Rumor Mill: Smith to phase out the Internal Lock?

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earlthegoat2

earlthegoat2

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Was perusing Wikipedia and started reading up on the history of Smith and Wesson and it got to the subtitle of the internal locks and it said that as of March of 2009 Smith is going to phase out the internal locks.

Anyone have any concrete evidence on this.

Heres the article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_&_Wesson
 
From page 3 of this:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3001000143/m/13810902/p/1

There is no such article. I looked at this and thought I must have missed an issue, or something else odd had happened. I went through it page by page, not just looking at the ToC; looked at other articles which might have had some such reference, etc. There is no such article or any other support I can find for the assertion made in the last sentence.

There was an article several years ago consistent with his report of the IL failures as described in the sentences before the one in question.

The problem with Wikipedia is that anyone can edit an entry, and apparently did. Note the lead time - while it is possible that the MAY-JUNE issue which I don't yet have could contain such an article, we are only a few days into March, and such a report would be doing well to hit the July-August or even later issue.
Click to expand...

There is something unique about this rumor though: Mas Ayoob's name is front and center.

Since Mr. Ayoob sometimes posts on this board, there's a chance he might stop by for an authoritative "confirm or deny".

Right now, the office pool is leaning heavily toward "bogus Wiki edit". Hope springs eternal though.


Edited to add: I've taken the liberty of PM-ing Mr. Ayoob, so let's please not duplicate - Lord knows how many he's already gotten. Thanks!
 
False. They've already got the tooling set up to install the lock and would have to spend a ton of money (which wouldn't be a good idea for only a marginally profitable company) to retool.

Plus, there are markets in the country that won't allow guns to be sold that don't have internal locks. (Maryland?)

IIRC, the two current non-lock models of revolvers are only limited runs and when those frames/parts are gone, so are the revolvers.

I hate the lock. Forget about what it represents (S&W pimping for the klintonistas), it just looks supremely stupid and ugly. Fortunately, there are sufficient numbers of non-lock Smiths that we'll not be forced to buy the IL.
 
I cannot imagine a full phase out as I believe a few states require it now and as much as its hated on message boards I imagine some of their customers actually utilize that feature. However I can imagine a time when it becomes optional.

However I do believe that the anti-lock S&W minority out there is very loud and I imagine the S&W brass are well aware of their hatred for that kind of safety device. Maybe they will start releasing non-lock handguns to the public.
 
S&W can't get rid of the lock on exposed hammer guns. They won't go into specifics, but their VP of marketing told me face to face that it's some legal issue (my guess is drop testing, because some states, like CA, define the ILS as a safety, and their test protocol calls for all safeties to be engaged). The no lock 642 is, however, a standard catalog item.
 
The no lock 642 is, however, a standard catalog item.
Click to expand...

As a bonus, it's small enough to make a good stocking stuffer at Christmas; soon to be the only new Smith on my list...
 
the ILS is a great feature. it can save your life. they should keep it forever. i was told so by the sales guy at one of my local gun shops.

he carries an airweight J frame in a kydex paddle holster with the ILS 'key' taped to the inside of the paddle. this is so if the **** hits the fan and he is in danger of being disarmed he can quickly get to the key to lock his gun and render it useless so it cannot be turned on him...he really told me this...showed me the key taped to the holster and everything...i believe he was serious...:what:

oh, and he plans to swallow the key so the bad guy cant unlock the gun :banghead:

steve
 
srtboise: "oh, and he plans to swallow the key so the bad guy cant unlock the gun"

Makes me think of Slim Pickins and his little Crackerjack compass, captured by the Japanese in Spielberg's "1941."

<sniff-sniff> "Prune juice ... OH, no!"
 
Isn't Smith & Wesson owned by the company which designed the internal lock? Could that possibly be a factor? Not to mention the senior company's bottom line in the worst recession since before WW2.

I don't see it happening, and my 637-2 and 686-6+ both have the internal locks. Thousands of rounds fired, no lock problems. I don't even know where in the garage my only key is anymore.

Cordially, Jack
 
Most of the gun buying public could careless one way or the other, why would Smith do something that would cost them big bucks, just to please a very small segment of the market place?
 
Originally Posted by srtboise:
the ILS is a great feature. it can save your life. they should keep it forever. i was told so by the sales guy at one of my local gun shops.
Click to expand...

Steve, if you don't mind, I would like to know which Gun Shop you were at. I to live in Boise and would prefer not to frequent this place or deal with this individual.
 
oh, and he plans to swallow the key so the bad guy cant unlock the gun
Click to expand...

That's the Brady Center method of CCW'ing - If attacked, render the gun useless so no one can use it, and then no one can get hurt! Thanks for making my day with that little gem. :D
 
"ILS key taped to the inside of the holster.."

"he plans to swallow the key so the bad guy can't unlock the gun.."

Well, that finally explains who buys those revolvers. ;)
 
Too funny...

I like the gun salesman story. Too funny!!

That is either a strong argument for gun control, or birth control. I'm not quite sure which applies, in this case. I'd be willing to bet this guy ends up winning a Darwin award.
 
i thought he was being sarcastic when he first started flapping his lips about it until he showed me the key taped to his holster and motioned the technique he practiced to get to it quickly, then i knew he was serious. was really hard to not fall over laughing...

for those of us that have some common sense these things are just funny stories to share. it's the people that think they are talking to an 'expert' that i am concerned for.


trayzor, i dont want to give a bad rap to the store for one guy's misconceptions of reality...you should know which shop it is when i tell you it is the indoor range. take some time to talk to the short, skinny guy with the mustache...you will either get pissed off or entertained but you wont get informed, that's for sure.

steve
 
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