Damaged 657-2

[Aaron Lariscy]

New to the Smith and Wesson forums but I have been around on the cast boolits and several other forums for quite some time now. I joined up here due to picking up a banged up 41 mag for cheap I wanted to ask about.

I picked up a 41 magnum some time ago that looks like it was double charged at some point or another and bulged the cylinder. Someone had filed it down so it would cycle and since purchasing it I have shot some very very light loads in it untill last week the crane fell out in the dirt. I have decided to quit with it and just send it into smith for repair but I am curious how much it might be if you had to guess and where would be the cut off point on how much you would spend before you would just part it out or scrap it?

 

[KLYDE]

Welcome to the Forum.

You send the gun into the Factory. They will then inspect and write a work order invoice with repair cost estimate. This will be sent to you for approval and payment prior to any work beginning. If you opt to not have the work done they will return the gun to you.

I think this will be the only true way to get a accurate repair cost. Also parts availability may factor in.

 

[Drail]

I agree with "send it to the factory" (or try to) They may not even want to mess with it but I would never trust it unless S&W signed off on its safety. It needs a very precise non destructive inspection to know whether it is repairable. I would not take any chances with a gun that operates at the kind of pressures involved with any Magnum cartridge. My guess is they will offer you a deal on replacing the entire gun.

 

[ken158]

You have received good advice - let the guys that made it, fix it. There could be hidden damage associated with a load that bulged a cylinder as well as stress to the frame. The factory will have necessary parts and the price and repair time will beat anyone else. Should you sell the gun in the future you will have no thoughts about the quality of a factory repair.

 

[FloridaFlier]

To go one step further, if the factory says they can fix it, my thought would be to use that opportunity to get a trigger job, re-finish, or whatever else you might like. The logic here is that you've already paid for the shipping, and might get a better price on the custom shop work, since they will have the gun apart anyway.

 

[Aaron Lariscy]

How much would y'all be willing to spend on it before the cost outweighed the wort of the gun? I have seen where these guns sell for only 600-800$ and it seems like repairs could come close to the the worth of the gun.

 

[gboling]

How much would y'all be willing to spend on it before the cost outweighed the wort of the gun? I have seen where these guns sell for only 600-800$ and it seems like repairs could come close to the the worth of the gun.

I would bet the price of the gun that your will be wildly surprised by the result of a S&W repair and the minimal cost, if they find that it is repairable. Go for the gold!

 

[USBP SW]

I would have to agree with the above posts, the factory is the best option. They have the parts and are priced far more reasonably than most people think. I believe that whatever the factory does would not cost even half of the value of the very desirable 657-2 revolver you have.

Good luck,
Steve