Model 639 Accuracy (or lack thereof!)

[TAROMAN]

Just purchased a nice model 639 out of an estate. Dry as a bone and reeking of tobacco smoke. Appears to have been fired very little and spent years in a drawer. So I field stripped it, cleaned and lubed it, and headed to the range with a brick of WWB 9mm. Figured it might need some breaking in.

Well, it functions perfectly. However, at 10 yards, offhand, I could not shoot any consistent group. I consider myself to be a competent shooter, in the same session I put 10 rounds from my Glock 30 into 1 hole at the same distance.

Would appreciate any experience any of you may have. Will this break in better (I doubt it). Are there any accuracy upgrades that apply here? I'm not looking to make this a match gun, but would hope that it could equal or come close to a Glock or a stock 1911.

 

[357larry]

Since you say it was dry when you got it I would be concerned about the frame rails. I have seen a few autos in my day that were shot with no lube and the rails suffered. Check for lateral as well as vertical play between the slide and the frame.

I currently have an early 639 that shoots great. A lot depends on the care the gun receives. As yours came from an estate sale I would be concerned about the care it received.

 

[RedBerens]

Could just be it doesn't like that ammo. Try some others in different weights, and maybe a box of premium hollow points to see what it prefers.

 

[Bruce51]

Mine has never been a target pistol especially with factory ammo.
If you reload the 124TC bullets seem to work the best. You can get these cast or plated. The longer straight bearing surface of the TC bullet
gave me the best accuracy. Try some 115 grain JHP's as these work well, but cost more than the FMJ WWB or PMC.

Bruce

 

[FirebirdV8]

Because I don't know your shooting history, is most of your experience with a Glock or similar striker fired pistol? A lot of shooters get used to the striker fired system and are thrown off by a TDA trigger system.

Also, how does the rifling in the barrel look? I haven't heard of many people having issues with accuracy on the 39 series. The simplest thing to try is different weight ammo and see what works best.

 

[TAROMAN]

Good questions all. Thanks for your input.
1) When I stripped this for cleaning and lube, I inspected the slide/frame interface machining before greasing there. No sign of galling or any wear at all. There was not a speck of carbon anywhere in or on it. Barrel looks fine to my naked eye, though I don't have a borescope for closer analysis.
2) I fired 1911s in competition in the Army and S&W revolvers extensively in IHMSA competitions. Currently, I mainly fire a 1911 in club competitions. The Glock is a HD weapon that I practice with regularly. Interestingly, along with the 639 and my Glock, I also fired 50 rounds with a newly-acquired VZ82 9x18mm. Did just fine with it, in fact, it amazed me with its accuracy.
Ammo is a question. I generally use factory loads for break-in. In fact purchased 500 for this gun. As this is my first(!) 9mm, I am not set up to load for it. My experience has always been that with anything I load up with I can fire an acceptable group at the 10-yard range.
I'll find some Federal and see how that goes.

 

[Bruce51]

Break in

Your post made me realize that I have never had to break in a Smith & Wesson auto. They seem to be good to go right out of the box.

Bruce

 

[WR Moore]

Changing from one pistol action type to another usually results in disappointing grouping. Doesn't really matter which way you go, you're still adapting to an unfamiliar trigger action.

Also, you may have purchased a weapon that came straight home from the store to the sock drawer. The rounds you put through it may well have been the first ever fired through it. That being the case, a couple of hundred rounds should knock off the various burrs and go some ways toward smoothing machining marks on the sear faces.

 

[snw19_357]

...brick of WWB 9mm.

Is this what you use in your 1911s, etc.?

Have you tried a different brand?

 

[18DAI]

I agree with trying different ammo first. WWB is of varying quality in my experience.

I'd also clean the barrel with some JB bore bright too. Couldn't hurt.

My 3906 is far more accurate with Remington and Winchester Ranger than with WWB. Good luck!

Nice looking 639 you have! Regards 18DAI.

 

[TAROMAN]

I use WWB as "breakin" ammo. In fact, in the same session, I fired a magazine of it in .45ACP to check new night sights I'd installed on my Glock 30. Those 10 I could cover with the pad of my thumb. Not match grade, but I've never been unable to get a group in any weapon in which I've fired it. I have a brick of Remington on the shelf to try nexttime out.

The 639 would not give me a group. Another lister contacted me offline to check barrel end-shake when locked up and this appears to be excessive, which would result in just wnat I experienced.

 

[k22fan]

In my experience, WWB & Rem. .45 acp RN FMJ are O.K. but both of their inexpensive FMJ RN 9mms are not sufficiently accurate in multiple guns to use in action pistol & PPC type matches fired indoors at 50 ft. & closer. I certainly see lots of other competitors use WWB & Rem. FMJ 9mm but from your former IHMSA shooter's perspective they can't shoot and don't know the difference.

The good news is your model 639 might be accurate with other ammo. The bad news is a friend who is a good shooter had one for a while and it was not accurate with anything. Another friend had to peen the inside of his 439's barrel bushing and or dimpple it outward to get good groups out of it. Your 639 probably does need a tighter bushing. I believe S&W improved the accuracy of their 9mm autos with the pressed in 3rd generation bushings.

The problem with discussing service gun accuracy with self defense oriented shooters over the internet is that group sizes are rarely mentioned and many of them do not expect the level of accuracy an IHMSA shooter can take advantage of.

Best Regards,

Gil

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I have an M-639 with adjustable sights, blackening the front sight made a big difference.