Re-profiled a thumb piece/cylinder latch for my 442...

[WDR]

When I first got my 442 Pro, having not shot revolvers much at all, and used to a "thumbs high" grip with my Glocks, the cylinder latch/thumb piece had a tendency to gouge the first knuckle of my thumb. I now keep a couple tough strips in my range bag, and usually put one on before I draw blood. I realized this is mostly a grip issue (and corrected it by keeping the thumb cocked down), but I also ordered a spare from Midway with the idea to try my hand at re-shaping it to be a bit more thumb friendly. The major bit of metal I took off very carefully on a bench grinder a while back. I finally had some time today, after my daytime chores and taking the scouts to to local Public Safety open house, to finish the project up. Here is how it turned out after a bit of hand grinding on my diamond stone, and a couple hits of cold blue:



I won't win any awards except from the Wile E. Coyote school of gunsmithing... but this gun is for function, more than to look at.

I had sent the gun back to S&W about three weeks ago to see if they could fix the issue I was having with the gun shooting left of POA. The barrel was visibly clocked to the right. It came back today, and while I had the diamond stone out, and I was re-installing the Wilson spring kit that I took out before shipping it for service, I cleaned up the sharp stamped edges on main spring strut where it rotates in the hammer, and where the spring rides/slides before I installed everything back in the gun and put the LG-405's back on. Hopefully I can get out to a range and shoot it off the bench to see if the POA/POI issue is resolved tomorrow. I know fixed sight guns wont always shoot all ammo to the sights, but I am hoping it's at least closer with my wadcutter loads.

[AdioSS]

Took me a moment to realize what you did. Good job.

I would assume that if it still shoots off to the side consistently then you could file the inside of the rear sight a bit to compensate a little? I would try shooting with the other hand and/or get somebody else to shoot it to verify that it is the Gun first though...

[WDR]

I'm fairly certain it's the gun, and not me. This was before I sent it back to S&W. Ten rounds of my wadcutter loads at ~10 yards from a sandbag rest. Having not shot a DAO revolver much before, I'll take personal credit for all the fliers outside the one ragged hole. Point of aim was 6 o'clock on the bull. I was trying not to stage the trigger, but just keep a steady consistent pull going. I shot similar groups with various ammo from the same rest, and had similar results ( none quite as good as my WC loads though), including RA38B, and Federal ball. Unfortunately, I have not yet made it out to confirm if it shoots closer to POA than it did before.

[Nephrology]

I'm fairly certain it's the gun, and not me. This was before I sent it back to S&W. Ten rounds of my wadcutter loads at ~10 yards from a sandbag rest. Having not shot a DAO revolver much before, I'll take personal credit for all the fliers outside the one ragged hole. Point of aim was 6 o'clock on the bull. I was trying not to stage the trigger, but just keep a steady consistent pull going. I shot similar groups with various ammo from the same rest, and had similar results ( none quite as good as my WC loads though), including RA38B, and Federal ball. Unfortunately, I have not yet made it out to confirm if it shoots closer to POA than it did before.

Uhhh... I'd give it a little more time. There is a non-zero chance it is still you, even with the sandbag. Have you installed the Apex trigger or is it stock?

[WDR]

For starters, I wont claim that it cannot be my trigger control ( see the fliers above). But I have shot other DA guns before (notably, my first carry gun, way back when I was young and rich was a Kel-Tec P-11 with a honest to god "staple gun" trigger), just not revolvers so much. It shot to a similar POI with all other ammo including Fed ball, Winchester ball, RA38B, a couple different handloads with 148gr WC and 158gr SWC bullets, etc. That said, the front sight was visibly clocked to the right ( bringing POI left) before I sent it back to S&W. It looks to be much more centered now, but I have not got out to shoot it yet. Sick kids take priority over range time.

I have installed the Wilson Combat spring kit, which is similar to the Apex, but without an extended firing pin. The Wilson kit is a lighter main spring, along with three different rebound springs, of which I am using the lightest one. I've not had any light strikes in several hundred rounds with the Wilson springs installed, even with CCI primers/ammo, so I consider it vetted in that regard. I dryfired the piss out of the gun to start smoothing it out even before I put the new springs in it. If I can get it to shoot straight windage wise, I can deal with some variation in elevation. I put a set of LG-405's on it since good night sights are not really an option without major gunsmith work, and shooting freestyle using the laser and ignoring the sights yields results more favorable, and not trending left.