657 41 Magnum question

[WheelMan321]

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.

So no grease ? It would sure simplify things to just pop side case rinse with lighter fluid let dry and then oil without removing any parts.

 

[WheelMan321]

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

Yes this is one bad ass piece, I am still on cloud 9 to have it. It really is a work of art that only folks like us can appreciate, I am happy to be in the club !

 

[colt_saa]

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?

The Python was advertised and/or prototyped in seven chamberings that I recall. I think there was a 8th one but any notes I had on it have long since disappeared

Obviously we are all familiar with the 357 Magnum

There were also several variations of the Python chambered specifically for the 38 Special cartridge

Most folks are unaware of the 22LR Pythons. Serial number C1 was a 2 1/2" stainless, while C2 & C3 were 6" Royal Blue.

The Python was also slated for 22 Magnum but I have never seen one

There were 5 Royal Blue 41 Magnums built in 1965.I handled an 8" but never thought to make notes of the serials back then.

Back in the 70's there was a Texas gunsmith that was referred to as Bubba. He built 125 Pythons chambered for the 41 Magnum. (I think this may have been the origin of calling unknown gunsmiths BUBBA) Mine is one of these. There was a second gunsmith also doing 41 Magnum builds but I do not recall who. Most of these revolvers are known to be wonderfully accurate as is the one pictured above

Somewhere along the line one or more of these revolvers was returned to the Colt factory for warranty service. This caused Colts lawyers to actively seek out the gunsmiths and get them to stop doing this work

This story used to be posted on the web. I think it was the 6guns website. Sure wish I had thought to print it

The next chambering was 256 Winchester Magnum. I only saw a single 8" example, but there were more

I also recall (but never saw) that the 44 Special was on the list. I think the cartridge rims were too big for six of these to fit into a cylinder but I have not figured it out in many decades

 

[colt_saa]

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

Smith & Wesson has produced 2 different 41 Magnum variants built on alloy frames.

Both are Model 357s. The 4" 357PD and the 2 1/2" 357NG. The 3 indicates that these are Scandium Alloy frames, this makes them part of the AirLight series.

The AirWeight revolvers would be built on Aluminium frames and could not stand up to the cartridge. Hypothetically in today's naming conventions these should be Model 457s

The 357PD has a Titanium cylinder for additional weight reduction and even though it has a linger barrel than the Night Guard it is almost 2 ounces lighter, I did put a set of Factory Combats on my 357PD because they fit my hand well

​

Even though the Night Guard is a bit heavier, it pocket carries very well in the 5.11 Covert Khakis

 

[stansdds]

Possibly a lighter main spring,

And possibly failures to ignite primers when shooting double action, so beware.

 

[stansdds]

Most folks are unaware of the 22LR Pythons. Serial number C1 was a 2 1/2" stainless, while C2 & C3 were 6" Royal Blue.

Those had to be some really heavy Colt Pythons. Not a tremendous amount of steel gets bored out when chambering a full sized revolver in 22LR.

 

[heavyduty5150!]

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.

You probably just need to open it up and clean it really good and just a few drops of oil. That's going to take the grit out. I can do a professional trigger job on if for you. I'm a master gunsmith and Smith & Wesson armorer. But yes the Performance center would be who would do the trigger job if you send it to Smith & Wesson

 

[Yendor357]

WM, it’s your gun. Do whatever you want. But chances of that thing being better after you “pop off the side plate” than what it is right now are slim and anorexic.

You have the screwdrivers bits, and are a real smart guy, way smarter than I. Everyone is. If you’re sure that a barely used gun has gotten so dirty that it needs disassembled, cleaning, why not just take the grips off rinse that thing out before you tear into it. I’ve seen dirty guns run pretty well.

I recently bought a 686 manufactured in 1983. Obviously fired very little as most of them are. The action was rough and gritty. Sounds very similar to yours. I put in snap caps, and dry fired it, possibly a thousand times. It’s pretty slick now. No disassembly required.

What does the owners manual say?

 

[heavyduty5150!]

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.

Get the right size screwdriver and cradle it with your thumb on the surface of the grips and then tap them off ,do th le same for the sideplate, tapping the frame with the plastic or wood part of the screwdriver where the grips once we're until it loosens the sideplate and then with your fingers take it off. Never pry thr sideplate off, and spray some Birchwood Gun Scrubber in there liberally. Let it dry then oil up the contact points inside.

 

[Sixman1963]

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

Wow you ARE a hardcore .41 Mag guy!!

 

[Kimberpross]

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

Where is the Blackhawk?

 

[colt_saa]

Those had to be some really heavy Colt Pythons. Not a tremendous amount of steel gets bored out when chambering a full sized revolver in 22LR.

Not too different than the modern Model 617

​

Though the Model 617 might be a little lighter thanks to the 10 shot cylinder

 

[colt_saa]

Where is the Blackhawk?

You might have noticed that in my original post I did say I was a fan of almost all firearms chambered for the 41 magnum cartridge.

I used that wording because I do not like the Ruger's. I have fired the Blackhawks and are just not a fan. I do realize it is a fairly well constructed firearm and did not want to offend those folks that happen to like it

Almost bought a Redhawk but I just did not like it enough to justify the price at the time

Some folks will probably also notice that my collection does not have a Model 58 included. This is another design that simply has never spoken to me

 

[dobegrant]

Congratulations on a nice find, clean and lube it sounds like a good start, welcome from Arizona

 

[Rowdydog]

Back in the 80’s I bought a San Francisco Police surplus 41 caliber revolver. It was was cool had “S.F.P.D. engraved on the barrel. Shot well I’m Sad a few years later I traded it to my brother in law.