Replacement Barrel

[JP .45]

I recently purchased a second-hand 4566, and much to my dismay the thing was shooting EVERYWHERE at the range. Upon closer inspection of the barrel there is a slight bulge and some scuff on the rifling... I think it probably had a squib fired into. I want to replace the barrel and have 2 questions.

1. I called smith and wesson, they said I would need to send the gun in for service. Can I not just get a new barrel and drop-in?

2. Is the 4566 tsw barrel complatible with a 4566?

Thanks for any help!

 

[handgunner356]

There are at least 3 revisions to the barrels plus the TSW barrels and you will need the right one for your gun. Sending it in would be your best bet because S&W will check out the whole gun for you at that time and may take care of any other problems you may have under warranty.

 

[mlk18]

You will be without a serviceable gun anyway, if S&W will fix it for you then I say let 'em. You can buy a barrel and you may be able to drop it in, but I have found as S&W are broke in they tend to mate themselves more than other guns (slide to barrel, slide to frame, etc.). Sometime when replacing "drop in" parts on used guns a little fitting is still required.

 

[Fastbolt]

What handgunner356 said.

Last time I asked about 4566 barrels I was told that S&W still has some 4566 barrels in inventory.

The TSW barrel has a thicker hood than the barrels used in the standard 4566. They would have to modify a TSW barrel by hand in order to make one fit in any particular 4566 slide. This is one of the problems S&W experienced when they were having to make some of their new production TSW barrels fit in some older 4006 slides of CHP guns. I spoke to one of the techs who had done this. It apparently wasn't a quick process.

There's even been some changes in the barrels used in the TSW series. I had a couple of 4566TSW barrels out of guns made within approx a year of each other and noticed some obvious machining differences. In that instance I was told the design changes were for simplification of manufacturing and that the barrels could be used in any 4566TSW, as long as inspection and bench checks confirmed normal fit and function.

Every once in a while, though, it's not unusual to find that one barrel (or other part) may not work in one specific gun, but will work fine in other guns. Just depends on the combination of parts and their aggregate tolerance stack.

I agree it's best to let S&W check your specific gun and install the appropriate barrel in it, so they can check for proper fit & function.