S&w 638

[workingman]

I recently traded some furnace work for a new model 638 smith. I was really excitited about using for my new carry gun. Finally got it out to range to shoot it yesterday. Now I am really disappointed. I could not hit anything with it. The trigger pull is horrible. The onlly way I could shoot it straight was to pull the trigger about 3/4 down, aim, then finish the shot. Local guy says a new spring kit and polish the internals would run about $100. And cut the trigger pull in at least half. Worth the bucks? Or trade the gun.
Workingman

 

[rcmodel]

There is simply no way to cut the trigger pull on a J-Frame in half and keep the gun reliable.

They can be polished and lighter springs installed, but no amount of tinkering will cut it in half and keep it reliable.

What helps them most is lots of shooting.
They will smooth up with use, and you will get much better shooting double-action in the process.

rc

 

[Fishslayer]

Shooting a revolver accurately DA is one of the hardest skills to master. Takes a lot of practice.

The DA pull can be lightened but at some point the gun will not be 100% reliable with factory ammo.

Upside. If you can shoot briskly DA and hit your target you can shoot anything.

 

[Hondo 60]

New springs & trigger certainly won't cut the trigger pull in half.
But it WILL lighten it up significantly.

If I were you I'd I'd probably go head with the springs & trigger job.
SAVE the old springs in case it's lightened up too much.

And then practice, practice, practice.

 

[Kernel]

How's the trigger and accuracy in single action?

 

[camsdaddy]

At what distance are you shooting? Have you ever shot a DA trigger before?

 

[Kendal Black]

I leave all the springs full power, on a defensive carry snub, to assure reliability.

The trigger is, as you have found, difficult to deal with. But it is not impossible to shoot this kind of gun straight. Snap caps will let you get in some cheap and quiet practice. Pull the trigger while watching the sights carefully.

As Fishslayer says, once you are good to go with a DA revolver, nothing else seems to have a bad trigger.

 

[38Mike]

Kendal Black beat me to it on the snap caps. Get a bag of A-Zoom snap caps; around 15 bucks or so; and dry fire as much as you can.........

Mike

 

[JERRY]

i have no idea what your experience level is with small revolvers so i say let somebody who is expereinced with them shoot it and give you advise before the local kitchen table gunsmith does anything to it.

 

[workingman]

I am very familiar with revolvers. But, I have always used them in single action mode. Even when practicing with my carry gun I would practice pulling the hammer back. I know not the best way, but accuracy was soooo much better I figured and extra half second was worth it. Can't do that with the 638. As for distance I was 10 full paces shooting at an 6" shootnc. Working the gun single action was way improved. But, this is my first expeirence with a 1" barrel.

 

[2wheels]

When I bought a J frame, I specifically bought a hammerless 442 because I wanted to force myself to learn to shoot DA. IMHO it's the only way to shoot a revolver defensively.

Before my 442 most of my handgun shooting was done with single action 1911s, so I've had some trouble getting used to the long and heavy DA pull. I read some good articles online about shooting DA revolvers, and bought a pack of snap caps. I'm not as good as I want to be but I've improved a LOT.

 

[627PCFan]

I ordered one for my wife in March. Right out of the box the trigger was heavy and gritty. I *lightly* polished several of the internals with some arkansas stones. And by lightly I mean LIGHTLY. Just enough to get the roughness out. It didnt, nor did I expect it to lighten the pull up. Smooth and heavy is better than gritty, creepy, and heavy. If your carrying dont change the springs. Dont do anything to sacrifice reliablity, especially if you use small rifle primers in your loads

 

[627PCFan]

I also hear about poeple using snap caps and several thousand dry fires to smooth things out. Im not that patient

 

[OldCavSoldier]

There are only three things that you can do on the cheap: Practice, Practice, and Practice.....dry firing with snap caps......make sure everything is lubed well prior to your snap-capping, and blow out the internals occationally to remove any grit or anything else that may get "dislodged" during the dry firing.

 

[Kernel]

Workingman wrote:

I am very familiar with revolvers.... have always used them in single action... Can't do that with the 638.

????? Of course you can shoot a 638 in single action. Are you sure you know what you got there?


Image of S&W 638.
Arrow points to cockable hammer.

 

[Kendal Black]

I also hear about poeple using snap caps and several thousand dry fires to smooth things out. Im not that patient

The thing with dry firing is that it is

1. The fastest way to learn to shoot properly in double action mode.
2. The cheapest way to smooth out a crunchy action.

At the risk of repeating myself redundantly, watch the sights when you dry fire. That way you can tell where the gun is pointing while you are pulling, and of course what you are trying to learn is how to make it point where you want, while you are hauling away at that trigger.

The last time I got a crunchy Smith it didn't take thousands of cycles to wear it in, more on the order of hundreds. They're real good guns.

So hang in there, Workingman. In my opinion, anyway, and that of many others, a .38 snub is the ticket for discreet carry, and the Smiths are great little snubs.

 

[BP44]

I agree with the above posts.

If ya happen to have a holster for it just draw and dry fire it a couple "hundred" times. Not only will it build muscle memory but it will smooth out a crunchy trigger and help you master the double action as well. I suggest aim at the dial of your gun safe and remember watch that front sight.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I recently traded some furnace work for a new model 638 smith. I was really excitited about using for my new carry gun. Finally got it out to range to shoot it yesterday. Now I am really disappointed. I could not hit anything with it. The trigger pull is horrible. The onlly way I could shoot it straight was to pull the trigger about 3/4 down, aim, then finish the shot. Local guy says a new spring kit and polish the internals would run about $100. And cut the trigger pull in at least half. Worth the bucks? Or trade the gun.
Workingman

The heavy trigger on a J frame is on purpose. I kinda like a heavy trigger on a revolver I stick in my pocket. Even though it's heavy they are usually smooth. Don't take this wrong but, it's not the gun, it's you. Practice your trigger control and your accuracy will improve. That pistol have a very short sight picture so even small mistakes are multiplied at even short distances. Snap caps and dry firing will help your trigger control greatly and will also smooth out the trigger even more.

Don't give up too soon. You will get there if you give yourself a chance. It's like every other skill, it takes time to perfect.