My name is Red, and I Own an IL Revolver...

[hitecrednek]

This has been a helpful post; 14 lock lovers have been added to my ignore list...

die, kittens, die

 

[akr]

Wheelgunner, I don't even use the lock or pay any attention to it, and I wish it wasn't there. It looks like it is here to stay, and I have bought two new revolvers. I am sick and tired of you whiners. We know you don't like the lock, and I don't care for it either, but I'll be darned if I am going to whine about it the rest of my life. I have had some things happen in my life that were more worthy of a loud whine than that. We that have the locks on our new guns will learn to live with it as we learn to live with other unfortunate things that happen to us in our lives. Some of you remind me of a spoiled little boy that jumps up and down when he doesn't get his way.

 

[Wheelgunner840]

akr,

I originally just congratulated the OP on the aquisition of his new firearm and wished him luck. What got my attention was when this thread started down the "necessity of the lock" road. Like a device is supposed to replace safe gun handling and proper responsible storage procedures. I don't see pointing out the utter ridiculousness of such statements as whining.

WG840

 

[Wyatt Earp]

In Before The

 

[akr]

You are right, and I do apologize to you, Wheelgunner.

 

[Wheelgunner840]

No problemo

 

[Careby]

Originally posted by Wheelgunner840:
Exactly how many of you with IL guns actually activate the silly thing. Please tell me that whenever that gun is not on your person, that you find that little key and make sure all the children in the world are safer...
...I would be willing to bet a whole bunch that 100% of the people who own IL guns tried the lock out of curiosity when they first got it, then unlocked it and never touched the key again.

I tried it when I first got my first IL gun. I don't subscribe to the idea that a lock is necessary or desirable on a gun, but even if I did, it's a pretty poor excuse for a lock. If I had kids in the house I would be more concerned with childproofing than I am, and in that case any gun I don't need to be immediately handy belongs in the safe. Those that DO need to be immediately handy need to be immediately usable. If a locked IL revolver, a key would need to be immediately available, and that means either leaving it near the gun which would defeat the purpose of the lock, or always on my person, and that key doesn't look like something I want hanging around my neck. And that ignores the precious seconds I would waste unlocking under stress, in the dark with shaking hands. So for me the lock is of pretty much zero value. That doesn't mean I don't accept the presence of the lock. It's there, like it or not. I understand why someone would choose not to buy on account of it, but not why someone would become feverishly agitated at the thought of someone else buying one.

 

[Wheelgunner840]

Originally posted by Careby:
I understand why someone would choose not to buy on account of it, but not why someone would become feverishly agitated at the thought of someone else buying one.

I cannot speak for anyone else, but I am not, nor have I ever been "feverishly agitated" at the thought of someone else buying or owning an IL gun.

What agitates me is that S&W would bend over and grab their ankles for the likes of Chuck Schumer, and expect the actual gun owners to just say "Oh well..."

WG840

 

[jspick]

I had a 617, one of the early ones, I don't know the dash number. It was a great gun. I sold it to buy a 5 screw K-22. I just bought a 617-6 this weekend at a gun show with the IL. I almost didn't. I think the lock is a PC item and I detest it. BUT I shot the 617-6 today and can't say anything bad about it. It is a 10 shot all stainless gun. I am going to put a plug in the hole and fill in the slot where the IL is suppose to be and enjoy this one. i still have the 5 screw too along with a 17-3 that is super accurate.

John

 

[45Wheelgun]

Originally posted by stevieboy:
...But, the fact that some lines of products don't have locks is not an explanation for the "lock failure" urban legend.

Well "stevieboy" I guess that makes me a "living legend".

I had a brand new 625-10 fail on it's first outing to the range. Per Smith & Wesson, "Internal Lock spring failure". They must have known they had a problem, as they REFUNDED my entire purchase price, including sales tax and shipping costs. Could a firing pin or other part caused it to fail? Sure, but those parts are required in order the make the gun function. The lock is not.

Failure due to the internal lock can and does happen. I hope for your sake, it doesn't happen to you when it costs you your life. As it stands, clearly you are willing to risk your life over it.

Having said that, I have purchased other guns with locks since, and probably will again, but never a gun that I intend to use for personal protection, and only guns I can't purchase without it (IE S&W 500).

All you "lock fan boyz" claiming this forum is set aside for you, get a grip, 1980-present includes over 20 years of guns without locks. Maybe you could ask for your own "I heart the lock" forum so you can all be alone together?

Geeze, get a room already.

 

[pinkymingeo]

I know how to work on my guns. When I bought a 625-10 I immediately deactivated the lock, and installed lighter springs with an Apex firing pin. The IL is not a factor. That gun had serious lockup problems which S&W couldn't or wouldn't cure, though they screwed up the finish while trying. Misfired about 10% of the time. I fixed it with an extra strength cylinder stop spring, plus some smoothing of the cylinder ramp peening. The IL was about the only predictable thing on that gun until I took care of it's problems.

 

[45Wheelgun]

Originally posted by pinkymingeo:
When I bought a 625-10 I immediately deactivated the lock...

The IL was about the only predictable thing on that gun...

So you solved the lock problem by immediately deactivating it. I guess that is how the lock became predictable??

You can have a problem with any mechanical device, parts fail. When a manufacture introduces parts to a device that are susceptible to failure but are not require for functionality...crap happens. Hope it doesn't end up costing someone their life.

 

[hitecrednek]

45wheelgun-
You are not the only one who would like to see a seperate section for post ILS/MIM guns....

Try adding the names of lock lovers to your ignore list as they pop up. I just went from zero names to 17. Up till now I figured that lovers/haters were still on the same team at the end of the day, so I put up with them...but they have convinced me that trying to talk to one of them is like talking to a liberal. Most of those on my new (and growing) ignore list have under 100 posts and sound like NOOBS to S&W.

I"ve been mostly shooting and sometimes collecting S&W revolvers for 22 years and I'll be damned if I'll have someone who has no clue piss on my leg and tell me its raining.

Please lock lovers, sound off! The more of you I can add to my ignore list, the better.

 

[marvin knox]

Funny - I've read most of the posts lately, here and in other threads.

I find "lock lovers" few and far between.

Lock "toleraters" - lots of them (myself included). People who think the locks are ugly but who've made a decision to not comment on it everytime someone posts a picture of an IL gun -lots of them. People who think it's silly to boycott S&W revolvers that have the lock - lots of them. People who've made a calculated personal choice to go ahead and carry an IL gun based on the odds of failure - lots of them. People who've commented on the total boorishness of many lock haters - lots of them. There are other "catagories" - but you get the idea.

True "lock lovers" are few and far between - in this thread or in the revolver world in general.

I'd be interested to look at the comments that landed someone on the "lock lover" do not read list. I'm betting the names of true lock lovers would almost evaporate.

I'm an information lover and I won't refuse to listen to the point of view of anyone. That goes for libs, conservatives, Christians, agnostics, lock toleraters, lock haters, Ronald Reagan or Osama bin Laden. For that reason I refuse to put anyone on my do not read list - no matter how boorish they may be.

I will say that I'd like to see anyone who makes an unsolicited comment about someone's new revolver's IL - banned from the forum for a period of time. Maybe I wouldn't literally want that to happen. But it sure ticks me off.

 

[akr]

+1 Marvin. You're on my buddy list.

 

[ENH]

That's a "me too Marvin". A big +1

 

[Match10]

Originally posted by stevieboy:
I've been a participant on this forum for about a year and I've read dozens of the "it will lock up all by itself" posts. So far, no one has explained how that can happen.

I have no answers for you, as within an hour of buying all mine, the locks were permanently defeated. I care not a whit about anything else, as I will not be made to be a political pawn in non-issue battles. The lock is just plain stupid, and I'll not tolerate stupid.

 

[akr]

Instead of buying a 629, I bought a Ruger 4" Redhawk with no lock.

 

[ultramag44]

Gentlemen:

We all just lost a HUGE fight last November. The fallout of which will be paid for by the next 3 generations.

In two years, we have a chance to @ least reverse the trend.

Save all the passion for that battle. Let's @ least have peace among ourselves.

Now, I'm not advocating lock lovers & lock haters join hands and sing 'kom-by-yah" around the camp fire.

Let's just not be devided among ourselves. The messiah and queenP love for us to do that.

 

[akr]

I'm not a lock lover. I just don't want to throw $1350 worth of revolvers in the trash, and I also don't want a dust collecting hole in my guns.

 

[Alx]

Revolvers are full of dust-collecting holes and cracks. You have a muzzle hole, 5, 6, or 8 chamber holes, 2 large cracks between the cylinder and frame, a slot behind the cylinder, plus a gap behind the trigger, all just waiting to collect dust. Why worry or even talk about the small and smaller holes left by the removal of all the IL parts.

 

[akr]

You have a point. How is everything in the great state of Tennessee?

 

[bhk]

Dang, I sure hope they never add a fourth and fifth screw to the frames. Talk about ugly and useless!

 

[jspick]

That is exactly what I thought before I became more interested in S&W's

John

 

[haywood]

If you don't like the lock Take it out. My gun works fine. I never tried the lock and if it aint broke I wont fix it.

 

[akr]

Better look out, Haywood. Some of these mental giants will be calling you a lock lover. LOL

 

[marvin knox]

..............Let's just not be devided among ourselves. The messiah and queenP love for us to do that.

I hear you Ultramag!

But I do think that these spirited discussions can serve a purpose, if they aren't done to death.

No one should be unaware of the sign of the times that the dreaded lock sybolizes.

If you don't know what I mean by that statement - you'd better wake up and smell the Obama, cause you've been lulled to sleep somewhere along the way.

 

[phenson]

I'm in no way trying toi be a Smart A**, but I am really curioous. Has anyone ever had a S&W firearm fail due to the IL? First hand experience, not hearsay.
I own 2 IL's one of which is a beautiful case hardened 21-4. Although, I thought the IL was a more costly manufacuring item than Ruger throwing in a joke of a padlock with their firearms, it never has bothered me as much as some I've read on here. I'm 52 and I've been shooting S&W's since I was about 16. IMO, quality is as good as it ever has been since I started shooting. Just for the record, I am not a lock lover. I do love S&W revolvers, and I want to see them continue to be produced. Lastly my personal protection revolver is a S&W model 65 which was made before the IL was around.

 

[Landric]

The short answer to your question is yes, lots of people on this forum have experienced a lock failure, myself included.

 

[Poohgyrr]

Originally posted by RedBerens:
always wanted a 4" Target Model of 1950. Unfortunately, you all know how hard this gun is to find.

So, my name is Red, and I own an IL revolver…

I had to go back to the original post to remember what Red said. Thanks Red, I appreciate your post.

Well, my name is John and I have a few of these myself. I even sold a piece or two in order to buy 'em. The new ones are much cheaper and easier to find than the older ones.

After several years of pleading with SAW to bring back the 3 1/2" M27, preferably an eight shooter, I had to buy one.

It has done very well for me as a carry piece, in a Sparks VM2 or a Mernickle PS6DA. I really like this pistol a lot.

(Yes, when I was a kid, revolvers, derringers, and single shot handguns were all called pistols; they also made autoloading pistols back then.)

Also picked up a 642 I have wanted for many years. It is doing very, very well. You simply can not have too many J frames, especially the Centennials.

My real complaint with these new guns is not having more, I simply haven't gotten a round toit yet.

Here is one of my favorite wheelguns. With only about 500 rounds, it is accurate, reliable, and handy. I still plan to keep the others, they are as special as they always have been.