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

[BAM-BAM]

After taking over a 30 person armed security dept. I made them qualify twice a year...... at the first session 3 or 4 of their Model 10s had failures to fire....... light strikes.

Several officers had backed out the strain screw on the front of the grip frame to lighten the trigger pull......................

I've been offered; and bought, 2 Smiths a 586 and a 63 "cheap" (from LGSs) because they were locking up ....... the ejector rods were loose.

 

[wolverine]

I wanted to open a debate about revolvers. Has anyone had a failure to fire with a revolver for whatever reason that was NOT due to ignorance or neglect? I was under the impression that a Smith and Wesson revolver or any other revolver for that matter is one of the most reliable things on planet Earth. I understand all revolvers shoot different and some are better quality than others. With that being said what are some of your favorite and most reliable makes of revolvers? I do have to say that I never had a S&W revolver that broke or didnt function properly that I could not fix or correct the problem quickly myself. That also goes for all revolvers I have owned too! I hope to continue my revolver obsession but I dont want to get turned off them because I had to much high expectations for them.

Morning dandyrandy

OH yes, not a lot but enough to say that revolvers are not
as jam proof as some shooters think.

I have been shooting for well over 60 years so go way back
into the revolver heyday.

I have had a number of non-fires where just pulling the trigger
again solved that problem.

But I have also had some issues that totally tied the gun
up so it not only didn't function for next shot but I COULDN'T
pull the trigger again.

Probably the most prevalent were primers that backed out on
the fired round so closed the headspace up so much that I
couldn't pull the trigger again.

On the newer Smiths with firing pin in frame I have had a couple
that the firing pin stuck in the primer so again I couldn't pull the
trigger & if on an exposed hammer gun I then broke the firing
pin tip off when I tried to horse the hammer back with force.

On a simple misfire due to primer issues or light strikes the
revolver usually has a semi auto beat but on a more robust
failure like backed out primer or jammed cylinder then semi
auto has the revolver beat all to he!!.

 

[glenwolde]

Once, many moons ago, I bought a 8 3/8 K-22 to learn to shoot handguns with. I was at the range one day and after firing a round I felt something brush my hand. I glanced at my hand but didn't see anything. I went to resume shooting and was unable to cock the revolver.

The hammer spur had fallen off. I found it on the ground. At the time the gun had around 12,000 rounds through it. I called S&W and the guy told me the hammer had probably been over-hardened. I sent it back to them and they fixed it.

 

[rwt1405]

I've never had a problem with any of my S&W's, Ruger's, or Colt's, but, I did have multiple problems with some of the Taurus's that I HAD (emphasis on had, and I can't see me ever buying any more Taurus's).

I started shooting revolvers in the early/mid 70's, but didn't have any of my own until the late 80's, but have had plenty since then.

 

[ofnsaz]

686 that had a strain screw come loose. A 22 revolver, made around 1980 that came with a cylinder gap of 0.006 on one side and 0.001 on the other. Once evened up, it worked fine and has for nearly 40 years. Had a Dan Wesson that jammed up after a brutal sandstorm in California. And I learned to check for primers sticking out because of what happened when one did. So 3 of the 4 were preventable with a bit more knowledge.

 

[Lou_the_welder]

Yes.

I've had 3-4 of my Revolvers not fire at all. Would I say it's because of the revolver? Quality? A part breaking? No. Offhand I can think of three different ways: the strain screw got loose enough to do a light primer strike. A bullet got dislodged and "jumped" jamming cylinder. My glove (I don't regularly use them, but I was trying some particularly stout magnum loads in a small frame and.......)got stuck in the trigger, preventing it to reset or move the cylinder forward!

I've shattered the force cones off of a Ruger Redhawk 44mag and a Gp 100 357 and they still fired! I'm working on a 686 force cone right now. Corroding from the middle first, then cracks start forming until a split. I'm not a collector so I shoot 500 rounds every week or two in all my guns.

Oh yeah. Not wanting to start a fight or anything but.......the Rugers never failed to fire. Even with the above mentioned instances.

4. A 686+ went out of time after 250 new rounds..........would miss strike the primers altogether.

I think I can think of more if I tried

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[Lou_the_welder]

5. Bent moonclip. I was shooting my 625JM. Cylinder became too hard to turn double action. Went to single action and it was hard! Finally pulled the trigger, fired again and cylinder stopped spinning. Had to stop, open cylinder and scratch head for a minute or so. The brass was leaving drag marks inside frame....

Bent moonclip.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[wadcutter1]

I've never had one fail because of quality problems.

I did have light primer strike failures on my pre-war 38/44, which were solved with a new main spring. I don't think replacing the spring ever 70 years is too bad.

I have a 22/32 bekaert with lousy timing, but it's been pretty beat up.

I don't recall ever having a failure on a post-war Smith.

That being said, I also don't recall ever having a failure on a Glock.

 

[gman51]

I have had several revolver problems.
Ruger GP100 Match Champion the cylinder would lock up. Ruger fixed the paw and never had another failure.
Had bought some poor quality reloaded 38 special that caused the cylinder to jam on several different guns. The head space was to wide and would hang up on the backing plate. Reloader replaced all the ammo.
When I first shot the GP 100 I had a bullet come forward to jam against the frame so couldn't turn the cylinder. I knocked the bullet back in and removed the round. Found it had a cracked casing.
S&W 640-1 the cylinder jammed due to a round evidently didn't have powder added when reloaded so the primer just pushed the bullet partially into the barrel while still some was in the cylinder. I again knocked the bullet back in and later removed the bullet. Yep no powder in the casing.
As far as a revolver failing for other than ammo problems it would only be the GP100 paw failure in a new gun.
I still don't have any faith in carrying a semi auto for self protection. I have yet to have any semi auto that didn't jam at sometime. One good thing about a revolver is it will not fail do to a failure to feed problem like a semi auto is prone to.
I have shot my revolvers more than my semi autos that's for sure and problems with any revolver were much fewer and with good ammo it was practically nil. I will take that nil any day when it comes to protecting my life.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

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.

If I had done all of the things you have tried without any improvement or success, then my next move would be to contact the S&W factory and see about shipping it to them for their review and assessment.

Good luck,

Dave

 

[jpage]

Broken mainspring on a 38-200 Victory.

 

[jhkunkel]

If I had done all of the things you have tried without any improvement or success, then my next move would be to contact the S&W factory and see about shipping it to them for their review and assessment.

Good luck,

Dave

Thanks, that's probably my next step.

 

[Loyaljeeper]

I dropped a model 38 on the shroud and didn't realize it bent the shroud enough to prevent it from allowing the hammer to cycle. I carried it about 7 months like that.

 

[Vigo]

I wanted to open a debate about revolvers. Has anyone had a failure to fire with a revolver for whatever reason that was NOT due to ignorance or neglect? I was under the impression that a Smith and Wesson revolver or any other revolver for that matter is one of the most reliable things on planet Earth. I understand all revolvers shoot different and some are better quality than others. With that being said what are some of your favorite and most reliable makes of revolvers? I do have to say that I never had a S&W revolver that broke or didnt function properly that I could not fix or correct the problem quickly myself. That also goes for all revolvers I have owned too! I hope to continue my revolver obsession but I dont want to get turned off them because I had to much high expectations for them.

Yes - I found Sellier & Bellot .38 special ammunition to be a nightmare for reliability. I had some that refused to eject properly from a Model 19. I also had some where the primers deformed and bound up a single action USFA revolver. With better ammunition, I've had no problems from my revolvers though.

 

[Pondoro]

I've had the cartridge under the star on a few old Smiths but that is not a failure to fire. Would still be a pain in a gunfight but my old Smiths are for fun, not defense.

I have two that sometimes lock up due to a backed out ejector rod (38 K and 32 I). I teach at a camp that has Smith 22 revolvers. They are very old and well used, their ejector rods also back out.

 

[Bosquebass]

I have a M15-2 that would jam up from time to time acting like a high primer or junk under the extractor but I could never spot the problem. The gun would free itself up and shoot fine and lock up again at random. Long story short, it was a wad of old powder or carbon inside the cylinder. Had to detail strip and clean inside the cylinder with a bronze brush and that fixed it.

 

[caleb4387]

My 1984 model 13 has not failed in my year of ownership but I had a failure to eject on glock 19 and failure to extract on a ruger Mark 3

 

[steelslaver]

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.

Check the end shake and the yoke movement. If those allow the cylinder to move forward very much you can get failure to fires because it lets case head and primer get too far away from tip of firing pin. Plus, check the firing pin (hammer nose) itself. With cylinder open push cylinder latch thumb piece back and pull the trigger and keep it pulled. Tip of pin should be sticking trough recoil shield the thickness of a dime. If not replace. Are there any drag marks on the sides of the hammer? If hammer is dragging it will slow hammer down a bit.

 

[31FordA]

Never had a S&W fail to fire because of a defect with the gun itself. I did have a 28-2 that suffered from light strikes, but that was because the previous owner got a little carried away with the do it yourself "gunsmithing". Once everything was put back in spec it ran great.

I did have a brand new GP-100 (circa 2009) that wouldn't fire. The hand froze after about 10 rounds. After the gun was stripped and cleaned of the large amount of grit found inside, it ran fine. Several thousands rounds have gone thru it since without a glitch.

 

[Frizzman]

I've had a good many S&W, Colt, Rugers...and a few Taurus and Rossi revolvers but I don't want to remember my misadventures with them...and have had breakages, tie-ups and other problems with all those makers' revolvers. Well, come to think of it, I can't remember any failures with a Ruger...I sometimes find the obsession with P&R Smiths being a sign of ultimate precision and quality amusing. I well remember some of the junk that came from Bangor-Punta. Colt made some crummy revolvers. What I experienced most was guns that were out of time or had this or that part break during use...The idea that a revolver is fairly simple to operate is possibly true, although I remember candy machines and drink and cigarette machines that fell victim to .38's from issued M10s in the precinct houses, but they are complex mechanisms. They require precise interactions between a good many small parts. They fall prey to sand and dirt and water and mud. This is a reason that modern military use of revolvers is nil. I carry revolvers often because I am familiar with them and five or six rounds seems to be enough for my purposes ...but I still usually carry more than one.