657 41 Magnum question

[WheelMan321]

I just purchased my first revolver a 1986 657 41 magnum off guns.com.
I was super nervous to purchase a revolver site unseen, but I finally was able to pick it up.
You can only see so much on the pics on the site, but it did look fairly clean.
Upon inspection I could have not been any more happier with it.
This 39 yrs old pistol was in excellent condition, I was stoked.
One thing when I was dry firing it after pulling trigger it had a little gritty bump before it reset, is this a common issue?
From looking at the screws it looked as if it has never been opened up unless someone had a set off armorers screw drivers and did it right.
So I am hoping it just needs to be greased up again, anyone have any advice?
Second question, I was thinking of sending it back to Smith & Wesson and getting a trigger job done.
They have an outdoors package where they crown the barrel, would this be blasphemy to do to this pistol ? It’s a 3 inch barrel.
And last but not least is the performance center the folks to work on this pistol ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[toroflow1]

Yes, blasphemy for sure to have the barrel crowned with that ugly 11 degree taper. Will reduce value, but if you don't care, go for it. Also, you need to disassembled and clean and oil it real well, that will work wonders!

 

[colt_saa]

I have been a huge fan of almost all firearms chambered in the 41 Magnum cartridge since I bought my first one accidentally in 1980.

This 15 or 20 year old group photo shows about half of the 41 magnums currently in my collection

The 3" snub nose revolvers were a fantastic firearm. I can not recall how many years I carried mine

​

If you have not yet cleaned and lubed the firearm then it is way too early to decide if it needs to be sent off for an action job. Also before choosing a gunsmith you probably would need to decide what the revolver will be used for and what level of trigger work you want done.

The bulk of my revolvers have stock actions, smoothness comes simply through the repetitiveness of pulling the trigger the parts we're into each other and everything gets better. Action jobs typically make that natural process occur faster

Also remember when asking about opinions to do or not do something, here on the forum We have an extremely high percentage of purists as our active discussion base.

However out in the real world, the purists make up a teeny, tiny portion of the Smith and Wesson buying public. So our opinion of what will sell or what will work on the used market is dramatically different than what Smith and Wesson's buying public are consuming

The Smith and Wesson Performance Center may not be the shining star that it once was, but it is still not a bad place to get work done. There are also dozens of extremely skilled Revolver shops around the US that are still taking firearms in for work. Pinnacle High Performance, Cylinder & Slide, Clark Custom, Gemini Custom, Mag-na-Port, Ron Horvath, and many more

I will use Mark over at Pinnacle for those things that I do not do myself

 

[WheelMan321]

Yes, blasphemy for sure to have the barrel crowned with that ugly 11 degree taper. Will reduce value, but if you don't care, go for it. Also, you need to disassembled and clean and oil it real well, that will work wonders!

Yes, I thought that would be a bad move to crown. I will look into how to disassemble and clean and oil. Thanks for the advice.

 

[colt_saa]

I apologize

I forgot to say Welcome to the Forum

 

[WheelMan321]

Wow, that is an impressive collection you have there, thanks for the info much appreciated.
Just curious what brand is the lever gun in 41 mag ? I was doing research on one but cannot find one with side loading gate .

 

[WheelMan321]

I apologize

I forgot to say Welcome to the Forum

Thank you Sir.

 

[duke2002]

I love the 41. A 657 is on my bucket list. Before i bought my first 57 i ran across a story of the 400 colt. Smith and remington beat colt to production. We could have beem shooting the 400 colt instead of the 41 remington magnum!!

 

[colt_saa]

Wow, that is an impressive collection you have there, thanks for the info much appreciated.
Just curious what brand is the lever gun in 41 mag ? I was doing research on one but cannot find one with side loading gate .

Thank you for the kind words

That is a Merlin 1894 CCL. It was a run of 1000 rifles back about 1999. Unfortunately this is a poor photo but that rifle has a 20" Octagon barrel

I also have one of the 1894SS-41LTD 2s. This 16" Stainless Steel lever gun is from a run of only 251 pieces that occurred back in 2005

 

[stansdds]

Welcome to the S&W Forums.
You have purchased what is likely a fine revolver and needs only a good cleaning and light lubrication with oil, not grease. It is 39 years old and likely has never had a full cleaning and the lock work may be coated with debris and old, dried lubricants, maybe even WD-40.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Welcome to the Forum! Sounds like you picked up a nice Model 657, and your issues don't seem to be too serious. It may just be a little dirty, or it hasn't been fired enough to smooth out the action. Your 3" 657 is a relatively rare version (Product Code 103951, only manuf. in 1986), so I would not crown the barrel. As others have stated, give it a good cleaning before making any rush decisions. To access the innards, you need to have the proper hollow ground screwdriver to remove the 3 right sideplate screws without damaging them. You can buy a special S&W small set at Brownell's or Midway USA. After removing the screws and the cylinder and yoke, do not pry off the sideplate. YouTube has some good videos on S&W revolver disassembly, including how to remove the cylinder and how to tap the grip frame with a mallet or screwdriver handle to pop the sideplate off. You can use a quality CLP or even brake cleaner to flush out any old grease and dirt, and it's probably not necessary to remove all of the internal parts to clean them. Then lightly lube and reassemble. Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[JwesleyN]

I just purchased my first revolver a 1986 657 41 magnum off guns.com.
I was super nervous to purchase a revolver site unseen, but I finally was able to pick it up.
You can only see so much on the pics on the site, but it did look fairly clean.
Upon inspection I could have not been any more happier with it.
This 39 yrs old pistol was in excellent condition, I was stoked.
One thing when I was dry firing it after pulling trigger it had a little gritty bump before it reset, is this a common issue?
From looking at the screws it looked as if it has never been opened up unless someone had a set off armorers screw drivers and did it right.
So I am hoping it just needs to be greased up again, anyone have any advice?
Second question, I was thinking of sending it back to Smith & Wesson and getting a trigger job done.
They have an outdoors package where they crown the barrel, would this be blasphemy to do to this pistol ? It’s a 3 inch barrel.
And last but not least is the performance center the folks to work on this pistol ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yes as stated clean and lubricant it. The older Smiths seem to have a great SA trigger pull to begin with as for double action you need to practice that pull and the more you shoot it the smoother it will get. Put snap caps in it and dry fire it. Some will say hammer nose firing pins will break from dry firing. I make my own snap caps by knocking out the primer and hot glue a blob in the hole and shave it off after it cools. When the holes from the firing pin get deep I just heat them up with a torch and they fill back in. The more you pull that trigger the easier it gets. Every revolver I have has a firing pin in the hammer except my K17. Been dry firing this way for more than 50 years and have never broken a firing pin or the rivet that holds it in. I would stay away from S&W for anything other than warranty work.

 

[WheelMan321]

Thank you for the kind words

That is a Merlin 1894 CCL. It was a run of 1000 rifles back about 1999. Unfortunately this is a poor photo but that rifle has a 20" Octagon barrel

I also have one of the 1894SS-41LTD 2s. This 16" Stainless Steel lever gun is from a run of only 251 pieces that occurred back in 2005

And there is the Stainless Goose I have been looking for. I knew there would not be any current production 41 mags besides the Henry’s. That’s one sexy lever gun right there. Man I hope Marlin/Ruger would come out with a 41 lever gun, I highly doubt it but if they did do a limited run I will be all over it.

 

[WheelMan321]

Great advice, my conclusion it just needs to be cleaned and lubed and polished on visible wear areas on break down and see what it offers me once done.
Possibly a lighter main spring, I think I remember Jerry Miculek has a mainspring kit to lighten double action trigger pull.
I will say this the single action pull needs no attention, it literally feels like it’s 2 lbs !

 

[Hal H.]

I have been a huge fan of almost all firearms chambered in the 41 Magnum cartridge since I bought my first one accidentally in 1980.

This 15 or 20 year old group photo shows about half of the 41 magnums currently in my collection

The 3" snub nose revolvers were a fantastic firearm. I can not recall how many years I carried mine

​

If you have not yet cleaned and lubed the firearm then it is way too early to decide if it needs to be sent off for an action job. Also before choosing a gunsmith you probably would need to decide what the revolver will be used for and what level of trigger work you want done.

The bulk of my revolvers have stock actions, smoothness comes simply through the repetitiveness of pulling the trigger the parts we're into each other and everything gets better. Action jobs typically make that natural process occur faster

Also remember when asking about opinions to do or not do something, here on the forum We have an extremely high percentage of purists as our active discussion base.

However out in the real world, the purists make up a teeny, tiny portion of the Smith and Wesson buying public. So our opinion of what will sell or what will work on the used market is dramatically different than what Smith and Wesson's buying public are consuming

The Smith and Wesson Performance Center may not be the shining star that it once was, but it is still not a bad place to get work done. There are also dozens of extremely skilled Revolver shops around the US that are still taking firearms in for work. Pinnacle High Performance, Cylinder & Slide, Clark Custom, Gemini Custom, Mag-na-Port, Ron Horvath, and many more

I will use Mark over at Pinnacle for those things that I do not do myself

Your first picture is impressive. The only question I have is about the Python I see on the bottom. Did you have the Colt re-barreled to 41?

 

[LittleAugieMo]

Welcome from Missouri,fellow N-frame 3"bbl enthusist! Model 57 3" is not a common configuration,I would be hesitant to to do any mods,but...your N-frame. As far as the trigger issue I would remove the grips and grab a can of gun scrubber& let'er wobble! See how it turns out. Frank Glenn would be my go-to for Smithing he's always done outstanding wor for me!

 

[Yendor357]

Wheelman, you do whatever you want with that 657, but my advice is Please don’t open that revolver up.
The vast majority of people cannot do that without burring up the screw heads, and the arched seam by the hammer on the right side of the gun. They pry around on that and it leaves a permanent unsightly burr. Ive seen dozens on Gunbroker, maybe hundreds of nice Smiths that are messed by guys who obviously didn’t k ow what they were doing. It’s a shame.
Take the grips off, carefully. Hold the revolver upside down and start spraying it with starting fluid; obviously don’t be smoking or near any ignition source. Flood that thing and work the action. Turn it right side up and rinse. Repeat if necessary. You can lube that thing without taking it apart.

Post pics.

 

[WheelMan321]

Wheelman, you do whatever you want with that 657, but my advice is Please don’t open that revolver up.
The vast majority of people cannot do that without burring up the screw heads, and the arched seam by the hammer on the right side of the gun. They pry around on that and it leaves a permanent unsightly burr. Ive seen dozens on Gunbroker, maybe hundreds of nice Smiths that are messed by guys who obviously didn’t k ow what they were doing. It’s a shame.
Take the grips off, carefully. Hold the revolver upside down and start spraying it with starting fluid; obviously don’t be smoking or near any ignition source. Flood that thing and work the action. Turn it right side up and rinse. Repeat if necessary. You can lube that thing without taking it apart.

Post pics.

Lol, I bet there are a ton of beautiful guns destroyed by folks that should never attempt to go into these pistols.
I do have a Wheeler gun smith set that do have the properly ground bits, there will be no buggering up screw heads. And I do know how to remove plate by tapping the butt with a screw driver handle to pop the plate free.
Trust me the money I paid for this revolver there’s no way I’m going to destroy it. I’m pretty mechanical and have a lot of common sense, I’m very confident I can do the job.
To properly clean and lube it must be broke down to be done correctly.
But I do understand where your concern is, firearms are a different animal, and for the most part would be good advice for most.
When I am trying to find the correct size bit I size it by my finger tips first.
Once I have the correct size I carefully put it in handle break free and then take out of handle and loosen it by my finger tips.
And I would install the same way, bit by my finger tips and then put in handle to tighten.
Slow and easy wins the race.
View attachment 769014View attachment 769014

 

[WheelMan321]

Welcome from Missouri,fellow N-frame 3"bbl enthusist! Model 57 3" is not a common configuration,I would be hesitant to to do any mods,but...your N-frame. As far as the trigger issue I would remove the grips and grab a can of gun scrubber& let'er wobble! See how it turns out. Frank Glenn would be my go-to for Smithing he's always done outstanding wor for me!

Thanks brother, I am super stoked to have found this. I was basically 21 yrs old when this came out in 86, where has the time gone ?

 

[41special]

Great advice, my conclusion it just needs to be cleaned and lubed and polished on visible wear areas on break down and see what it offers me once done.
Possibly a lighter main spring, I think I remember Jerry Miculek has a mainspring kit to lighten double action trigger pull.
I will say this the single action pull needs no attention, it literally feels like it’s 2 lbs !

I think your on the correct path, that what I would do in your shoes.

Also on a personal note, congrats on joining the 3" round butt 657 club, there are not many of these little jewels out there. I've had about every S&W 41 mag available & mine is a sure fire favorite. Only other one I'd like to try before I pack it in is the Air Weight 357, that looks like fun to me.

41