S&W Lock Failure?

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o ya, now it makes sense .... reminds me of the Alec Guiness line in the original Star Wars movie as he hypnitically sweeps away the guards' blocking his entry to the cantina.
 
Alx said:
o ya, now it makes sense .... reminds me of the Alec Guiness line in the original Star Wars movie as he hypnitically sweeps away the guards' blocking his entry to the cantina.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I was going for.

"These are not the revolvers you are looking for..."

Works on several levels.
 
Remove it, or buy revolvers that dont have it. You can only do one or the other. After reading all the stuff about the lock,why did he not get rid of it before he went to the range? Merry Christmas!!!!
 
rug357 said:
I have read about the S&W revolver lock failures but I have never seen it happen personally and I don't have any S&W revolver with a lock.

This morning I got a call from a friend who said the lock on his model 60 may have failed. He said he was shooting the revolver at the local range when the on the 5th round he could not pull the trigger. He said the action was "locked" or "jammed" up and he could not pull the trigger. This occured after firing about 30 rounds. He didn't have the key to unlock the revolver and the range didn't have one either so he had to secure the revolver (there was one live round left) and take it home. At home he said he tried to "unlock" the action but he said the key would not turn. It's as if the whole lock and action is jammed. He's going to take the revolver to a local gunsmith to see if it can be "unlocked" next week.

Anybody here ever seen this type of lock failure? Is this what commonly happens when the revolver lock malfunctions?

Anybody else seen a lock failure on a S&W revolver?
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It doesn't sound like a lock failure to me, it sounds like an ejector rod coming loose or a problem with the clyinder pawl/ hand.
 
500 Magnum Nut said:
Alx, I agree with your statement, but remember one thing.
Your dealing with 12 people who couldn't get off jury duty. Some of these people may not be too sharp, if you get my drift. On top of this, they could be in fact prejudiced against gun owners, the color of your skin etc.

The prosecutor is trying to paint you into a corner. So, why play with the idea of a modified gun in a defense trial?
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I agree.

Has it happened? Who knows and how would you know? I love it when people say show me a case where this has been a factor. These people must think juries write decisions like judges explaining they "logic". Or that recorders are in jury rooms. Fact is we really don't know why juries render a particular verdict.

When in doubt play it safe is my approach.

Now when you think you may need an extra mag or gun, but that could be used against you, I say carry it. Then I accept the logic of survive first, worry later. But when you can buy used guns or new guns without the lock for carry, why carry a gun with a lock that may lock at wrong time or disable lock and give them something to use against you.
 
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Aw Jeez, not this again. This never ending lock paranoia is a perfect example of human psychology...people tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time worrying about things that are unlikely to happen. By reading all these posts, you'd think locks are coming apart all over the place, and that our very existence is in peril since if we own IL revolvers. Never mind that our blood pressure and cholesterol are too high. Never mind that there is a 1 in 84 chance of dying in a car wreck... WE OWN IL revolvers...the sky is faaaaalllllliiiiiiinnnnnngggg.
 
Gee, we'd gone nearly 10 whole days without an "I hate the lock" rant and now, we have TWO of them running simultaneously. I think I'll go watch football or something.
 
People who are in traffic jams always blame the others for being there, just like those who post complaints about IL lock complaint threads, in those very same IL lock complaint threads ...
 
the only reason i bought a gun with the IL was that it was in like new condition and was a good deal.
the lock problem didn't show until I started shooting it.
since the gun was a solid gun and a good shooter except for the lock, It was easier to just remove the flag and make it a safe, good shooter.
other wise I don't buy IL guns and won't in the future unless another good deal came along on one.
then i would determine whether I was going to carry the gun or just shoot it before I would do anything to the lock.
as has been stated before, the IL is a storage device only! not a carry safety.
no person in his right mind would use the damn thing in a carry situation and ask the person threating them to stop while they fumble for the special key to unlock the gun so they could defend himself.
 
I used to buy the whole no lock thing. I just think it's a tempest in a teapot now. Chance of ever having to use a gun in a self-defense situation in your life - next to nothing. Chance that at that very same moment you would experience a rare malfunction - closer to next to nothing. Jamming of a semi-auto happens more frequently than failure of an S&W IL, yet I don't see hysteria about it. I prefer them without the lock, but the lock is there to stay, so if a new model comes along that I like that has the lock, I'm not going to refuse to buy it for that reason alone. Everybody has to do their own thing though.
 
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Last time I took my 638-3, my only IL firearm, to the range, I ran a cylinder-full of every +P I had (probably why my had hurt after!), including Remington 125gr. SJHP and Federal 158gr LSWCHP.

Gun functioned fine, but I
a. still carry a BUG
b. carry my 640-1 more
c. I am looking to replace it w/a no lock something!
 
FWIW, JM2C, I've probably ran 500 rounds or so of various other weight and types of .38 Specials and +P through the 638-3 with no bobbles.
 
no person in his right mind would use the damn thing in a carry situation and ask the person threating them to stop while they fumble for the special key to unlock the gun so they could defend himself.
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Some people are not as bright as you think:eek:
I get a kick out of seeing that the majority of peeps that defend the lock, have a gun with the lock.
 
FWIW, early last year I saw a women at the range experience a lockup on her new S&W. Couldn't open the cylinder, pull the trigger, etc. I wasn't that into revolvers at the time, so I can't tell you what model it was, but in hindsight I would guess it was a 686, because it clearly wasn't a stubnose, and I recall it being larger than a J Frame. She was complaining to the store employee that she was told that revolvers were more dependable than pistols, yet her gun didn't work. The employee told her it would have to be sent bad to the factory, but when it returned it would be better than new because a S&W gunsmith will have paid particular attention to it. Given that it was new it must have had the lock, but I can't say if the lock was the cause of the problem. On the bright side, a locked 686 makes a much better club as compared to a jammed polymer automatic.
 
Not to beat a dead horse, but just food for thought - I have yet to open my morning paper and hear of a poor fellow found shot dead on the street with a S&W revolver in his hand, flag popped up. After almost a decade with them on there...
 
My guess as to why you have not read of that happening, is because people with any experience............or an ounce of brains, don't carry IL revolvers for serious purposes. Regards 18DAI.
 
I can't tell you what model it was, but in hindsight I would guess it was a 686, because it clearly wasn't a stubnose, and I recall it being larger than a J Frame.
Click to expand...

Huh, I've never heard of it on an L frame; Always been a J or a Scandium hard kicker of some kind. A dealer on another site I frequent said after all this came out he asked his rep about the locks and the guy said S&W was aware of the problem but had no plans to change them - No IL guns for this boy.
 
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