Advice on 386 w/barrel play?

[Jason68]

I saw a nice 386 snub .357 (Scandium / Titanium) with a great price, but there was a tiny bit of play: the barrel / forcing cone assembly would slide forward and back within the frame. It was barely noticeable maybe 1/100th of an inch. Did not seem right to me, so I did not bite. Is this gun going to kaboom someday? Was I right to pass on it? Otherwise a tight gun, good lockup, no noticeable wear.

 

[Hapworth]

Barrel play?

This might be complete ignorance on my part, but if the barrel has play: DO. NOT. TOUCH.

Any chance you mean cylinder play?

 

[kudzu3]

Avoid it, run away!

 

[M29since14]

Does that gun probably have a two-piece barrel? I believe it does, if memory serves. It may be loose. It takes a special wrench that tightens the barrel by using the rifling to turn it. If the gun is otherwise OK mechanically and finish-wise, you might want to buy it up and have it repaired. S&W might be pretty good to you on something like this. It is not in their best interest to have guns with their name on them floating around on the open market with loose barrels. If it's a 386PD it's a nifty gun and I would be interested in getting it rehabilitated if I was looking at it.

 

[Jason68]

Yes it is a 386PD and when I saw it in the case I was ready to buy, until I noticed the loose barrel. The price was $480, and I might do a bit of research on the barrel tightening issue, but I decided to pass on this particular gun. Thanks to all.
More on the subject here:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/170398-1-2-3-a.html

 

[Dale53]

If I had been interested, I would have pointed out the loose barrel, negotiated a lower price and sent it back to Smith for tightening. Win-Win...

FWIW
Dale53

 

[M29since14]

I am with Dale on that. If you could get the gun at a bargain price and get it repaired, it would sure be a nice one to have. Even though I am not fond of the newer barrel design, that is one model that sort of makes me look the other way on that issue.