The Reliability Of New Revolvers

[1slow]

Excellent thread.

1969, I was 12. Dad bought a S&W Model 28 6" barrel Highway Patrolman. This was what I learned to shoot pistol on with everything from .38 special ammo to Super Vel .357 Magnum. I shot that gun a lot, to the point where the action no longer cycled properly double action. I was not familiar then with gunsmithing so am unsure as to what was worn/broken. As a 12 year old you can annoy a lot of adults when you have no problem with N frame .357 recoil.

In 1973 I started on 1911s.

I am revisiting my childhood with 28s, 27s, 1950s K frame .22 4" etc... I really enjoy the level of work on these guns.

Current autos are more tolerant of 10K+ round/year training schedules. I believe this is true of GP100s and Security/Service Sixes as well but the level of work on the older revolvers is enchanting.

[Adam]

I just had this VERY issue with my GP100 .22. In less than 300 rounds "my revolver stopped revolving". I called Ruger and they were very matter of fact about "Try this. It din't work? Send it in." Cost me zero dollars and I had the gun back in less than 10 days. That said I took it to the range yesterday and heated it up and I'm not convinced it is 100% fixed. I've never used S&W customer service (well I broke an ejector once and they sent me a new one I guess) but Ruger seems pretty hard to beat in the CS department, which is an unfortunate thing to have to consider when buying a new gun, but also the reality of it.

Here's my current take: buy the guns you want to buy, from a quality manufacturer and YOU wring them out to see what YOUR experience is with them. I have a buddy who is just crippled against buying a gun (that I own and enjoy) because of things he has read on the internet. Do your research, but what you like.

All that said, if I had my druthers between a S&W 29-3 and a new production one, I'd take the older gun 100% of the time. But that doesn't keep me from having a newer 629 in the safe right now either.

[paherne]

I feel like the old lady in the social media commercial with the "I unfriend you", "This isn't how any of this works!" Does no one remember when Bangor-Punta owned S&W and the absolute crap guns they put out? I think nostalgia is affecting everyone's perception of the actual quality of older guns.

[Totem Polar]

Does no one remember when Bangor-Punta owned S&W and the absolute crap guns they put out? I think nostalgia is affecting everyone's perception of the actual quality of older guns.

I’ve still got a couple of B-P era guns, and they’re better than the new guns I’ve owned. I’m down to one remaining current production gun—which will probably go pretty soon, making 1989 (post B-P, true...) my newest ‘smif.

The reason that everyone dogged on B-P so much in the day is that they hadn’t experienced current S&W CS yet...

[donlapalma]

Any real world issues with the S&W internal locks?

[revchuck38]

Sample size of two, post-lock: M21-4, first edition Thunder Ranch Special (with the bling ), shoots slightly to the left but otherwise flawless. I haven't run any Elmer Keith Memorial loads through it, just one box of the original ammo Black Hills loaded for it and less than a thousand of my handloads of 200-grain RNFPs at 900 fps.

M22-4, another TRS, had a ridiculously small front sight and went back to have it replaced. While it was there (on S&W's dime for shipping) I had them put it through the Performance Center for the Combat Revolver package, had the same 'smith (Vito) work on it that did my M10-8 and 681-2. When I got it back it was spot-on with 230-grain ammo and has a sweet action that'll pop any primer. No issues, would've carried it more often if there had been a way to conveniently carry full moon clips.

I'm pretty damned close to ordering a new no-lock 442 and taking my chances. I've already got 500 rounds of BBWC loaded (for my M14) as well as >2k of 158-grain RNL for the other .38s, and I'm J-frame curious.

[Radar Love]

I had my Security Six jam itself shut during an IDPA match, the ejector rod had somehow unscrewed itself and bound up the cylinder. The revolver was new (to me) and I didn't know the ejector rod could unscrew like that.

[Trooper224]

Trooper224-Excellent post. I tell people all the time that the department armorers at many large agencies in the revolver days would be the equivalent of a master gunsmith today in their capabilities. I also found we shot less rounds more often. You also had to clean and lubricate after every shooting session. Even the turds would clean their guns after a qualification shoot if for no reason than they got to stay off the street longer while cleaning. Firearms inspections at briefing was a regular thing. At my agency, the armorers who worked during the revolver years had to attend and graduate from an actual gunsmithing school at a college in Northern California. I was at the beginning of the auto era and assigned to SWAT for the firearms stuff, so I simply had to go to factory armorers schools that were far less intensive.

Thanks DB. I think the revolver is outstanding in certain aspects. I really see it as a niche weapon these days. There are times and places where a J frame is the only viable choice. I honestly feel most of the shooting public would be best served by a revolver, as most negligent actions take place during administrative handling and these aspects are far more simple and direct with a revolver. For myself I love them, as I suspect you do, because they remind me of a time when giants walked the earth. When I was a young cop with a big iron sixgun on my hip, along with a thirty inch waist and a full head of hair. But, expecting one to run like the Bic Lighter of handguns isn't realistic.

I've already become known as the "gun guy" among my squad of old blue coats. I don't advertise my interests, but it happened as soon as the range officer qualified me and he blabbed to everyone in the office afterwards. I had a discussion with a couple of them last Friday about the mythical reliability of the revolvers "six for sure". Some things just won't die, especially among guys who aren't shooters and haven't been active cops for at least fifteen years.

[HCM]

Any real world issues with the S&W internal locks?

Yes but primarily on lighter weight, higher recoil guns. Generates enough inertia to cause recoil to lock the gun.

[Lester Polfus]

Any real world issues with the S&W internal locks?

The lock on my 638 engaged while shooting Gold Dot Short Barrel 135 grain +p loads.

It doesn't have a lock anymore.