M629-4 Trigger option question

[MMA10mm]

I bought a 629-4 used, and it came with the .500" serrated, charcoal-blued trigger. When I bought my 629-1 (new) in 1984/5 (can't remember if it was before or after the first of January), I had the option of at least a couple triggers, and I ordered the .400" smooth.

Now, I've not exactly seen a ton of the -4s, but all of them I've seen have the .500" serrated trigger. Was the .400" smooth (or any other trigger type) an option on the -3s, -4s, or -5s??

 

[MMA10mm]

Nobody? Surely this question is not so hard for the collectors around this place!!

 

[JT]

Don't know the specific answer to your question, but ....

all of the 29-2s that I've owned came with the .500" Serrated Target. But many of my owned 629s came from the factory with the .400" Smooth Combat.

While most double-action shooters choose a narrow, smooth trigger, Jerry Miculek prefers the .260" Serrated Service triggers for speed work.

Factory triggers I'm aware of:
Serrated Target .500
Smooth Combat .400
Smooth Combat Service .315
Serrated Service .260
Smooth Service .260

 

[BUFF]

The M-629 went to the MIM hammer and trigger with the M-629-5 change, so yes, if your 629-4 has a color case-hardened trigger in it now, it will accept any of the other pre-MIM N-frame triggers. Any new trigger may need to be fitted.

 

[MMA10mm]

Thanks guys! Now to find someone with some NOS triggers...

 

[okie john]

Not to hijack this thread, but what trigger options are there for the Model 629-3? Is the stock one flash-chromed?


Okie John

 

[MMA10mm]

Feel free to hijack, thats a good question.

As you may be aware, the lockwork changes from time to time, and sometimes this is minor "evolutionary" stuff and sometimes its major change-the-whole-thing stuff.

Your question is interesting and directly involved with my question as it relates to what generation parts fit on what dash-number pistols.

My understanding, with welcomed correction, is that the only change which totally precludes interchangability on 629 parts is the switch from forged parts to MIM, which happened with 629-5 and onward. Therefore, if I'm right, all the triggers listed above will fit 629 (no dash) through 629-4s. Because of some of the minor engineering changes, not to mention dimensional tolerances, fitting may be needed, though.

Hopefully someone with real gunsmithing experience with 629 triggers will chime in.

 

[Nightowl]

Triggers are interchangeable, some require some fitting. At least if they are of the same "action style" I have not tried to replace a new action trigger with an old action trigger, so I don't know if they would interchange. Obviously, the hammers will not. I think to use an older style trigger in the new action, other parts would have to chage too.

 

[gagunner 2]

I switched the MIM trigger on my 625-6 with a flash chrome one,used original hand.Worked out fine.Didn't notice any difference.One smooth action.It was used ,so I don't know if it had an action job .Pleasent suprise after hearing all the negatives about MIM parts.

 

[MMA10mm]

Wow, that is interesting. I had heard (hear at these forums, actually) that when S&W switched to the MIM parts and frame-mounted firing pin, there was a major change to dimensions (but not design) of the trigger group parts, and that would preclude switching them. Good on you for trying it out.

 

[okie john]

Thanks, but keep the insight coming...


Okie John

 

[David Sinko]

Years ago I bought one of the first run 627-4 8x.38 Super revolvers. It came with a smooth MIM trigger and I hate smooth triggers. I had a nice forged .265" grooved trigger so I had Art Leckie fit the forged trigger to the MIM gun. He made it function perfectly. Eventually I got disgusted with the Super and traded it away. When I traded it I put the original MIM trigger back in and it fit perfectly. I took a NIB 625-4 SAC Mountain Gun in trade and was overjoyed to find that my grooved forged trigger which had been fit to the 627 was a perfect drop in fit in the 625-4.

About a year ago I bought a lightly used 627-5 8x.357 Magnum and once again that smooth MIM trigger had to go. I had another spare .265" grooved trigger that I had bought used at a gun show. This trigger was NOT a drop in part as it would bind before the cylinder could be fully cocked. I then had it fit by Randy Hollowbush in Topton, PA. He said he had to lightly thin the sides of the trigger and modify the hand. Whatever he did now works perfectly and the revolver is even smoother now that I removed all the internal lock components.

This all goes to show that older triggers can be fit to the newer revolvers, if done properly. I do this because I hate the feel of the smooth triggers and not because I hate the MIM parts per se.

Dave Sinko

 

[Wayne M]

Wow, that is interesting. I had heard (hear at these forums, actually) that when S&W switched to the MIM parts and frame-mounted firing pin, there was a major change to dimensions (but not design) of the trigger group parts, and that would preclude switching them. Good on you for trying it out.

He didn't switch a flat faced hammer for the frame mounted firing pin for one with the hammer mounted, hammer nose. There are currently chromed hammers and triggers out there in some models of current manufacture.

As long as you stay in the models with like ignition systems the hammers and triggers will switch, sometimes with some fitting and sometimes they just drop in. Soooooooo.... -4's will accept older flash chromed or case hardened parts which came in, I think, four trigger width sizes and three hammer spur widths. I have as spare parts: 1 target trigger, 1 smooth combat trigger(both flash chromed) and 1 target hammer(flash chromed) to use in the 629. My -4 8 3/8" Classic has a grooved Target trigger and wide target hammer, both case hardened. ANY of the flash chromed parts will work in the gun albeit with some fitting.

I don't know exactly why S&W switched from flash chrome to case hardened(one story I got from S&W sounded like pure BS!) but my local shop began to notice lots of trouble with push off on the flash chrome parts in all models shortly before the switch, we always suspected that might have been the reason for the change.

 

[BUFF]

"I don't know exactly why S&W switched from flash chrome to case hardened(one story I got from S&W sounded like pure BS!) but my local shop began to notice lots of trouble with push off on the flash chrome parts in all models shortly before the switch, we always suspected that might have been the reason for the change."

They didn't.

The hammers and triggers went from color case hardeneing to the same with flash chrome over the color case hardening (for stainless steel guns), then the flash chroming was eliminated, again exposing the color case hardening that had always been there. The case hardening isn't cosmetic, it is a surface hardening treatment to resist wear; it just happens to look very nice when done right. The flash chroming was largely cosmetic so the hammers and triggers matched the finish of the stainless steel guns they came in.

The case hardening was eliminated when the MIM (metal injection molded) parts were introduced. I don't know what the dark finish used on them consists of.

I suspect the flash chroming was eliminated as a cost saving measure and to reduce the numbers and varieties of parts S&W had to manufacture and stock. If flash chromed hammers and triggers were contributing to 'push off,' it wasn't because the flash chroming was soft, it was because the parts were incorrectly dimensioned under the flash chroming before it was applied.

 

[Wayne M]

That's right, Buff. One of the stories I got from Smith was that the EPA made them quit the flash chrome due to pollutant discharge(I did, in fact get that one from a customer service rep). That story sounded like pollutant discarge in itself. Anyway, I always thought that for some reason they were having trouble holding tolerance on the parts AFTER the case hardened hammers and triggers were chromed. Didn't much care for the case hardened look in the stainless guns in the beginning but now I prefer it so guess it's about time for them to switch back. With the quality of some of the MIM parts I've seen this year I'm not sure it makes much difference.