your problem, but I'm sure some here will suspect it's the cause. I'm not a gunsmith expert, but there are some on this forum. Hopefully someone will chime in.

 

[Dale53]

I will suggest to any that have reliability problems with the S&W revolvers with light primer strikes to replace the firing pin with a "long" firing pin:

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I have done this with several S&W's with success. If you can safely remove the sideplate on your S&W revolver, you can easily replace an "in the frame" firing pin. The cost is minimal and the results have been uniformly good for me.

However, the OP may have some other problem as he mentions he sometimes gets NO STRIKES. That suggests something impeding the firing pin.

FWIW
Dale53

 

[Grog]

I took the first gun back to the dealer I bought it from and he said it was hard primers.

What ammo did you use? Did you try anything different?



Did you buy these new? If so, I'd tell the dealer to pound sand and contact S&W to see what they say.

 

[cjcutter1]

+1 call Smith.

 

[soop]

Now that I think about it,I think all failure to fire's have been with Winchester white box. Both guns have the internal locks.

 

[KurtC]

WWB is the most unreliable fodder on the market, and shouldn't be used to determine the condition of a handgun. I would try a few other brands, and if you still have misfires I would blame the IL

 

[tocohillsguy]

WWB is the most unreliable fodder on the market, and shouldn't be used to determine the condition of a handgun. I would try a few other brands, and if you still have misfires I would blame the IL

Maybe you've had problems with WWB, but I've never had a failure to fire with WWB and I've shot hundreds of rounds of the stuff. Moreover, the failure to have any mark on the round would appear to indicate another problem.

 

[photoman]

The odds of two different guns having the same mechanical issues is not likely at all. My guess is, it's either ammo related or shooter related. WWB ammo is very low quality and it is easy to "short stroke" J frame triggers, especially if you are rapid firing the gun.

I would try different ammo first.

 

[soop]

I guess I'll try some different ammo and just feed the winchester stuff to my Ruger. I know I'm not short stroking the trigger.Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[mlk18]

The odds of two different guns having the same mechanical issues is not likely at all.

I agree. I would try out some premium ammo and see if you get different results. If you have the same issues, call S&W. My 642 and 638 have been flawless with well over 1000 rounds through each (good stuff, cheap stuff and milsurp).

 

[Kentucky Shooter]

....It's like the fireing pin doesn't hit the primer.There is not a mark on the primers......

If this is the case, then it is something mechanical. If it is not even marking the primers, then what difference would it make if the primers were hard or soft? If your not even marking the primers, then I don't think your problem is your ammo.......just my $0.02. But I will agree with the others above who say the same mechanical issue with two different revolvers is unlikely. This is strange to say the least-----time to seek professional help.

 

[pwhphd]

Seems the problem is real, but the post may be more interested in touting the Ruger than resolving the S&W issue. If the Ruger is so good, why do you have one of them and two Smiths?

 

[soop]

Because the j frame fits in my pocket.I'm not touting the Ruger,I'm just saying if it works in a Ruger it should also work in the S&W. I really like the S&W..all 3 of them.

 

[jasons]

I've got a 442 and a 642 that I recently bought and I'm having the same problem with both of them. I just got back from shooting them.Sometimes they will shoot and other times not at all.It's like the fireing pin doesn't hit the primer.There is not a mark on the primers.Sometimes they will fire if I open the action and close it again.Other times not.If the first round goes off,all five will.If it doesn't,then all five won't. I took the first gun back to the dealer I bought it from and he said it was hard primers. My Ruger will eat anything I feed it. Anybody have this happen?

Does the trigger pull feel significantly lighter when you don't get primer hits?

I had something similar happen once on a used 642. Turned out that the sear spring was in wrong (previous owner??) and this was causing the sear to push out and to the right rather than straight out. This prevented the trigger from properly engaging the sear, which in turn prevented the hammer from cocking.

I re-installed the sear spring properly and never had another problem....

 

[Beachcomber]

It seems kind of strange that both revolvers are exhibiting the same symptoms at the same time.

Assuming that the ammunition is working as it should... it almost sounds like the firing pin bushing could be gummed up. The fact that your "opening and closing" of the cylinder sometimes makes the revolver function properly causes me think that this action may create enough vibration to let the firing pin return to it's normal resting position... permitting it to receive a full strike from the hammer.

Did you oil or lube the firing pin through the firing pin bushing in the frame? If so the oil or lube (when heated from firing) may have dried up or thickened causing the firing pin to stick midway through the firing cycle and be out of position for the next hammer strike?

As a thought... spray some liquid solvent into the firing pin bushing to flush out the channel.

 

[soop]

The trigger pull always feels the same.I took them both out yesterday and shot about 30 rounds of the same ammo without a hitch.
Beachcomber What your saying just might be the problem. I think I'll give it a try.