Lock Trouble

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while I agree

Plastic works well

ask cops, of which a giant percentage carry polymer framed guns
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Yes, and double embarrassment with them being autos :eek:. Like one of those bad dreams where your walking down the hall in high school in your underwear :D.
 
The inclusion of a lock on a revolver makes it unsuitable for serious purpose, to me.

Too many nice pre locks still out there, and availble for less cash, to bother with IL guns. :)
 
Like one of those bad dreams where your walking down the hall in high school in your underwear
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Skidder is a funny guy

but in my dreams, the girls were following, begging

and that was BEFORE I owned cool guns
 
G got me a little distracted, but I'm back on track now ;).
Ruger and Taurus made their locks work perpendicular to the recoil of the gun. Thus the chance of recoil having any effect upon the lock is minimized.

The "geniuses" at S&W have their lock working on the same axis as the recoil of the gun and predictably, there are problems.
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This is a real good point on how the mechanisms work.
I've owned two Taurus revolvers with locks and they didn't seem that integrated (hardly knew they were there).
Not sure about the Ruger locks? Anybody got any pics of a Ruger Lock?
 
not sure if this is how all of them work

Looks like I was wrong about the axis on the Ruger.

But it is at the lowest point of the gun, below the fulcrum of the recoil motion

MVC-696F.jpg
 
Thanks for the pic G.

Man, it just breaks my heart to see them built into the revolver. This is definitely less of an obstacle, but still unacceptable.:cuss:

Maybe I should be more diplomatic about the lock.....NOT.
 
I guess they didn't fix it.

I haven't even fired the gun since receiving it back from S&W, but when I went to dry-fire it this evening, it locked up again. Maybe they missed something? I think this is going to settle it for me.
 
Now I know the answer is to send it in to S&W, which I intend to do, but here's my problem. How can I trust it from here on out. This has been my daily carry for a couple years, and it's a great gun. Sure S&W will return it to good working order, but with the lock still in place. If it happened once it can happen again, and I'm not sure I should trust it anymore.
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I haven't even fired the gun since receiving it back from S&W, but when I went to dry-fire it this evening, it locked up again. Maybe they missed something? I think this is going to settle it for me.
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You can't trust it now. You did what was expected and they failed you.
You might have to send it in one more time, but when you get it back, get rid of it! You may take a loss, but I would never feel safe with that gun.
 
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There is a small possibility that something other then the lock is causing the revolver to jam. At this point I would remove the lock and see if it continues to jam, even though that is probably unlikely. If it works flawlessly I would contact Smith & Wesson, explain the situation in writing, and ask that the defective revolver be replaced. This is a reasonable request if the trip to the factory didn't either get the problem fixed, or any other alternative cause discovered.

If this didn't go anywhere I would decide if I liked the revolver well enough to keep it, after the lock was removed. Otherwise I'd dispose of it.

For many reasons I believe in the old saying: They don't make 'um like they used to do.
 
Old Fuff,

Quit telling people to buy old revolvers!!!

They are driving the price up!!!

Oh well, Joe seems a nice guy.

BUT DON"T TELL ANYONE ELSE!!!
 
They don't make 'um like they used to do
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no

The new ones are better
everyone knows that computers are so good the company would be silly to have QC
injection molding makes for better parts than forged
the lock is their for your protection...do it for the children
pinned barrels are just something else to go wrong
sharp edges keep your attention during stress
fit and finish are passe', make you worry about your gun, make it less usable
new revolvers are the best ever

these are the good old days!!!
 
Old Fuff said:
There is a small possibility that something other then the lock is causing the revolver to jam. At this point I would remove the lock and see if it continues to jam, even though that is probably unlikely. If it works flawlessly I would contact Smith & Wesson, explain the situation in writing, and ask that the defective revolver be replaced. This is a reasonable request if the trip to the factory didn't either get the problem fixed, or any other alternative cause discovered.

If this didn't go anywhere I would decide if I liked the revolver well enough to keep it, after the lock was removed. Otherwise I'd dispose of it.

For many reasons I believe in the old saying: They don't make 'um like they used to do.
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I think I'll take that advice. It's certainly not doing me any good as is, and even if it makes another trip to S&W and they "fix" it, it would be nearly impossible for me to trust it enough to carry it again. It could just be that a 13oz fire-breathin 357 is not the best idea.

So I'll take the lock out, and see how she goes. Thanks Old Fuff.
 
Guillermo said:
Old Fuff,

Quit telling people to buy old revolvers!!!

They are driving the price up!!!

Oh well, Joe seems a nice guy.

BUT DON"T TELL ANYONE ELSE!!!
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I am a nice guy. I won't tell.

I do have a pretty nice Model 60. 1988 I believe.
 
I don't think I need to tell anyone anything after they have read this thread. What is obvious... is. As I pointed out there is a remote chance that the lock isn't causing the problem, but if this is the case the real cause should have been discovered while the revolver was back at Smith and Wesson's factory.

Besides what most of today's buyers want is a polymer-frame pistol with a large magazine that will hold a whole box of cartridges that they can shoot up real quick without having to reload. How can the ammunition companies not love 'um? Revolvers are for cowboys who worship the Wild West (Hollywood version), and Old Foggies who are too lame to bend over and pick up their brass. I'm not greedy - all I want is a few thousand of the older, mostly pre-war models. :evil: :uhoh:

Things are so bad that I read how my favorite .44 Special is now obsolete, and the "Big Magnum" is what's cool. OF course the Old Fuff is a bit obsolete too... :D
 
all I want is a few thousand of the older, mostly post-war models.

My favorite guns seem to be from the 50s

but some are from the decade before the war

compromise...I will take all of them from 1939-1959
you can have the ones from earlier than that

deal?
 
I might (just might) consider letting you have everything from 1970 forward, while I take everything earlier... :uhoh: :evil:

And I'll let you have all of the S&W center-fire pistols... ;)
 
O. K. But I hope you understand that I retain the right to corner the market in polymer-based pistols and maybe revolvers if they go in that direction.

I foresee a huge market in polymer revolvers - light weight (ideal for .44 Magnum pocket snubbies), won't rust, and no worries about refinishing. Always safe to carry because with the lock engaged they won’t go off accidentally – or intentionally. :uhoh:

Oh, and much easier to do when you want to cut off the front of the trigger guard... :neener:
 
Guillermo said:
even if it doesn't jam...how can you trust it?
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Well, I took the lock out of my 340PD and of course it works perfectly now. During the process in examining how the lock works, I was shocked. I can't believe S&W would incorporate such a poor design in a handgun designed to be used for self defense. The way that the lock mechanism is supposed to be held out of the way of the hammer by such a tiny spring, is wishful thinking at best. I'm also disappointed that S&W did absolutely nothing to address the lock when I sent it back, when presumably they have a modification for it. Either there is no such modification, or they don't care if my self defense revolver is reliable.

I am going to do as Old Fuff suggested, and shoot it awhile without the lock. If it is flawless, I am going to ask S&W what they can do for me. If they do nothing, I will absolutely never buy a new Smith and Wesson again. I will be forced take the risk of carrying it without the lock. Sending it back to S&W again would be a waste of time.
 
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