I bought a S&W 360PD for concealed carry, so reliability is my prime concern. The only thing I didn't like about this revolver was the silly trigger lock. I figured that I would never use it, and I hoped it would never be a problem.
Well, I was wrong. Yesterday at the range, on my second cylinder, I had a failure to fire. I figured it was a bad primer, however upon inspecting the cartridge, I noticed that there was no indent in the primer. So I loaded it up again and this time when I had my second failure to fire, I kept the trigger pulled back and inspected the revolver with it pointed down range. I noticed the trigger lock flag was up.
I then went home and dry fired it several times and was able to replicate the problem (photos below). The first picture shows the revolver fuctioning correctly with the firing pin protruding into the cylinder. The second photo shows the triger back, hammer forward, but not protruding firing pin! If I touch the flag it snaps down, and the firing pin moves forward. I have used the key to be sure the lock is fully disengaged and it made no difference.
Even after I get this fixed, how can I trust this revolver again?
Well, I was wrong. Yesterday at the range, on my second cylinder, I had a failure to fire. I figured it was a bad primer, however upon inspecting the cartridge, I noticed that there was no indent in the primer. So I loaded it up again and this time when I had my second failure to fire, I kept the trigger pulled back and inspected the revolver with it pointed down range. I noticed the trigger lock flag was up.
I then went home and dry fired it several times and was able to replicate the problem (photos below). The first picture shows the revolver fuctioning correctly with the firing pin protruding into the cylinder. The second photo shows the triger back, hammer forward, but not protruding firing pin! If I touch the flag it snaps down, and the firing pin moves forward. I have used the key to be sure the lock is fully disengaged and it made no difference.
Even after I get this fixed, how can I trust this revolver again?