Model 67 Catastrophic Failure

I read on the Net that the Hong Kong cops sent back some for the same reason. Don't know if its true.

Some Ruger Redhawk barrels also came off, and it was traced to leaving some manufacturing liquid on barrels over the weekend, I think. Whatever that was, it weakened the steel.


T-Star
 
I have been working on a project gun of mine for quite a while....It's a 686-4 2.5 inch. It has been dished for moonclips, I bobbed the hammer, put those sexy Nill grips on it, did an action job, and then installed a C&S fixed rear sight......this is when all the trouble started for me. Since the 686 has the RR front sight, I had no way of adjusting the POI, so I had the front sight dovetailed and had a tritium 1911 sight installed. Thinking that would fix the problem I was really dissapointed that I could not even get the gun to hit my target from 15 yards (the front sight was almost hanging off the dovetail, it looked terrible!).....so back to the drawing board. As it turns out, the barrel needed to be turned to the right a few thousandths.....however this barrel was already severely over torqued from the factory. The barrel was put on a lathe and just turned by hand (no need to turn the lathe on and take too much off the shoulder)......this finally corrected the problem and had I done this at first the RR sight might have worked, but as it turned out I love the tritium front sight and this gun has turned out to be a favorite. I have another 686-4 2.5 inch that I am wanting to convert to a 3 incher......and I'm sure the barrel is probably not aligned or over torqued on this one as well......
 
OP contact S&W. After they deny any problem, blame your maintenance and then blame your ammo, they will quietly exchange your 67's for free M&P pistols.

Thats what they did here. Then S&W will issue a press release announcing your agencies "adoption" of the new M&P pistol!

S&W's QC/QA may not be worth anything, but their PR folks are top notch. ;) Regards 18DAI.
 
Washer?

bountyhunter said:
It has to be torqued in to crush the washer and end up exactly where it should be vertical. Doing it right means shaving the end of the barrel fit surface until it's just right.... doing it lazy means getting a bigger wrench and cranking until the front sight points up.
Click to expand...

When did they start using a washer?
 
18DAI said:
OP contact S&W. After they deny any problem, blame your maintenance and then blame your ammo, they will quietly exchange your 67's for free M&P pistols.

Thats what they did here. Then S&W will issue a press release announcing your agencies "adoption" of the new M&P pistol!

S&W's QC/QA may not be worth anything, but their PR folks are top notch. ;) Regards 18DAI.
Click to expand...

Why not switch them for more 64's/67's since that's what the law requires.
Maybe it's time they try a Taurus or Rugers? Can't possibly be worse.
 
bodyarmorguy said:
The corrections recruits shoot two stages from the 7 yeard line at night. One stage is 3 strings of 6 rounds each utilizing a handheld flashlight. The second is a repeat of the first stage however no handheld flashlight, only whatever ambient moonlight is available. On that particular night it was very dark, just enough light to be able to see the target, however the recruits are essentially point shooting so there is no visualizing the front sight, hence he did not notice the missing barrel. Cadet to RO's ratio is 6:1
Click to expand...

You corrections guys do it differently than LE. I finished my firearms block about a month and a half ago. IIRC, we fired 3x 2-shot strings in ambient light followed by 2x 3-shot strings and one 6-shot string.Then we did the same thing with flashlights, all at 7 yards. I lost one point in the night shoot and that was the only point I lost all day between the 2 handgun relays, the nighttime handgun relay and the shotgun relay. The funny part is the point I lost was during the 6 shot string with a flashlight... I was trying to use the sights as they told us. I should have stuck to point shooting. Oh well, I still won top gun by a wide margin. :D
 
When he lost his barrel I would have thought the change in recoil and muzzle flash would have been a hint that something was outta whack. I'd put money on the over torqued theory.
 
The failure appears to me to have been in the barrel threads; looks like a standard threaded barrel attachment, rather than the 2-piece design. The fracture surface appears to be brittle, and because the guns were fairly new, fatigue is unlikely. Just a guess on my part, but I'd suspect intergranular stress corrosion cracking. Maybe some bad 400 series stainless, or perhaps some improper thread sealant was applied. Looks like a job for a good metallurgist. Regardless, glad that nobody was hurt and that the failures didn't occur during a more critical event. Very bad PR for our favorite gun company; I hope that you get a satisfactory explanation and that you can share it with us. Thanks for posting. -S2
 
Two new S&W Model 67. Less than 800 rounds.
Firing line, night fire. At the same time, two barrels fail.
One flies off the gun and the other is angled downwards.
What is wrong with S&W.
It is not the first time this has happen.
In 2008, I had 4 Model 64's loose their barrels during firing.
They just broke right off.

S&W quality is down, way down.
 
I once talked with a guy who said new S&W's were nothing more than overpriced American made Taurus........maybe there was some truth to it after all!
 
I had this happen to me about 20 yrs ago, with model 64. Actually showed up late for range at Ohio Dept of Rehabilitation & Correction. Picked up the last weapon on the table and fired 1 round at 25 yds. Did not fire a second as I could not find the front sight. The the guys in the next lanes started yelling at me to not fire. They saw the barrel go down range about 5 yds. I sheared off right in front of the yoak. The institution sent all the weapons (about 60) back to S&W for inspection and repair if necessary. Smith did replace the barrel for no cost.
These weapons were about 5 yrs old at the time. With probably several thousand rounds through them.
FCSO117
 
First thing, that not a two piece barrel, second it was over tighen or 125 gr +P has been in it. That +p is the same as a 357 in most ways. S&W will fix it, but to them it will be another fix, nothing else.
 
bodyarmorguy said:
A student, who has consistently been a good shooter, was all over the target. Inspection of his revolver revealed that the barrel was missing....yes, missing.
Click to expand...

Well, at least now we know that even without a barrel a target can still be hit...somewhere. I always did wonder if a bullet out of a chamber would even hit a target at five yards- that is very, very interesting on it's own.
 
Andy Griffith said:
Well, at least now we know that even without a barrel a target can still be hit...somewhere. I always did wonder if a bullet out of a chamber would even hit a target at five yards- that is very, very interesting on it's own.
Click to expand...

That is what I'm thinking-How many rounds did he fire before realizing the barrel was missing??? I'm hoping it wasn't more than 6 :eek:
 
As of today, the 10 Model 67-5 revolvers (I thought we had more) were shipped back to S&W with a request to exchange for 67-6 models. Will keep you updated.
 
There's a compound or process problem there. Who ever made the crack about pinned barrels is right. Threads do make the barrel weaker, but nothing like that . Trade fore some 3.5" 27's and call it even.

Jim
 
A pinned barrel would be the weakest of all. Yet, how many of them failed like this.
 
Back in the 70's when I was but a callow youth, I had a Model 67 (don't remember the dash number, if any). I had loaded up some .38 specials, but had misread the indicator markings on my beam scale and inadvertently loaded a really hot load of Hercules Unique in a batch of them.

The first round I touched off was an immense surprise. There was a huge fireball, and the gun rocked back in my hand like I had fired a .44 mag. Of course, I stopped immediately. On inspection, the only damage was that the particular chamber in which the round was fired was noticeably bulged. Still, the gun held together in spite of my abject carelessness. I sold the gun to a gunsmith for parts, and learned my lesson about paying very close attention to the details when reloading.

I was, however, very impressed with the strength of the Model 67. I guess they don't make 'em like they used to.

John

P.S. Looking back, I realize that was the only mistake I have ever made in my entire life. :rolleyes:
 
Wow, never saw anything like that before.
Corrections here are issued 9mm Glock 19's.
 
I'm certainly no expert in Model 67s but I believe the very latest ones are 67-5s. I have a 67-6 with the 2 piece barrel and the fired case envelope is dated 2008. My 67-5's envelope is dated 2010 so my guess is that if S&W replaces these with the same model they will be 67-5s unless there are 67-6s remaining in the factory. It appears to me the 2-piece barrel (perhaps among other modifications) was the reason for the -6 change and when they went back to the 1-piece barrel they started using the -5 again. However, my theory is only true if the date on the fired case envelopes I have is an accurate guide.

It's interesting to me that despite all the negative comments about the 2-piece barrel these were not.
 
Last edited:
Bodyarmorguy, did the two guns with barrel failures have the same three-letter serial number prefix - CNW - ? Did anyone note the serial number prefixes on all of the guns you shipped back? Were they all the same, or did they cover a range of the alphabet? Concerned because I have a 67-5 with prefix CNJ. Haven't had any problems yet, but I haven't shot the gun much, either.
 
Through a friend in Law Enforcement, I've heard of this happening to Model 66's at his range.

Of interest, these all seem to be striking stainless steel guns...

Hmmmmm....
 
lemeni said:
Bodyarmorguy, did the two guns with barrel failures have the same three-letter serial number prefix - CNW - ? Did anyone note the serial number prefixes on all of the guns you shipped back? Were they all the same, or did they cover a range of the alphabet? Concerned because I have a 67-5 with prefix CNJ. Haven't had any problems yet, but I haven't shot the gun much, either.
Click to expand...

Yes, we have a record of the serial numbers but I don't know them off the top of my head. I will find out and post asap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

3
M 19-4 [Carry Firearm]
Replies
24
Views
6K
Hapworth
H
S
For those interested in the 625JM - Updated Renge results
Replies
20
Views
18K
wkc
W
M
  • Locked
CZ-75B 9mm w/1 or 5 mags, Glock 21 .45acp w/2 mags, AR-15 carbine, Mauser...
Replies
10
Views
6K
MG-70
M
W
About to buy my first gun... ever! Help! :)
2 3 4
Replies
108
Views
9K
iyn
I
Stu1205
You Just Might Be A Gun Nut If.....
Replies
22
Views
6K
Golddollar
Golddollar

Latest posts

Back
Top