Another J-Frame gets Plugged

[darksidejetta]

Many thanks to Bullseye Smith!

I got my package in the mail today. "The Plug" one each, and "The Pin" one each .

I couldn't wait a minute. I got out the Model 60 .357 my wife gave me this past Christmas, and took it down. I removed that stupid lock, and installed "The Plug" in its place. I secured it with "The Pin".

I came real close to selling this revolver because I hate the IL. Now, I'm gonna go shoot a bunch to build confidence.

 

[roscoe13]

Pics? Love to see it post lock removal...

 

[redhawk444]

Does the internal lock make the gun less reliable?

 

[HAWKEYE10]

Does the internal lock make the gun less reliable?

Some say that the lock caused the gun not to fire, or lock up when it was not supposed to. As we all know a lock on a gun makes it no better than a rock when it is locked. People also don't like to have some thing forced on them that they don't like. Don

 

[rock doc]

Bullseye Smith's fix is great. I removed locks several months ago. Looks a lot better than Clinton's wart.

 

[MO_mule]

darksidejetta,

Good work. I plugged my 640 a few months ago and I'm delighted with the results. For the record, I have not had a single problem with the lock but I think that simple is better with regard to the innards of the firearm intended for self defense.

Enjoy shooting your 640!

Chris

 

[darksidejetta]

OK,

took a picture with the cell-phone...

 

[darksidejetta]

I have yet to meet a gun owner that likes the lock. When will S&W wake up. Maybe these guys will wake up first and start DA revolver production again...

That is a series 70 re-issue purchased in 2009. Why can't S&W make a revolver with the old design? I have thought about selling all my Smiths just because they show pictures in the catalog that hide the lock on revolvers, and hide the external extractor on 1911s. Ok, getting worked up now.

 

[exfebee]

Seem like most people really like the Plug. All my S&Ws now do not have the IL with the exception of my wife's 638 which does have the Plug in it. Some people apparently just don't like the Plug though. I put a 686-6 snubby here on the WTS/WTT section several months ago. It had the Plug in it. The guy who bought it wanted me to take out the Plug & restore the inside stuff before i shipped it. That was fine.. took about 10 minutes to do so. I only hope the IL doesn't lock up some night when someone breaks into his house & he needs to use it.

 

[WB5MHA]

I have yet to meet a gun owner that likes the lock. When will S&W wake up. Maybe these guys will wake up first and start DA revolver production again...

That is a series 70 re-issue purchased in 2009. Why can't S&W make a revolver with the old design? I have thought about selling all my Smiths just because they show pictures in the catalog that hide the lock on revolvers, and hide the external extractor on 1911s. Ok, getting worked up now.

Unfortunately Tomkins PLC made a deal with the devil during the Clinton administration. Tompkins, based in the UK, was the company that owned S&W along with various manufacturing companies in the US and abroad. Tompkins itself is a public shareholder owned company.

The "deal" included "safe gun" measures. The IL was sort of a compromise with plenty of federal arm twisting. On balance the feds made Tompkins exempt from lawsuit prior to an agreed upon date for making guns that could not be locked. S&W (Tompkins) and the Attorney General signed off. Smith has to comply and is protected from liability in the prior cases.

Tompkins sold off Smith & Wesson for a song. The company has gone public as an entity but the agreement, being voluntary, sticks!

It is bad but it is what it is. Like a prenuptual agreement its a done deal. The feds can always say "you should have considered what you signed before you signed it"

 

[darksidejetta]

I read that Colt had to wrestle with their own legal team to come to terms with selling Series 70 firing systems again. I wish I could remember where I found it. Basically, the guns without firing pin blocks are labeled as re-issue, and are described as reproductions of HISTORIC firearms. That is a neat loop-hole. Maybe Smith & Wesson could explore that concept, and make a historically correct reproduction of certain revolvers.

 

[Scary Gary]

I just got my wife a 642 and it didn't have a lock .
Do they all have locks now ?

 

[darksidejetta]

Some CCW J-Frames were/are? made without the lock lately.

 

[redhawk444]

Some say that the lock caused the gun not to fire, or lock up when it was not supposed to. As we all know a lock on a gun makes it no better than a rock when it is locked. People also don't like to have some thing forced on them that they don't like. Don

Oh, it causes failures to fire? Well in a case of that kind, I can understand why one might want to remove it.

If on the other hand, if it was just a matter of wanting a prelock gun, I don't see where removal of the lock and plugging the hole accomplishes anything.