S&W key?

[NorthBorder]

May be kind of a dopey question(s) but here goes.
When you buy a new (or used) S&W with the lock have you ever had a need for or have you ever used the key? Has the lock ever failed in some way?
I bought a used S&W 29 some months ago from a LGS. It came without the box or papers, or the key.
I never gave it thought before but is it necessary to have a key? Does one key fit all S&W locks?
What does one even look like?
Thanks in advance.

 

[unclenunzie]

All the same. Call S&W they will send. It looks like a handcuff key.

 

[Bazoo]

I’ve heard reports of the lockwork moving under recoil and causing the gun to lockup. Now... I don’t think that was a common problem. Either a myth or just an extreme rarity, but it got folks to being all concerned about it. For a while, folks on forums were talking about disabling the lock for carry guns, and the other side was folks taking of the liability. I never had a problem with the couple smiths I had that had the lock. But, I also didn’t care for it.

 

[Rule3]

OMG, here we go!!

No you don't need the key. If the lock is an issue just take it out, All that has to be removed is the "flag"

 

[ontarget]

So if all of them use the same key....
WTH is the point?

 

[Dave T]

So if all of them use the same key....
WTH is the point?

Sir, you have struck the nail upon the flat part.

Dave

 

[stonebuster]

All the same. Call S&W they will send. It looks like a handcuff key.

They sure do, I meant to order gun keys and ended up recieving handcuff keys.

 

[wcwhitey]

They sure do, I meant to order gun keys and ended up recieving handcuff keys.

Yea S&W makes handcuffs.

 

[mcb]

So if all of them use the same key....
WTH is the point?

Same can be said for most of the locks integrated into the guns including from Ruger, Taurus, etc. It is a child lock. You lock the gun and without the key the gun is useless and thus safe if found by a young kid. Beyond that the lock is useless in general as the key is easy gotten or made and its nearly as easy to simply take the gun apart remove said lock and reassemble the gun minus the lock.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

They also make smooth plugs to fill the hole it you want to completely remove the lock mechanism.

 

[sparkyv]

Like this? (Asking for a friend.)

If the lock is an issue just take it out, All that has to be removed is the "flag"

 

[bangswitch]

So if all of them use the same key....
WTH is the point?

The point in this case is pointless. It's less about safety and more about political interference, hence the name for this lock.

 

[gwpercle]

So if all of them use the same key....
WTH is the point?

A Classic Example of Laws that are passed to make us safe from ouselves buy the Government ,
they don't work and they don't make any sense but you are going to Lock your gun and Wear that face mask if we have to kill you to get it done .
Gary

 

[Rubone]

So if all of them use the same key....
WTH is the point?

They are to keep your kids safe. Nothing more.
Do you know all travel trailers use the same storage compartment key?
Have you ever gone out in a full parking lot and pushed the button on your fob and ten cars honk?
In the 70's I worked for a Harley -Davidson dealer and I had a ring of ten keys that would start any H-D product in the USA.
I am a building contractor (retired) but often bought lock sets from a hardware store with the same key code as one I had installed in a previous house....not on purpose, just off the shelf.

 

[Pat Riot]

May be kind of a dopey question(s) but here goes.
When you buy a new (or used) S&W with the lock have you ever had a need for or have you ever used the key? Has the lock ever failed in some way?
I bought a used S&W 29 some months ago from a LGS. It came without the box or papers, or the key.
I never gave it thought before but is it necessary to have a key? Does one key fit all S&W locks?
What does one even look like?
Thanks in advance.

Without a political diatribe…
My answers:
1. I used the lock to try it out. It worked.
2. None of my S&W locks have failed in any way.
3. The key is only necessary to actuate the lock…or unlock it if you’ve locked it.
4. My keys fit each of my guns, so it appears they are all keyed the same.
5. A handcuff key.


I have purchased 4 S&W revolvers with locks.
- Models 60 Pro and a 327 Night Guard. Both .357 Magnums. Locks never engaged on their own after hundreds of full power .357 158 grain loads.
- Model 63 .22 LR. Lock never engaged. I wouldn’t imagine a .22 would.
Model 25-15 in 45 Colt. After hundreds of rounds at minimum to maximum loads the lock has never engaged.

Call Smith & Wesson. They’ll send you keys.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/customer-service/contact-us

 

[Riomouse911]

Like Pat Riot, I have a smattering of lock-equipped S&W revolvers and none have inadvertently activated when in use. (Or when not in use, either .)

Stay safe.

 

[.308 Norma]

Have you ever gone out in a full parking lot and pushed the button on your fob and ten cars honk?

I did not know that. I wonder if I could set the horns to honking on ten vehicles in the Walmart parking lot by pushing the "panic" button on my Dodge Ram's key.

 

[dickydalton]

Gone...

69now

• dickydalton
• Feb 7, 2020

 

[Jonesy814]

I think I have a key in my range bag, but am not positive. I should go check. Have fired thousands of rounds through revolvers with locks and had no problem, but now that I have wondered if I have a key in the bag, the odds just went up that I'll need one someday

 

[aaaaa]

I think I have a key in my range bag, but am not positive. I should go check. Have fired thousands of rounds through revolvers with locks and had no problem, but now that I have wondered if I have a key in the bag, the odds just went up that I'll need one someday

The only problem is that, from what I have read online, when these accidentally lock up the key does not unlock them.

 

[gobsauce]

There's a difference between safety and security, and it seems like people don't quite understand the difference.

This lock is for safety. Like a zip tie through the barrel, you're essentially deactivating the gun to make sure it can't be used unless you say so. Revolvers don't really tend to have a traditional safety, like the thumb safety on a 1911(just an example of a safety. Or if they do, then I'm just used to prelock irons )I think of these locks as substitutes for those Project Childsafe locks we get with every new gun.

Security, would be your safe, safety deposit box, etc. You're trying to keep your possessions secure from XYZ.

 

[Master Blaster]

The real purpose of the lock was to make liberals in the Clinton Administration feel good. It only worked for 5 minutes in 1999.

 

[420Stainless]

Never used mine for anything. I suppose it would be good to have one in the event the lock self-activates, but I haven’t had that happen so far.

 

[trackskippy]

The only problem is that, from what I have read online, when these accidentally lock up the key does not unlock them.

Ive had that happen with a couple of S&W's that didn't have the lock. It didn't work there either.

Ive got a bunch of S&W's that have the lock. Ive never put a key in one, nor have I ever had a problem with one locking on its own.

 

[edwardware]

The lock is a regulatory feature, designed to shield S&W from perverse liability for other's actions. That legal perversion is far uglier than the lock itself.

As per usual:
I have seen one first hand report of a lock locking itself, on a heavy caliber (.44RemMag I think) scandium frame, with light-for-caliber bullets (snappy recoil).

On the other hand, the revolvers I own, that I might possibly carry, that have locks, have the teensie stud ground right off the locking tab.