S&W Lock Failure?

[NVBob]

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.

Oh, my...

So here is a question for the "experienced and wise one".

I have read that that a person should fire 500-1000 rounds through their carry gun, using carry ammo, to assess reliability prior to depending on this gun for self defense. Is this a good recommendation? And if I have shot 2000+ trouble-free rounds through my IL revolver, can it be deemed reliable?

 

[ajpelz]

1. Being a smart*** does not get you real far, especially on an internet forum.

To answer your question, it is not, and never will be as reliable as a gun without a lock. The probability of malfunction, no matter how small, is greater than the probability of malfunction when the system does not exist. You may know psychology, but seems like your math could use some work

Shooting hundreds of rounds to test for function is usually more important in autoloaders, not wheel guns. You are checking for FTF and FTE, these do not exist in a revolver. If the load is accurate, performs adequately and you can shoot it confidently, you are good to go with a revolver.

 

[NVBob]

1. Being a smart*** does not get you real far, especially on an internet forum.

To answer your question, it is not, and never will be as reliable as a gun without a lock. The probability of malfunction, no matter how small, is greater than the probability of malfunction when the system does not exist. You may know psychology, but seems like your math could use some work

Shooting hundreds of rounds to test for function is usually more important in autoloaders, not wheel guns. You are checking for FTF and FTE, these do not exist in a revolver. If the load is accurate, performs adequately and you can shoot it confidently, you are good to go with a revolver.

It was "tongue in cheek smart***" in response to the implication that using an IL revolver for self defense equates to lack of brains. I am an admitted novice at this, but I do not buy that argument.

Seriously though, one of my revolvers was having a problem with light primer strikes. This manifested itself early, and I fixed the problem. I didn't "trust" the gun until I fired hundreds of flawless rounds. Now I trust it.

Seems to me that there are a variety of mechanical things that can go wrong with any handgun, but if particular handgun performs flawlessly for thousands of rounds, is not that particular handgun by definition reliable?

I believe that on average, IL revolvers are less reliable than revolvers without the IL, no matter how statistically minute the difference might be. Problem is that statistics like this apply to populations and not individuals.

So, being the admitted novice that I am, I would still argue that if a person shoots thousands of flawless rounds through his gun, he could safely assume his gun is "reliable" by any definition, and he would not be "lacking brains" if he carried the gun.

 

[fighter62]

I think I said it before. Most people I know do not even look at revolvers with a lock. There are plenty of older revolvers out there. And Ruger makes some REALLY nice ones w/o any locks. VERY strong actions too.

 

[tocohillsguy]

I think I said it before. Most people I know do not even look at revolvers with a lock. There are plenty of older revolvers out there. And Ruger makes some REALLY nice ones w/o any locks. VERY strong actions too.

This describes me, but in all honesty I can't say it's principally because I'm afraid the gun will not go bang. My main reasons are:

1. It looks ugly.
2. Revolvers without an internal lock seem to hold their value or appreciate more than those without it.
3. It ticks me off that S&W rolled over and gave in to the Clinton administration's strong arm tactics. The lock is a constant reminder.
4. I've always suspected it's just another area to collect lint and dirt.
5. I don't feel I need it. In other words, it isn't a feature that I feel I need. I MIGHT feel different if I had rug rats running around the house, and no better way to secure the gun.

 

[rpg0123]

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 doubt that since S&W is still one of the top selling handguns. There are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of the internal lock models floating around out there. You haven't heard about it because it hasn't happened.

And, honestly, no, people with experience know that there are lots of other more common and well-documented malfunctions to consider than an internal lock controversy that has never been well-documented.

I'm not wanting to get into a personal battle over this topic. I'm just posting for the benefit of newcomers and browsers who stumble across this site and get the impression that our favorite brand, S&W, is somehow lacking in quality. Not true. As an S&W enthusiast, I don't want them thinking the new S&W they just bought is not any good. I don't want them switching brands on us unnecessarily. I'd rather the casual reader be encouraged by our comments about S&W quality to go buy a revolver and an S&W rather than a semi and a Glock or Taurus.