Is that old S&W revolver as reliable as you think??

[Black Knight]

I have never had a failure to fire that was not traced to defective ammo. I did loan my 10-8 to someone I used to work with. They tried to qualify with it but kept having problems. They tried another person's revolver and qualified. I took my 10-8 and shot the same course with 0 malfunctions. I had just had the springs changed a couple months earlier and determined they were short stroking the trigger. They did not allow the trigger to fully reset before trying to fire the next round. I kept the 10-8 in that same condition. Being in private security I figured if my gun was taken and used against me the attacker could easily have the same problem giving me an opportunity to get my gun back. I did have problems with my 6 inch Colt Python but that was traced to a worn hand (timing issue). I had already switched to S&W before my Python had problems. BTW I had the Python repaired and still have it.

 

[Kifaru]

I've had a couple of failures with S&W revolvers. One was a 629-1 that had a habit of "skipping" with factory full-house loads. I bought this revolver new, and it didn't have a very high round count at the time, fewer than 150 rounds. I sent it back to S&W twice, and that seemed to do the trick. It's been just fine ever since, and that was probably close to 30 years ago.

The second one was a 625 model of 1989 fresh out of the box. I only got one cylinder through it, and when I went to reload it, the cylinder fell off. The crane screw was loose from the factory. Luckily, I somehow found the screw, tightened it down properly, and it's been a fantastic shooter since. That one was partly my fault. I make it a habit to check over any gun, even a brand new one, before I shoot it. That time I was just a little too eager and got bit.

Any mechanical device can fail. So it pays to test your revolver, especially before you rely on it for self defense. And my advice is, once you verify function, carry that one, and find another one like it to practice with. That way your risk of having some critical part break at the worst possible moment is reduced to almost nil in your carry gun. Even though the odds of breakage aren't very high, even in your practice gun, it gives you an excuse to own both a model 65 AND a model 13. Now, who would want to do that?

 

[RichCapeCod]

I like revolvers, but they can and do fail. When assigned to the Firearms and Tactics Unit in the New York City Police Department every day of qualifications at the Outdoor Range would have a bunch of officers heading over to the department gunsmith to have their revolvers taken care of.

Every problem you can imagine, from just gunked up from twenty years of pumping gun oil in their innards to broken parts.

Once (nearly 50 years ago…), during an indoor qualification cycle, one of the shooters tried to fire his Colt Detective Special. Wouldn’t go off. Looked at the gun. Broken firing pin. Guy almost fainted. Apparently he was an active officer and had depended on that revolver for his life only a short time earlier.

I bought a new Colt Detective Special (1972) from the department's Equipment Section ($80 bucks or so). As was my habit I was going to put a hundred rounds through the handgun before carrying it. Got to 94 rounds (really) and then the cylinder would not open up. Froze solid. Walked over to the department pistolsmith, Kenny Socker, and Kenny fixed the gun in fifteen minutes. Perfect ever since.

Yeah, revolvers are reliable. But they ain’t perfect.

Rich

 

[scooter123]

I purchased a model 19-3 that based on the lack of any trace of markings on the recoil shield was nearly unfired when purchased. It also had a misfire rate of 30% with 38 special ammunition and 100% with 357 Magnums so I suspect that the reason it was nearly unfired was that from the factory it was equipped with a "short" hammer nose. Note, I tried shimming the strain screw to produce an 11.5 lbs. DA trigger weight and that did not improve the misfire issue at all. Good news is that Power Custom and Brownell's provided a solution to this problem with a new Hammer nose and it is now 100% reliable with any type of ammunition with any type of primer I have access to, even the hard Remington Magnum primers.

BTW, I am a reloader and CCI primers aren't nearly has "hard" as the Net may lead you to believe, it's Remington that I've found to run a bit "hard". I've also found that Magnum primers all run a bit harder than the standard pressure primers.

Finally this 2 1/2 inch model 19-3 has become my most favorite revolver to shoot and one benefit of that short barrel is that the "fill" between front and rear sight is quite tight. As a result if I cheat with some reading glasses so I can actually focus on the sights I've been able to keep 12 out of 12 within a 11 inch circle at 50 yards shooting offhand with it. Not too shabby for an old fart with CRS, CSS, and CHS. (Can't Remember, See, or Hear "stuff)

 

[grip frame]

Yes, hand spring broke on a 36-1 which turned the revolver into a single shot.

 

[Birdgun]

After just a few rounds, my brand new Model 625-9 "Mountain Gun" in .45 Colt would not reliably detonate the primers. Took off the grips and tightening the main spring strain screw, which was visibly loose, corrected problem. No problems since.

 

[OLDSTER]

Reliability

Interesting thread. I love revolvers ( S&W,Ruger,Dan Wesson), and carry a J frame that I trust with my life. However, I have to say the most reliable handguns I've ever owned in 55 years are my two 1980s vintage Hi-Powers.

 

[model3sw]

Model 52-2 sometimes finicky with certain new ammo or other reloaded ammo, but once you have it right, it's flawless.

Other than that, only a few times with post war revolvers where the ejector rods starts to back off making it difficult to impossible to open. The latter being a failure to function and not really a failure to fire.

A later 1990s a model 642 that went back to S&W for service twice for the same reason. It came back with the same malfunction, twice. I never like the rectangular shaped extractor tree after that. It would fire 2 to 3 shots after which the trigger pull was impossibly hard and the cylinder refused to rotate. Cool completely down and it would do an exact repeat of the same malfunction. I sent it to my local smith who took care of it perfectly.

In 1994, a brand new 3913, 1st time out of the box would not feed the ammo. The round would not seat thus the slide would not close. After stopping to disassemble. there was what seemed to be a dried, hard, blob of of brownish, box glue on the inside breech of the barrel. A very careful removal with a snap-on miniature mechanic's "pick"(careful not to damage the inside of the breech) followed by a brass bore brush with Hoppes and it never failed to feed or function again.

My original 39-2 from 1979, recently gifted to my eldest son, has NEVER failed to function and fire properly in all these years.

Conservatively it has only had approximately 2000 rounds through it, which I'll admit, was quite light duty for all those years. My eldest son confided in me that he always admired that, specific, 39-2 (nickel) much more than I realized, since he was a child so I gifted it to him.

He toasted 200 rounds through it the first day he owned it. 37 years now, it still has NEVER malfunctioned but I will admit it was always well taken care of.

I taught all my children first on an early 1950s K22 graduating to a 1949 K-38, both were purchased in well used but not abused condition, 30+ years ago. Several years back the 1949 K-38 broke the cylinder indexing lock so it was put away in disassembled condition for many years..

After ordering the cylinder indexing lock for a 5-screw, pre-model number 14, twice, I found neither of them fit. I discovered it was an early post war (transition). I measured out and match the part to discover it had an older, pre-war style (1905, 4th) cylinder index lock and NOT the 1950s forward type. I replaced the part with a matching part from my parts box which was ether a pre-war 1905 4th or WWII Victory part.. It's now back in service, functioning perfectly once again.

Seems the part originally used in that period manufacture, when built, was very thin where it narrowed as compared to the 1950 to 1956, 5 screw type. Evidently S&W using up all the WWII and Pre WWII parts first, in post war production, before the newer style parts were manufactured.

 

[Inusuit]

I had two Ruger Vaqueros fail after thousands of rounds of Cowboy Action Shooting and many more thousands of dry fires. The hammer plunger spring broke, one within a week of the other.

 

[K Frame Keith]

My model 60 broke the hammer stud. Snapped off clean at the frame. Gun still functioned but the trigger pull was very rough. So it really wasn't a failure to fire. S&W fixed it quickly.

 

[federali]

Many Times

When I was young and ignorant, I bought a used Model 15 that couldn't be cocked and fired single action because someone had done an action job, apparently with a nail file.

As the senior firearms instructor, I witnessed many cases of the cylinder failing to close when unburned powder accumulated under the extractor star because of improper reloading technique.

I've also seen the extractor rod become loose with the result that you couldn't open the cylinder.

Then, there's the matter of the cylinder barely wanting to turn as no one ever cleaned the yoke and crane.

A gun is a mechanical device and they sometimes fail despite the best efforts to make them idiot proof.

 

[Edmo]

Is that old S&W revolver as reliable as you think??

I've had several failures which have tangled up my revolvers...

- Model 60 no dash. Hammer pin broke.

- BG38. Action locked up and after that was fixed, it had light primer strikes.

- Model 642-1. Trigger pin broke.

- 640-1 Pro Series. The gun would go bang, but I had issues with sights falling off and clocked barrels. Several replacement sights and two new barrels later things appear straight.

The true realization is anything man made is prone to failure. The boast by some that revolvers are 100% reliable is nothing but a myth.

To be honest, I've had functional failures with all but one brand or design of handgun.

I know it will cause some to spit out their coffee, but a certain polymer brand of gun is the only one which has be 100% for me. Yup, 100%... I say that after 21 years of shooting thousands of rounds through 10 different models of their pistol.

Just a sampling of my experiences.

Edmo


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Speedo2]

Model 12; cracked frame:

 

[Bert Man]

Twice in nearly 50 years. M15-3 cylinder stop failed and M66-1 broken hammer nose while dryfiring. Other than those, nary a hitch with any revolver other than an infrequent loose extractor rod.

 

[handejector]

What I've seen in 50+ years of handling Smiths-

1> A cop bought a brand new 28-2 at the shop where I worked in 1975. He pulled a Target Trigger out of his pocket and asked me to put it in.
Sure. $5.
When I started to loosen the sideplate screws, I noticed they were not even snug. Something told me to tighten them, so I did. The hammer would not move at all!
I stoned the high bosses and made it work.

2> Several broken hammer noses (firing pins)

3> 32 Safeties are notorious for breaking firing pins. I've seen a BUNCH.

4> One broken mainspring. It was a factory, unaltered spring. Snapped in half.

5> NUMEROUS loose extractor rods.

6> Several broken hammer studs. Dropped??

7> I've seen cylinder stops and/or their holes get peened by years of use. Burrs can be formed that jam the cyl stop and keep it from rising. Several of these.

8> One broken trigger stud.

9> One hand that had a broken spring stud- the smaller one the spring bears on.

10> One rebound spring broken in the middle.

11> A couple of broken trigger studs.

12> I've seen loose PINNED barrels. You could move them by hand.

13> I've seen the foot break off a hammer.

14> I've seen the tail break off of a trigger.

15> I've seen the center pin mushroom on the forward end and become almost unmovable. The gun really doesn't lock well when it sticks forward!

16> I've seen a bolt break at the forward corner. That is the part the thumb latch is screwed to. It pushes the center pin so you can open the gun. Try opening one with a busted bolt.

Probably some others I've forgotten......
All these were on Pre-1980 guns.
They don't make 'em like they used to!

 

[model3sw]

Model 12; cracked frame:

That crack on the frame of the Model 12 (and pre-model 12) as well as the 37 and pre-37 is inherent to the guns.

Even after the alloy cylinder was replaced by the steel cylinder it makes me wonder why S&W could not have reduced the height of the crane and left more BEEF on the frame where the barrel threads in. I have hear gunsmiths of old tell tales about cracking the frames when either reinstalling or replacing the barrel when tightening into normal position.

I have early pre-37s up to a Jxxxxxx serial number, with either the same ... full line crack or the beginning of the crack.

I surmise this was NOT solely due to +P ammo.

Just examining the frame revolver, the frame is pathetically thin in that area. The engineers could have just reduced the height of the crane to recast the alloy frame with a greater thickness under the barrel.

LIKELY this would have meant the 12s, 37s and pre models would have had a unique crane that could not be used in the standard steel revolvers.

Cheap old codgers !! Makes me seriously wonder.

 

[686-380]

I had a weird experience. I sent it in to S&W, they took care of it: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...dy-357-158-gr-xtp-ammo-jams-my-new-686-a.html

 

[shawn mccarver]

In the late 1970s, I was at the range firing my Model 27. Without warning, it locked up "tighter than ole' Dick's hatband." The trigger simply would not function in DA mode, nor could it be manually cocked. Fortunately, I had other guns with me that day including my Colt 1911 Government Model .45 ACP, which until that moment had always been more of a range gun than a carry gun.

After a full morning of shooting, I went home, sat down at my work bench, turned on a bright light and got out my "properly fitting screwdrivers" and my plastic mallet. In short order, the sideplate was carefully vibrated up and the hammer block removed, and then one by one, each piece of the the action was removed in the usual manner. The cause? A tiny sliver of lead had shaved, and in a "one in a million" situation, had entered the action, I presume through the frame opening for the cylinder stop, but I will never know for sure. In any event, this tiny sliver had wedged its way in such a way as to prevent the action from operating. A careful look over with a magnifying glass revealed nothing else was in there that should not have been in there.

After careful wipe-down, lube and reassembly, everything functioned as normal.

That event, however, caused a complete shift in my thinking. The "conventional wisdom" is that revolvers do not malfunction and that the most likely cause of any potential malfunction can be ruled out prior to loading - a high primer. Talk about a shock to my world.

That Model 27 became a range gun that day, and the 1911 Colt became my full-time carry gun. While I had been reading Cooper for years prior to that incident, it took that incident for me to realize that while a revolver USUALLY does not fail, a failure means a time-consuming bench repair rather than a "tap-rack-bang."

So, in a quick "executive decision," "No Second Place Winner" was replaced by "Cooper on Handguns" and I have never looked back. Apart from J Frames for pocket carry for back up or when the mode of attire required something smaller, the 1911 took the place of the N-Frame Model 27. Initially, it was Skeeter Skelton's "Mexican Carry" while I waited patiently for one of those newfangled holsters conceptualized by Bruce Nelson, called the Summer Special.

So, revolvers can fail - it is rare, but when it happens it is not ordinarily capable of expedient field repair. That day began a long love affair with the Colt 1911, which has always done quite nicely for me.

If you have not discovered, or re-discovered the ease of shooting with the single action auto, read Cooper or the excellent piece by Finn Aagaard (pronounced Aww-gore) where he re-discovered the single action auto and went to the 1911 and Ruger 22 Auto as his "battery." Then, go out and pick up a decent, but plain 1911 and a Ruger 22 Auto, and you will have your eyes opened when you re-discover a good trigger!

 

[Gunnut.38]

In over over 40 years of shooting my Smith and Wesson revolvers , I have never had a failure to fire or any malfunction that was gun related. I of coarse have had failure to fire that were ammo related, mostly in rimfire.
I would bet my life on the reliability of any of my Smith and Wesson revolvers and do just that.

 

[jhkunkel]

Older Smith & Wesson J frame model 60 failure to fire

I picked up an older Smith & Wesson model 60 J frame.
Lots of FTF.
I broke it down and cleaned it meticulously, replaced the springs, it now has a trigger pull of about 12 pounds yet I get a failure to fire on about 5 out of 50 rounds. Doesn't it matter on what ammo I use.

The gun looked like it had been pretty badly neglected until I got it.
I took the gun down completely honed the parts that said could be honed or should be honedone tried several different Springs yet still have the same problem any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.