Advice on S&W 28-2

[TheBigBulgarian]

------Update------11/16/2005
Thank you all for your posts so far.

I took it to the range yesterday. I had the gunsmith at the range look at the gun and he said go ahead have fun.
It was as acurate as I can be with the 38's. At one point had a nice group of 3 shots in the bulls eye all three were touching each other.
Shooting 38 felt like shooting bb's. The 357 Mags were a different story
The single action is great on it, I shot mostly single action. I sucked with the double action but I guess it takes practice.
After about 45 rounds Flashes started to appear from between the Cylinder and the Back Plate. Has anyone expirienced this? Any advice? I shot another 15 rouds and called it a day.
This the first time I shot a revolver and I think I am in love.


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Ok I guess I have to start at the beginning. I was in the Military in Eastern European Country A few years back, we used ak-47 and Bulgarian Makarovs. So I haven't picked up a gun in a while so I figure I will start with a revolver, it is a bit easier to clean maintain and operate than a pistol. So after some research I decided to go with the 28-2 6" it just caught my eye I didn't like 586 & 686 Smiths as I did the 28-2. SO off I go to the friendly neighborhood gun shop and there are about 5 28-2. I tried a few some had wooden grips some had plastic the wood felt better in my big hands. I asked the store teller which one would he recommend and if the gun that I was leaning towards is in a good or ok condition, but I can trust his advice only since he is trying to sell it. Am I rambling or what. Ok hers the questions.
So I got the gun I managed to talk the price down a bit. so I got it for $300.
I didn't see the tread about picking a good revolver on here until after I had gotten the gun.
So I tested it and when in full lockup the cylinder has very little play on five of the notches but the sixth one is a bit more wore out and the play is bit more. The cylinder does not move back to front. How much play would be something to be worried about? I know that if the cylinder and the barrel are not lined up well the bullet can split and pieces of it can fly to the side. What else could happen and Has anyone experienced it? I haven't taken the gun to the range, but they have a gunsmith at the range I am going to so I think I will ask him for advice before I fire it but I would get some advice from all of you.
The reason I picked the 28-2 is I read and heard that they last at least a life time but again with proper maintenance.
Thank you all in advance.

 

[thatguy]

The N frame .357s are very stout. Some clearance is normal and necessary for function. If the parts are too tight they can't move.

Have you shot the gun gun? Might be a good idea to actually try it before fretting over perceived problems which may not exist.

 

[Ala Dan]

Enjoy~!

The S&W model 28-2 is a very nice weapon that you don't see everyday.
I've had several over the years, but currently don't have one on inventory.

 

[Checkman]

I currently own three M-28's. Two of them are the six inch models and one is a four inch model. One of the six inch models has some slight play on two of the cylinder chambers. I haven't had any trouble with lead spitting though and it's accurate.

A gunsmith I spoke to told me that the cylinder locks up on all chambers when I'm firing it in the double action mode. He informed me that he could get into it and try to fix the problem, but he said that it isn't that significant and that the gun will be fine. He also told me that he might be able to correct it, but he might not be able to.

I don't shoot it all that much and I just don't believe it's necessary to spend money on something that isn't that big of a problem. Anyway I own two more and they don't have any looseness on any of their chambers.Talk to the gunsmith tht you know and see what he tells you. If you trust him then I would reccommend you go with his advice.

I like how the wooden grips look on the big M28's. But I prefer rubber grips for shooting. I like Pachmeyers, but many prefer Houge grips.

$300.00 is a good price for an M28. Where I live they usaully sell for between $350.00 and $400.00.

The M28 is a great handgun. It's big and not all that easy to carry as a concealed weapon, but it's a great shooter. I would hold onto the one you just bought. Smith and Wesson stopped manufacturing the M28 in 1986 and I don't believe there are any plans to start making it again. It was desigend to be a "duty" revolver and cops aren't carrying revolvers anymore. At least not enough cops are carrying revolvers to make it worth S&W's time and money to bring the big M28 back.

Enjoy.

 

[ruger357]

Welcome to the forum and enjoy that great buy you got. Had a 4 inch barrel 28 a few years ago and it also had a little play. Shoot it and if you have no problems with it don't worry.

 

[orionengnr]

from everything I've read

and my very limited personal experience, S&W support is outstanding. If you contact them they may very well send a prepaid FEDEX shipping label and fix it for free, then return it. search around on this forum and at www.smith-wessonforum.com.
Good luck and welcome to the board!

 

[RON in PA]

The fact that the cylinder has little or no back and forth play is a good sign. A little bit of side play is ok. The 28 is a great gun and you paid a reasonable price as they have been going up lately.

Where in Philly did you get it? Sounds like the dealer got a hold on a lot of ex-police guns.

 

[TheBigBulgarian]

Thanks to all that posted so far

I got the gun from Locks gun exchange in North East Phila, Mayfair.Located on the Corner of Frankford ave, Unruh ave and Rowland. They had 4 of the M28 left after I bought mine. I will post an update after I go to the range tomorrow night. I can't wait, but work comes before play :banghead:
Thanks again to all that posted.

 

[Checkman]

Keep us updated. You'll discover that shooting 38's in the M28 will almost feel like 22's. Most .357 magnum loads are very managable in the big old gun as well. I think you'll be very happy with your selection.

 

[ACP230]

I bought one a while ago and there should be a thread in the archives about it.
Also shot groups with mine and posted results in a thread "Some .357 Groups."
Mine rapidly became one of my favoritet N-frames.

 

[P95Carry]

I love all N Frames but the M28 has a place to itself. I'd not quite level it with my M27-2 but fine gun it is nonetheless.

This one was tweaked by a previous owner and has chamber mouth chamfer and a bobbed hammer - the trigger also having been slicked such that it is a butter smooth DA. Even with quite hot loads this gun is capable of pretty fast repeat shots.

 

[Hammerdown]

Hello
I own several S&W revolvers along with a 28-2. It may be that the cylinder needs to be shimmed. They sell a shim or sometimes refered to as a bearing kit at Brownells. This shim is thin and added when you take apart the extractor and cylinder. This allows the cylinder to move back and provides more room for clearence at the forcing cone. First check to see the clearence that is present now before altering this & look closely at the face of the cylinder where the bullet comes out to see if there is any evidence of it actually touching the forcing cone while being revolved, which would prove it needs to be shimmed.. It should have between .004-.012 thousants gap. When a shim is added this sometimes tightens the cylider wobble as it is refered to as it pushes the extractor back towards the hand that revolves it..or it could be a timing issue and a good gun smith can take care of this as well. Just a thought. Hammerdown

 

[BluesBear]

So I tested it and when in full lockup the cylinder has very little play on five of the notches but the sixth one is a bit more wore out and the play is bit more. The cylinder does not move back to front.

You do understand that "full lockup" is hammer down with the trigger pulled and held to the rear?

A tiny bit of play is okay, even in full lockup. Smith & Wessons to not lock up "bank vault tight".
The hand is holding the cylinder from moving in the clockwise direction while the locking bolt is preventing it from moving in the counter clockwise direction.
There has to be some latitude between them or you'd experience excessive wear.
With a cylinder as large as the N-frame it is easy to physically feel the cylinder move one ten-thousandth of an inch.

I have fired S&W revolvers with noticable rotational play in the cylinder that shot extremely accurately and exhibited no signs whatsoever of "lead spitting".

Fire your revolver and then see if there are any problems.

 

[TheBigBulgarian]

Update

Thank you all for your posts so far.

I took it to the range yesterday. I had the gunsmith at the range look at the gun and he said go ahead have fun.
It was as acurate as I can be with the 38's. At one point had a nice group of 3 shots in the bulls eye all three were touching each other.
Shooting 38 felt like shooting bb's. The 357 Mags were a different story
The single action is great on it, I shot mostly single action. I sucked with the double action but I guess it takes practice.
After about 45 rounds Flashes started to appear from between the Cylinder and the Back Plate. Has anyone expirienced this? Any advice? I shot another 15 rouds and called it a day.
This the first time I shot a revolver and I think I am in love.

 

[Sport45]

After about 45 rounds Flashes started to appear from between the Cylinder and the Back Plate. Has anyone expirienced this? Any advice? I shot another 15 rouds and called it a day.
This the first time I shot a revolver and I think I am in love.

Are you sure the flashes were from there? Most likely what you saw was the normal flash you get from the barrel/cylinder gap. If the flash was coming from the rear look for blown primers or excessive sooting of the brass from blowby. I don't have a N-Frame yet, but really enjoy shooting my Smiths. I'm sure yuo will too.

 

[BluesBear]

After about 45 rounds Flashes started to appear from between the Cylinder and the Back Plate.

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I am really hoping you are mistakenly calling the front of the frame where the barrel meets the cylinder "the Back Plate".
If you are seeing flashes between the cylinder and the recoil shield/breechface then, Houston, We have a PrObLeM!!!