Articles about J frame failures

[CA Escapee]

Somebody needs to cut back on the Red Bull.
Jus' sayin'........

Really! Hosemeister Univibe, watch your front sight and squeeeeze.

 

[haywood]

The Three 2” J-Frames are lightweights. They each have over 1500 standard 38 special fired from them, or more, and I never counted the +P. They show no wear and have never had a problem.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

My main issue initially was the finish wear on my scandium airlite. The clearcoat on the aluminum wore through and it turned into a very ugly revolver. I had it painted Marine Corp Red and now that’s worn through on the bbl and frame. Ugly again. Plus there is a slight turning movement in the bbl. I guess carrying it in my back pocket caused it but there are no cracks. Shoots fine. My edc. I love how light it is plus it’s just a tool not a bbq gun. The finish has worn off my tactical light too.

 

[ImDrRich]

You check your oil, etc., so why not inspect your gun frame after every range trip? Maybe some will think it's unnecessary but I think it's disaster prevention.

 

[stansdds]

You check your oil, etc., so why not inspect your gun frame after every range trip? Maybe some will think it's unnecessary but I think it's disaster prevention.

I would actually consider an inspection during cleaning to be part of the maintenance of the firearm.

 

[JonE406]

How much have these guns been fired? Most J-frame guns, lightweight or steel, see little in the way of use, so they hold up well.

Exactly, my 637-2 gets carried EDC and shot little... as I have other range revolvers to shoot.

 

[jnichols2]

I have seen many complaints about the finish wearing on the aluminum frames. But, they keep shooting for many years.

Neither of mine show any wear yet. But, I didn't buy them to look pretty.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Over my 30 years in LE, I had several Airweight J-frames and they all held up well with a lot of shooting, including a good amount of +P.

When they first came out, I bought a 340PD and kept the small Bantam grips on it for pocket carry. I've fired about five thousand rds through it including a lot of +P. Aside from finish wear and the action smoothing out, the gun is like new.
But my 30 years of shooting J-frames with hot loads and small grips, has tenderized the base of my thumb enough that a model 19 with good grips is the smallest thing I will shoot with +P.
If I had it to do over again, I'd practice mostly with a 43C (.22 snub) and shoot the .38 a lot less. Or practice with the 43C and get a 351 (.22Mag) and load it with Gold Dots for carry.

 

[vintage40s]

... I have two airweights... Those airweight Smiths are brutal to shoot for an extended period. Advice is to shoot enough to hit what you want to hit at the distance you want to shoot and then STOP, LOAD and CARRY. Save the extended shooting for steel framed guns and semi's. Shoot the airweigts only enough to ensure you still can hit what you are aiming at. I do not think weekly sessions are really necessary nothwithstanding internet commando advice...

I got a new air weight .38 and took it to a range once a week for a few months. I could only stand 25 rounds each time. It was so unpleasant that I have not shot it for a year now.

 

[photoman]

I am asking since I have an opportunity to act on some Airweights, but I don't want to buy a revolver with a severely limited service life.

I have owned somewhere between 20 and 30 J frames over the years. Almost all have been Airweights and I've never had one fail. My actual carry guns have had thousands of rounds fired through them with thousands of dry fires to boot. My guess is, the average service life for an Airweight style J frame is in the many thousands. With todays ammo prices, 98% of the owners will never get near the end of life for these guns.

With all that being said, I have read of accounts on the Forum (half dozen or so) where the hammer pin breaks. As far as I remember, Smith & Wesson replaced them all.

 

[smoothshooter]

If you do not end the problem within 5 rounds, your opponent will.

Instances of five rounds not being enough for non-law-enforcement social encounters are pretty hard to find.

 

[doc84]

This is a persistent myth. Depending on the situation--active shooter? Drive by? Gang robbery? you may just be getting started.

Same story for bear defense. Pundits hold that when Griz charges, you won't get off more than 1 or 2 rounds. Then you read the 93 Cases and see how many were protracted struggles.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc3tadXu2Wk[/ame]

 

[JimCunn]

"How much have these guns been fired? Most J-frame guns....."

One of the steel guns, quite a bit - I used it for squirrel and rabbit hunting.

The Airweight 637-2 9mm conversions not so much. They are quite painful to shoot, but a delight to carry.

As I've said before, these guns are consumables. If they crack, get another.
Mine haven't cracked, knock wood.

 

[Inland7-45]

I have 2 Model 36s from the late 60's and one model 34 from the late 70's as well as a 1955 vintage 2" .32 HE. While I have always preferred steel frames to alloy I do have an early model 42 in very nice shape as well as one of the last Colt Cobras made before the change to the shrouded ejector rod. I stopped carrying the Model 42 many years ago, but still fire a few 148 gr WC target loads every now and then. The Cobra has been fired quite a bit and gets carried frequently. While I would have preferred a Model 40 or Detective Special both guns were offered to me at very low prices even for the times and I could not pass them up.

I really do not noticed a significant difference in weight when carrying either alloy gun when loaded. So I do not see any weight savings as an advantage. For me one of the turn offs about alloy Js or Colt Cobra/Agent is the color difference between the blued parts and the anodized frame.

The Model 42 is in nice condition with no finish wear while the Cobra is showing it's age with lots of holster wear. The model 42 will remain in my collection and be fired very little. An inspection of both guns confirms that the frames are sound. The Cobra is still one of my favorites and will remain in use as a carry gun with enough practice rounds to stay proficient with it.

In my opinion the best of the small frame guns is the Model 36 2"RB. I do most of my shooting with one and just cannot wear it out.