strange occurance with 629

[barryfufu]

Folks, hope all are well.
My son invited me to a barbeque last weekend out on his land. Said there was a guy he knows that had guns he wanted to shoot. When I got there, my son said one was a P&R 629, which intrigued me as I just bought one myself recently. Guy has a 29-2,8 3/8" like new in presentation case with the tools. Also has a 629 NoDash, P &R, 4", in a soft case. His dad passed away just a month ago, left him these guns. He had never even fired a .44 before. Anyway, we fired both with his factory loads, plus his dad's handloads, and my handloads,(cast and 44 specials). After about 4 cylinders of assorted loads, I fired the 629, with factory 240 gr. Winchesters. After the 4th shot the hammer failed to drop after cocking it. The gun seemed to cock normally but the trigger was not releasing the hammer. The gun would cycle normally double action. I found that the hammer would release if I pulled it back as I pulled the trigger and then pushed the trigger forward. It would not fall on it's own. I was puzzled as I have never seen a Smith do this before. After I worked the pistol manually 8 or 10 times, the problem suddenly disappeared and the gun began to function normally,(dry firing on empty cases). I suggested he not fire it anymore until he has it checked out. Please, has anyone out there experienced this before? Could it just be filthy on the inside? I really don't know what to tell this guy. Should this gun be sent to the factory? I guess after 30 years there is no warranty to speak of. I truly appreciate everyone's opinions. Barry

 

[Nightowl]

Sometimes strange things happen with Smith actions. They will frequently bind up when the sideplate is off and things get out of direction. I have to have my hands on one that is having a problem to diagnose it, I am not good of visualizing the insides and figuring out what happened. If it can be repeated, you have a better chance of finding the problem. If you cannot repeat the problem, it could be some stray metal or dirt in the action. Good luck.

 

[turbo38gn]

Is that an Internal Lock gun?

 

[barryfufu]

629 goof

turbo, actually it's a 1981 vintage, the only year the 4" 629's were pinned and recessed. Amazing thing is, I had my 8 3/8" in my truck, both serial #'s were 840 prefix, I believe they were both built on the same day. Some coincedence.

 

[BobR1]

I think I would clean and relube it first, while looking over the internal parts for any obvious problems. Or have a gunsmith do it for you.

I had a Lew Horton Model 24 3" with a problem very similar to this years ago. I sold it to a collector buddy or mine who was the one to discover the problem when trying the action after buying it. I did not even open it up. I took it to Ron Powers, and had it fixed. Not sure what he found wrong with it.

Bob

 

[turbo38gn]

I'm really getting disappointed in these older S&W revolvers. I read here how great they were and how bad the newer ones with ILocks were. How the IL couldn't be trusted to not stay unlocked under shooting situations, yet I keep reading about trigger and hammer failures with the older guns... Wasn't there any pride and quality work done back in the old days.. I think I'll have to sell my old model 19-3, 10-4, 10-7, 1917, and replace them with newer versions..

All kidding aside.. sounds like inactivity set in, maybe a little tuning up and lube... especially if it cleared up after some working of the trigger.. open it up, check it out, no need to jump the gun and send it out. Just some normal maintenace should be all that's required..

 

[ronnie gore]

629

check the side plate screws to make sure they are tight ,if they get loose the side plate can move out letting the internal get misaligned.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I would give it a serious cleaning. I know waaaaay to many guys that still worship at the altar of WD-40 and I can't figure out why. There are too many better products that don't dry and leave nasty gummy film behind. As much as I love my own Grandfather, he was another WD-40 fan club member. My cousin and I had a good time learning how to break down a BAR for cleaning the varnish of decades of WD-40 loose from the internals. What was his answer? Spray some more WD-40 on it to loosen it back up… It worked but it was wiped clean with alcohol and we used some Remoil on it next. I would bet WD-40 is a culprit here yet again.

 

[What the]

It sounds like it may be just a case of the gummies. It hurts nothing to pull the side plate and spray/clean with brake cleaner followed by a light lube.

Thirty years of minimal use and maintenance is frequently the cause of these intermittent problems. Fortunately they are usually a free fix most of us can remedy ourselves.

 

[Rio Vista Slim]

It sounds like it may be just a case of the gummies. It hurts nothing to pull the side plate and spray/clean with brake cleaner followed by a light lube.

Thirty years of minimal use and maintenance is frequently the cause of these intermittent problems. Fortunately they are usually a free fix most of us can fix ourselves.

In 41 years of owning Smith & Wesson revolvers, I've had similar occurrences twice. The first was several years ago with a Model 19, which was dirty under the side plate. The second was with my 686-6 Plus. On that occasion the side plate screws had become loose. Easy fixes both times.

 

[Dale53]

Anyone who shoots a handgun (S&W's in this case) and has a modicum of mechanical ability would be well served by getting a copy of the Kuhnhausen book on S&W's.

It is WELL worth the money and will enable you to diagnose your own problems as well as fix them. If you are NOT mechanically inclined, then it's to the gunsmith for you.

Dale53

 

[Maximumbob54]

I just added that and a few more to my Amazon wishlist. Thank you for the tip.