My first Smith, trigger problem. Need advice. 10/23 Problem solved.

[ccjcc81]

'Officially" you broke the warranty, but if S&W had made it right the first time or when it was sent for repair, you wouldn't be in this mess. It does pee me off that S&W forgoes factory inspection for letting their customers do the dirty work of sending and waiting, hoping it will be fixed. I think I'd let them know that in a very gentle and civil way and that you bought it and sent it back only to have it returned with a rudimentary 'fix' and that you are frustrated. Maybe they'll just give you a new gun or something.

I agree. The frustration I can deal with. I get pissed, later I calm down. Life is frustrating. I'll get over it and cool off. What I don't think any customer should have to deal with the anxiety of worrying that a gun that costs over $800 is going to come back a second time and not work. I don't like anxiety. And yes, I did over-pay for this gun. I found one in stock at a local gun store, and was amazed that they were charging $759 for it. My FFL dealer could order it for $679! But he said he doesn't expect his distributor to have one in stock in the near future. I tried to talk them down at the store I bought it from, but the guy straight up told me that he got 3 in last week, and two have already sold. If it was something that had been on the shelf for a while, he'd work with me, but that pistol will sell by the end of the week. I believed him. $830 for a defective gun. At least I've learned a lesson about thoroughly checking firearms before taking possession of them.

Anyway I think I've complained about all the forum can tolerate, so I'll stop beating the dead horse. I'll surely let you guys know if it works when I get it Friday. Here's hoping.

 

[m31m45]

Had the exact same issue with a new 629. I sent it back and got it returned in about 2 weeks. The replaced the sear and now it is very smooth. Unfortunately this is the second new revolver I had to send them in the last two months. The other was a new 29 classic with a firing pin issue. It was also returned fix in about 2 weeks.

 

[bigfatty]

I agree. The frustration I can deal with. I get pissed, later I calm down. Life is frustrating. I'll get over it and cool off. What I don't think any customer should have to deal with the anxiety of worrying that a gun that costs over $800 is going to come back a second time and not work. I don't like anxiety. And yes, I did over-pay for this gun. I found one in stock at a local gun store, and was amazed that they were charging $759 for it. My FFL dealer could order it for $679! But he said he doesn't expect his distributor to have one in stock in the near future. I tried to talk them down at the store I bought it from, but the guy straight up told me that he got 3 in last week, and two have already sold. If it was something that had been on the shelf for a while, he'd work with me, but that pistol will sell by the end of the week. I believed him. $830 for a defective gun. At least I've learned a lesson about thoroughly checking firearms before taking possession of them.

Anyway I think I've complained about all the forum can tolerate, so I'll stop beating the dead horse. I'll surely let you guys know if it works when I get it Friday. Here's hoping.

I wish I had your LGS. My way, it's full MSRP with an occasional sale for maybe $50-$100 off that ... not to mention a boatload of taxes.

As far as the dead horse goes, hey -- if it's still bleeding, keep on beating it! Since the 70's I've owned revolvers by Colt, S&W, Ruger, Taurus, and even lowly H&R. The only ones I've ever seen defects on were S&W's. And, I'll keep beating until they've done me right. Three new S&W revolvers in four months, three unacceptably defective revolvers. When people accept less than mediocrity, that is what they will continue to receive. Mine would have to ship by Friday for me to get the two weeks everyone else seems to get ... once again, it ain't happening for me, it seems. Sorry, but I'm just flat out sick and tired of paying hundreds of dollars for "new" guns, then having to call and explain their problems, get a label, pack it up, ship it off, and then wait weeks to get it, all the while being without what I paid for and fretting that it still won't come back right.

 

[ccjcc81]

I just received the revolver. It's fixed. There's no stacking in the trigger pull. It is now as I initially expected a Smith trigger would feel like. Actually, it's a little lighter. I think they worked some mojo on the single action pull for sure, and the double seems light. So it may have gotten some bonus TLC. Now that it's all behind me, I'm happy. I put some Pachmayr Compact Professional grips on it. They're great for small hands. Now I guess I just need to shoot it and make sure everything is working properly before I carry it. Thanks for all the help and advice guys, and for allowing me to vent my frustrations without reprimand. See you around.

 

[turbo38gn]

I just received the revolver. It's fixed. There's no stacking in the trigger pull. It is now as I initially expected a Smith trigger would feel like. Actually, it's a little lighter. I think they worked some mojo on the single action pull for sure, and the double seems light. So it may have gotten some bonus TLC. Now that it's all behind me, I'm happy. I put some Pachmayr Compact Professional grips on it. They're great for small hands. Now I guess I just need to shoot it and make sure everything is working properly before I carry it. Thanks for all the help and advice guys, and for allowing me to vent my frustrations without reprimand. See you around.

Good to hear it's fixed!!! now be sure to give us some updates on shooting it. It's always nice to give a compliment when deserved......

Oh ya... I knew you had small hands!!!

One more thing..... I live 10 minutes from S&W, many here know that and also that I am a fanboy.. ... Last night was date night for me and the wife.. We ate at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in W. Springfield.. while eating I ran into an old high school friend... who happens to have worked at S&W for about 40 years... I bumped into him about 2 months ago, last time there and he was test firing guns ...... guess what he's been doing for the last couple of months....

 

[bigfatty]

I just received the revolver. It's fixed. There's no stacking in the trigger pull. It is now as I initially expected a Smith trigger would feel like. Actually, it's a little lighter. I think they worked some mojo on the single action pull for sure, and the double seems light. So it may have gotten some bonus TLC. Now that it's all behind me, I'm happy. I put some Pachmayr Compact Professional grips on it. They're great for small hands. Now I guess I just need to shoot it and make sure everything is working properly before I carry it. Thanks for all the help and advice guys, and for allowing me to vent my frustrations without reprimand. See you around.

Great news! I'm happy for ya. Enjoy!

 

[Pef]

I agree. The frustration I can deal with. I get pissed, later I calm down. Life is frustrating. I'll get over it and cool off. What I don't think any customer should have to deal with the anxiety of worrying that a gun that costs over $800 is going to come back a second time and not work. I don't like anxiety. And yes, I did over-pay for this gun. I found one in stock at a local gun store, and was amazed that they were charging $759 for it. My FFL dealer could order it for $679! But he said he doesn't expect his distributor to have one in stock in the near future. I tried to talk them down at the store I bought it from, but the guy straight up told me that he got 3 in last week, and two have already sold. If it was something that had been on the shelf for a while, he'd work with me, but that pistol will sell by the end of the week. I believed him. $830 for a defective gun. At least I've learned a lesson about thoroughly checking firearms before taking possession of them.

Anyway I think I've complained about all the forum can tolerate, so I'll stop beating the dead horse. I'll surely let you guys know if it works when I get it Friday. Here's hoping.

A word of advice....don't drive yourself batty. If you end up buying a lot of guns, you will find that many of them have issues, some more than others. Yours required fixin'. Glad it's fixed.

I have a Model 63-5 that requires the sight to be noticeably off center, but now it shoots straight at all ranges and groups remarkably. I thought about sending it back to S&W, but then I realized it would be a real pain to box it, etc.

I've had to send three guns back to S&W - 1) broken trigger pivot pint; 2) broken hammer stud and 3) very loose yoke and cylinder. Each time S&W delivered.

If you think about it, you could have just sent it back to S&W a second time.

Nicks, chips, scratches, stacking, canted, catching, pitting - these are very, very small things in life.

 

[scooter123]

If you intend to carry with Magnum ammunition make sure you do some testing with Magnum ammunition and do it in Double Action. As for why, it's been my experience that Magnum primers require a firmer hammer strike than standard primers. So if S&W tuned your trigger a bit on the "light" side and you don't experience any misfires in Double Action you'll know for sure that the trigger wasn't tuned too light.

BTW, I have a recently acquired 1971 vintage 2 1/2 inch model 19 that I am working on sorting out for this specific issue. When purchased the DA trigger pull was 8.5 lbs and it ran fine with 38 spl. in double action but with Magnums the misfire rate was about 1 in 3. Wrapping 0.006 inch thick shim stock around the mainspring where the Strain Screw contacts it took the DA pull to 9.0 lbs. That resulted in a 1 in 6 misfire rate in Double Action. Next step I'll be testing this weekend. That being a primer cup sanded down in thickness enough to take the trigger pull to 9 lbs. 8 ounces. If that solves the problem I'll purchase a new Mainspring and a new Strain Screw and fit the two so that I duplicate that trigger pull with the new parts. Because I already know that a brass primer cup will tend to thin out rather quickly if I were to try and rely on that as a solution.

Point is that one distinct advantage to the S&W Leaf type Mainspring is that it allows the lockwork to be much more "tuneable". In addition the later Firing Pin in Frame models provide for another tuneability option. Because if my older model 19 featured a firing pin that was available in different lengths I could resolve my misfire issues by simply changing to a firing pin just 0.01 inch longer.

 

[ccjcc81]

Good info, thanks.

If you intend to carry with Magnum ammunition make sure you do some testing with Magnum ammunition and do it in Double Action. As for why, it's been my experience that Magnum primers require a firmer hammer strike than standard primers. So if S&W tuned your trigger a bit on the "light" side and you don't experience any misfires in Double Action you'll know for sure that the trigger wasn't tuned too light.

BTW, I have a recently acquired 1971 vintage 2 1/2 inch model 19 that I am working on sorting out for this specific issue. When purchased the DA trigger pull was 8.5 lbs and it ran fine with 38 spl. in double action but with Magnums the misfire rate was about 1 in 3. Wrapping 0.006 inch thick shim stock around the mainspring where the Strain Screw contacts it took the DA pull to 9.0 lbs. That resulted in a 1 in 6 misfire rate in Double Action. Next step I'll be testing this weekend. That being a primer cup sanded down in thickness enough to take the trigger pull to 9 lbs. 8 ounces. If that solves the problem I'll purchase a new Mainspring and a new Strain Screw and fit the two so that I duplicate that trigger pull with the new parts. Because I already know that a brass primer cup will tend to thin out rather quickly if I were to try and rely on that as a solution.

Point is that one distinct advantage to the S&W Leaf type Mainspring is that it allows the lockwork to be much more "tuneable". In addition the later Firing Pin in Frame models provide for another tuneability option. Because if my older model 19 featured a firing pin that was available in different lengths I could resolve my misfire issues by simply changing to a firing pin just 0.01 inch longer.

 

[vipermd]

guess what he's been doing for the last couple of months....

Testing new 3" 686's??????

 

[turbo38gn]

Testing new 3" 686's??????

Hehehe ..... noooo, he is the last guy on the end of the assembly line. The way he explained it to me is each part is installed by one person after another as it passes down the line, when it gets to the end, if there is an issue with it's function, he gets it. He gets to figure out what part is screwed and he makes it right. I'll have to grill him a little more next time I see him, but it sounds like he function dry fires each gun before it gets live fire..

 

[sarg1c]

May I suggest something here. If you had the side plate off be sure you didn,the mix up the screws ? The screw that holds the crane in is different than the others and can mess up the cranes function and cause binding .just saying check the screws...