FBI 1076 Lockup
S&W Model 1076 Lockup
As many of you may know at least two FBI 1076s being carried by Field Special Agents reportedly "locked up" and failed to function in any respect. The two Field Offices involved were Miami and Tampa. News of the lockups spread quickly and the loss of confidence in the FBI 1076 was sudden, dramatic Both pistols were hand carried to S&W. S&W engineers inspected both pistols and in an internal document made the following observations:
"The descriptions of the pistols which locked up in Miami and Tampa were identical. The hammer was in the half-cock position; the trigger was fully forward with no freedom of movement; the hammer could not be fully cocked, and the rearward travel of the slide was limited by the hammer. Both pistols were reloaded just prior to the lockup."
The engineers "… determined it is possible for the drawbar to be lifted and locked in a position that prevents trigger movement. Once in the locked position, neither the trigger nor the drawbar are free to move. Therefore, the slide can only move to the point where the hammer makes contact with the drawbar. Only with the hammer in the 1/2 cock position, and even then the possibility exists only on a small percentage of limits, is the drawbar free to be put into a locked position. The force that lifts the drawbar into the locked position is the top round of the magazine during loading."
The engineers went on to state that "(t)his lockup is not possible with other S&W pistols in that the special FBI trigger has a different interface where the trigger, the trigger play spring and drawbar intersect. On standard S&W triggers, the area of the trigger that is causing the lockup has been removed."
Following this evaluation what steps, if any, were taken to address this problem are unknown to me. What I do know is that after cleaning one of my FBI 1076s locked up rendering it inoperable. This pistol, TFP3516, was shipped to the FBI on 3/11/91. After its return it was shipped again on 2/22/94 to Bill Hicks & Company, Plymouth, MN.
This lockup is entirely different than that experienced back in 1991. The issue is that the slide will only come rearward 3mm. The decocker, trigger, and hammer function but the slide will not move. I theorized at the outset the problem centered on the guide rod becoming dislodged. Nevertheless, I began disassembling and photographing the pistol one step at a time. The photos are in an album entitled FBI 1076 Lockup.
• Removed grip
• Removed side plate and decocker lever/spring and mainspring
• Sear, disconnector assembly, etc.
• Trigger pin
• Hammer and drawbar
The slide is still locked to the frame. I invite comments and observations as to the cause and remedy for this situation.
