Chopaka
Member
How are these mark's on the recoil shield caused,are they just from not being cleaned or something else?Thank's
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Circular Marks on Recoil Shield
- Thread starter Chopaka
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No, they are marks from the case heads contacting the recoil shield with firing. If they go through the finish you can't clean them, unless you like the "no blue" look there 
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diamonback68
US Veteran
Looks like it's been fired a lot. It's the other cartridges slamming the recoil shield when fired.
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Shooting4life
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It's normal. Don't worry about it.
stantheman86
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The only way to prevent them is to not shoot the gun.....
Alk8944
US Veteran
And not carry it as a duty gun in a holster.
lagavulin62
Member
the one covering the firing pin you would expect of course. but to see the others so defined it would seem to me possibly lots of heavy loads have been fired from the gun. something other than factory ammo. just my guess. I may be wrong.
jwh32
Member
In my tour thru the S&W factory in summer 1961, they told me the circular marks on the mod 38 bodyguard mfg at that time were to be able to impose a identifying mark on the case head during firing, as per a request from the ATF. all my early mod 38 and mod 37 have this mark.
Alk8944
US Veteran
Someone was funnin' you, that's BS. ALL firearms impose unique marks on every cartridge/bullet fired from them. It has nothing to do with an ATF requirement, it is just the nature of two pieces of metal working together under pressure, the harder leaves marks on the softer. There are microscopic marks on all parts of the revolver as a result of manufacturing operations, and those marks are random.
Josh M.
Member
I suspect that you are correct when you say that you might be wrong....it's a rimfire. - JM.
Josh M.
Member
It's very normal, and is a good indication that this gun has had a fair number of rounds through it.
The top position with the firing pin will have a loaded case thrust into it by the way of an equal and opposite reaction each time a round is fired.
The other positions will have rounds rattling against them each time the gun is fired. Only the loaded rounds have enough weight to make any sort of impact here.
The firing pin position obviously has a loaded round there each time the gun is fired. The position just before the firing pin position will have a loaded round there rattling against the recoil shield 83.3% of the times that the gun is fired. The next position (two rounds before the firing pin) will only have a loaded round in it 66.6% of the time...hence it's mark is lighter the the other two, and starts forming later in the guns life. The bottom position (opposite the firing pin) will have a loaded round in it 50% of the times that the gun is fired..... and so forth.
Think of the recoil shield as the face of a clock...it gives you some indication of how many rounds a revolver has through it. - JM.
The top position with the firing pin will have a loaded case thrust into it by the way of an equal and opposite reaction each time a round is fired.
The other positions will have rounds rattling against them each time the gun is fired. Only the loaded rounds have enough weight to make any sort of impact here.
The firing pin position obviously has a loaded round there each time the gun is fired. The position just before the firing pin position will have a loaded round there rattling against the recoil shield 83.3% of the times that the gun is fired. The next position (two rounds before the firing pin) will only have a loaded round in it 66.6% of the time...hence it's mark is lighter the the other two, and starts forming later in the guns life. The bottom position (opposite the firing pin) will have a loaded round in it 50% of the times that the gun is fired..... and so forth.
Think of the recoil shield as the face of a clock...it gives you some indication of how many rounds a revolver has through it. - JM.
When I look at a revolver to buy I always look at the recoil shield and if it has heavy circular marks on it I won't buy it because it means one of two things to me and that is has either been fired a real lot or it has had some really hot rounds fired through it. With the high cost of S&W revolvers these days I choose to wait and buy one that has been fired less or not abused with hot loads. Of course I also check the lock up and end play and they are other factors that if there is a lot of play I won't buy the revolver either.
