Question about my S&W's internal lock

[megatronrules]

Has anyone here who has disabled the internal locking by grinding the stud off the locking flag but leaving the flag inside the gun,had any issues with the other lock pieces left inside the gun? Has anyone here had the remaining lock pieces fall into the frame of the gun or otherwise cause issues?

 

[danbrew]

From a mechanical perspective, there's nothing to cause a problem if you have ground the stud off the flag. The flag can't go anywhere as that piece is held in place by the cylinder bolt. I've simply removed the flag and put it all back together (sans flag) on a few of my S&W revolvers and haven't noticed any problems. All of the rest of the pieces are also held in place by the cylinder bolt - I can't envision where they would fall off to of that they would have room to do so.

I like the idea of grinding it off, yet haven't done that in case I want to put it back in and later sell the gun.

 

[DAdams]

Can't

Leave that lock alone can you?

You are going to create more questions and issues (in your mind) fiddling with that lock than if you just lived with it.

I can't envision where they would fall off to of that they would have room to do so.

Not a real confidence builder. Iv'e also heard a bit of LocTite will set all the components in place so they can't move.

 

[megatronrules]

Any chance S&W will reinstall the lock in this thing for me,and maybe fix the scratch I accidentally put on the side plate? I took the gun off to place it the console of my wife's SUV and didn't know she had a set of keys in there,very bad indeed. I ended up with a scratch on the gun's sideplate.

Its going back to S&W for some cosmetic issues,but I have to say awesome gun and a hoot to shoot with .357's. The looks I get at the range are priceless as they see it and assume its a .38 special snubby. but after the first BOOM! they look at me and say "what the heck is that thing?"

 

[DAdams]

after the first BOOM! they look at me and say "what the heck is that thing?"

Priceless.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Buy a pre lock.

 

[SaxonPig]

I suggest you do what I do with the lock: ignore it.

Functions perfectly with the lock intact and I never have to worry about mechanical or legal issues from messing with it.




If you are unable to live with the lock then sell the gun and buy something that doesn't have one.

 

[Guillermo]

in order to save time...this is the abridged version of how this thread is going to turn out.

A few guys are going to say that your modification is legally dangerous.

Some people (like me) will rail on S&W calling the lock ugly, dangerous and a stain on the soul of the company for capitulating with the Clintons.

A fair amount of people will come in and talk about how modifying a storage device cannot put you in legal peril

The "you gonna get sued" people will come back quoting Masaad Ayoob

The "it's your gun, grind away" people will insult Masaad

a smattering of folks will tell you to sell it and buy a pre-lock

The post-lock Smith haters (like myself) will pop in for one more hit and run, insulting the IL and anyone who likes it

In the end you will be so confused that you will start a new thread (with a poll) asking what you should buy.

The results will feature Glock winning with 42% and the comments will be a virtual cage fight between the Glock and anti-Glock forces

 

[Old Fuff]

Yup.... and the Old Fuff will sit this one out. If we could recapture all of the bandwidth that been expended on this subject we could set up another forum. It's almost as bad as the "Why does my new 1911 pistol jam all the time" threads.

 

[woad_yurt]

Guillermo:
That was succinct, perfect! ¡Bien dicho!

Why don't the moderators fuse all of the "S&W lock: Pro/con/gripe/mumble/grumble/murmur threads into one giant one, like the Wal-Mart ammo thread? They all seem to flow in the same direction anyway.

 

[PT1911]

I will never understand people obsession with the locks. I see no problem with having them (or not having them), but why risk screwing something up? What is the problem with having the lock option... I do not know of any quality gun that has locked itself and if you lock it and forget in a time of need, then that is on you... you shouldnt have locked the thing in the first place.


if all else fails... buy a pre-lock... I am pretty sure any sort of grinding will void any warranty through the manufacturer in which case you would have been better off buying used anyway so the "New" gun stance is void.

 

[Guillermo]

I will never understand people obsession with the locks. I see no problem with having them (or not having them),

see the 3rd line of the Abridged Version

Some people (like me) will rail on S&W calling the lock ugly, dangerous and a stain on the soul of the company for capitulating with the Clintons.

 

[PT1911]

I will never understand people obsession with the locks. I see no problem with having them (or not having them),

see the 3rd line of the Abridged Version

correction to my previous statement

I think they are useless, I dont use them, and I do have guns with them... JUST DONT USE THE THING.

I understand where people dont like them, just not why those people would rather buy one and modify it (grind) then just buy one without the lock.

Functionally I see no issue with the lock, I just ignore the thing and shoot as normal. I suppose if one were to lock the thing in storage and forget, there is a possibility of mishap, but why the hell would you do that?

maybe I am just thinking too simply, but I dont see any possible benefit to grinding off the lock or disabling it otherwise. It will not change the look of the gun and only achieves something you could do by simply not using the thing... and you dont void any factory warranty AND risk screwing up the function of the gun.

 

[Old Fuff]

I said that I would stay out of this, but I will make this one post and then quit.

In and of itself, the lock doesn't bother me that much, and while I don't like it I can quickly fix it so that it no longer represents a problem, other then a cosmetic one - which is a minor consideration.

But revolvers that have the lock also have some other questionable improvements that came about because of production cost issues. While I understand why they were necessary for economic reasons, they still are undesireable to me for various reasons. Older guns for the most part don't have these features, and for that reason I believe I can buy a better product, often for less money, on the second-hand market. This observation is not limited to a certain manufacturer, or exclusively to firearms. Unfortunately the kind of quality I insist on would no longer be affordable (at least for me) in new production guns. I believe that at least some buyers that object to the lock do so for the same reasons that I do. A long lifetime, and the experience that goes with it, is the basis for my judgment.

 

[Guillermo]

revolvers that have the lock also have some other questionable improvements that came about because of production cost issues

Sage one...please elaborate

 

[woad_yurt]

Bad new things:
MIM!
Sharper edges!
Less TLC at the finish level!

 

[SaxonPig]

I think I offered the quick and dirty.

Ignore the lock or don't own one.

 

[batmann]

Guillermo-----Well said, well spoken. Agree or disagree, that sums it up!

 

[yeti]

third line!;
eighth line!!