I have been in the happy circumstance of being able to inspect, examine, disassemble and snoop inside of Smith & Wesson revolvers made from the Civil War during the 1860’s to present. The guns they made during the latter 19th century and early-middle 20th represented the finest handgun workmanship in the world. They did things with relatively crude machinery that isn’t matched today. Their actions are so smooth, and they lock up like a bank vault. They were made with highly skilled human hands, not CNC controlled machines.
But…. And this is a very big “but.”
The materials they used, which were the best available at the time, don’t even come close to those used today. And labor costs have risen to the point where if they built guns “the old way,” you wouldn’t be able to afford to buy them.
The objections to the lock are partly practical, and partly emotional. But the fact is they are there, and will stay there, because our court system allows attorneys with an anti-gun agenda to try and sue firearms companies into bankruptcy.
I admit to buying the older guns. Most of the present models don’t particularly appeal to me. I’m more of a blued-steel sort of guy, and they’re increasingly into stainless, aluminum and plastic. But again, that’s where the market is going.
The nice thing though is that everyone can choose – old or new. It simply depends on what features are most important to you.
with who knows how many parts ? collecting all sorts of debris, if any one were to actually use the lock they would be asking for a problem that should not exist in the 1st place.
