New 642-1, going back to S&W

[OlongJohnson]

You’re right, 5th edition.
p. 205

Further regarding recent S&W firearms manufacture- it must be stated that more than 60% of the new S&W revolvers received and examined by author prior to publication of this manual have had mechanical problems that, on inspection, were so obvious that these revolvers should never have been shipped by the factory in the first place.

I haven't read earlier editions, and the consistent mentions of Power Customs parts throughout was actually a little odd. It does diminish the integrity of the whole work a bit if Ron Power was the primary writer of new material and did significant other editing in the edition published after Kuhnhausen's death. Putting a photo of himself in the book and the almost exclusive mentions of his own products (no others immediately come to mind apart from Brownell's stuff) without being transparent about his editorial role is pretty weak sauce. I might have to dig up an earlier edition.

But to the point of the defect rate, I don't find it incredible on the face of it. There's a big gap between a gun that will go bang when the trigger is pressed (versus not going bang) and one that passes a complete armorer's mechanical inspection. Look at Dagga Boy's comments about the percentage of 1911s that will pass a complete armorer's inspection and functional tests out of the box. It's very low, and yet they almost all go bang and function well enough that most owners are oblivious. I'm not a trained armorer, but I'm two for two (one S&W, one Ruger) on new production revolvers going home before ever seeing range time, and I've looked at many others that were disappointing by the most minimal of standards in stores. If seriously gnarly burrs on the ratchet count, S&W seems to be close to 100 percent lately.

[HCM]

Kuhanhausen is a pen name. The most recent S&W revolver shop manual (5th ed I think) finally included information about the MIM guns. Updates for the MIM guns are purportedly written by Ron Power, who happens to sell a ton of aftermarket S&W revolver parts.

More than half the guns needing remedial work strains credibility.

Unfortunately it matches my experience with recent production S&W revolvers.

[Irelander]

I called S&W on the 14th and was on hold for too long so I tried their online chat thing. No one was available to chat so I entered a ticket. Got an email same day stating my ticket was in the system and they would get back to me in 3 to 5 days!! Yikes. Still no word from them.

[jh9]

But to the point of the defect rate, I don't find it incredible on the face of it. There's a big gap between a gun that will go bang when the trigger is pressed (versus not going bang) and one that passes a complete armorer's mechanical inspection. Look at Dagga Boy's comments about the percentage of 1911s that will pass a complete armorer's inspection and functional tests out of the box. It's very low, and yet they almost all go bang and function well enough that most owners are oblivious. I'm not a trained armorer, but I'm two for two (one S&W, one Ruger) on new production revolvers going home before ever seeing range time, and I've looked at many others that were disappointing by the most minimal of standards in stores. If seriously gnarly burrs on the ratchet count, S&W seems to be close to 100 percent lately.

I don't think the 1911 comparison is apt. That's a case of issues that don't surface immediately, but impact function when they do. A clocked barrel isn't going to get more clocked by shooting it, nor is it going to tie the gun up if you really shoot it. Or take OP's problem: the gun will still serve in its intended role with the defect it had. That doesn't excuse the lack of attention to detail S&W's exhibit these days, but they're a different class of problem altogether. I haven't seen, e.g. a rash of 929s that ship from the factory completely out of time, or new production guns that skip chambers when you really get on them, or a bunch of guns with enough endshake to seize when they get hot.

I wouldn't buy a new S&W revolver and expect it to be "right" out of the box. IMO they universally need action work and a thorough once over so you don't get what OP had, or a clocked barrel, etc. But I would expect it to function as well now as they ever have. They haven't managed to screw that up wholesale. ...Yet.

[Caballoflaco]

James, you can use it, ignore it, stress about it, or remove it, or replace the gun with a -1 with no lock. If you need a key, you can get one from S&W.

The lock disables the action so the trigger and hammer cannot move. When I have used the lock on mine, it has been to disable the gun while it is in checked baggage. If it were not for that sole, very limited application, I would remove it from mine.



There are reputable reports of locks failing and tying up the gun. The failures tend to happen during live fire on heavy recoiling light guns, such as an Airweight .44 magnum. I do not know of any on an Airweight jframe, but it is possible.

The internal lock on the 642 that I bought back in 2004 locked up the gun during dry fire.

Interestingly, like with Dualist's pistol, the finish on mine flaked off after about a half week of carry in the liquid heat we have here in the Deep South. When I contacted S&W (about the finish) they asked if I had carried it at all and told me tough shit, so it's really ugly but it has been accurate and reliable since I trimmed the "flag" on the internal lock.

[Duelist]

Purchased mine in Jan or Feb of 2004. No issues with the lock. It was my only carry gun for over ten years. Shot it a lot, dry fired even more.

[Irelander]

Still not a peep from S&W. I will give them another call later today.

[Irelander]

Finally got ahold of S&W on Friday. They sent me a Fedex label so I'm hoping to get it sent back to the mother ship today.

[blues]

Finally got ahold of S&W on Friday. They sent me a Fedex label so I'm hoping to get it sent back to the mother ship today.

Wow...I didn't realize that all this time you were awaiting a label. I thought you were awaiting a status report. Sorry to hear this. Please keep us posted.

[Irelander]

Yeah I called S&W a week ago and didn't have time to wait on hold for very long, so I fill out there online form. This generates a ticket that gets dropped into oblivion. I waited the 3-5 days thinking they would get to me since I had a ticket number and confirmation email. No luck. I called on Friday and talked to person after a short wait on hold.