He might well have shot it before returning it to me, but he was using ammo different from mine (he handloads). Said he had made the same changes on his own gun and had no problems afterward.
Yes, finding good smiths who work on revolvers is not easy. I was looking at the webpage of another guy new to the area, and not a single repair job shown was a revolver. The guy I went to absolutely loves revolvers and said upfront that nobody else wants to work on them. Strange, because at least the S&W are supposedly easy to work on.
Easy to work on and the demand to have a light weight trigger / action combination that will compete with a semi auto plastic pistol are two different things. There is a lot going on that is all driven by the trigger. Very different than a semi where much is done using the force of the round being fired. People even complain about them too, because they want a Double action only semi to have the same light trigger and no take up , as a Single action only. The latest poster children of the gun industry are striker fired, either fully cocked or close to fully cocked, with a trigger safety of several variations.
This is the answer to the public desire. Virtually a single action only with a trigger block. {and lots and lots and bullets}
I reloadâŚso, for me, ammo is ammo {String} if buyingâŚthe combination of full versatility is seen with the 38/357 mild to wild most will find a level offered that they desire in this cartridge combination. If you like revolvers.
The rimmed case doesnât really work with semiâs and spring would have to be changed in order to switch from mild to wild and still work properly. {semiâs need to operate in a certain power window}
Iâd like to make some safety points. Be very careful about modifying anything you feel your life could depend, for two reasons. Primarily, factory specs meet a legal safety standard. The manufacturer will drop you like a hot potato, and testify against you to save their skin from prosecution. After an incident, expect an inspection and testing. The second reason is your heightened physical state, tunnel vision, disrupted muscle control. Most people train to draw fast, but very few practice safe re-holstering by hitching the hip outward. It must be a conditioned automatic response; forget and the muzzle can point at your hip.
The S&W rebound slide and the hammer block make up two of several safeties on their revolvers. The rebound spring controls the reset. The rebound slide changes the angle of the hammer to prevent the hammer nose (floating firing pin) from striking the primer, unless the trigger remains fully pressed. The hammer block is number two as it imposes a obstruction to further impede the hammer. Unless the trigger is held to the rear, throwing it against the wall will not allow the hammer to strike the primer. Clipping the rebound spring disrupts the cycle and the reset, especially during rapid fire. Without a full power hammer spring, you may get a failure to fire. Primer thickness varies by manufacture. In a revolver, rotating the cylinder places the last cylinder charge hole outside the barrel. If a failure to fire was due to a high unseated primer, recoil of the next shot could drive the unfired but dimpled primer against the recoil shield. If the little primer anvil is close to that dimple, it could fire outside the barrel. Never saw it happen, but it could. When that happens in a semi auto and you recock the hammer, if itâs a hang fire, youâll get slide marks across your thump. Ouch@#!%.
Theoretically, a dimpled primer could go off in the magazine. I get a weird tingling feeling where I sit doing stuff like that.
The original Beretta 92SB-F had a SA at 7 lb and first shot DA of 15 lbs. A subsequent model came out that was DA only. I had no problem with it and actually like many aspects of its 12 lb DA. A Browning HP was about 7 lb SA only. The difference between it and a Model 15 S&W at 12 lbs is negligable to me. You have to be very hardened to contol 3.5 lb SA under stress. Its as important to practice re-holstering, moreso with light actions. Other modern revolvers are similar, but not so as Alec Baldwin learned handling vintage wheel guns, with training from an . . . inexperienced armorer. Mistakes are very unforgiving.
Hey String,
I had a 9mm revolver once and it was awful. I thought âreliability of a revolver and inexpensive to shootâ What could be better? The damn thing jammed and misfired a LOT. I think it was a Taurus. I got rid of it.
For every action, there is an opposite but eaqual reaction. At what point does aluminum stretch beyong its elastic limit, compared to carbon steel. By reducing weight in the frame of a semi-auto, there is less weigh where you need it to resist the recoil of a steel slide.
The disadvantage of being a victim is your action is typically a reaction, after someone puts a threat in your face. A victimâs handicap is time and access; coming to the aid of someone else probably requires accuracy, where ever shot must be accounted for and directed toward a safe area if it misses. That depends on quick access for yourself, but be inaccessible to anyone else; it has to ensure a quick, secure, repeatable, controllable grip; it must be capable of first shot accuracy and impeccable reliability; have the ability to immediately end the assault or deliver the next one if needed within less than an 8 inch circle in a critical area using one hand if necessary, or it only pumps adrenaline into a person trying to hurt you. Thatâs the criteria I would use. Reminds me of the bear stories. Do what you gotta do! I like guns, but donât enjoy carrying them.
I donât either. If I ever feel the need, Iâll leave that location. And I wonât go to areas where one might be needed.
I saw a photo of a guy sitting in his car with a pistol in his lap. The caption was something like
âIf you plan to visit Portlandâ.
Sad.
Amen. Pepper spray. The more times I sat through a use of force briefing, the more I asked âwhat the fat!â Liability when you make a mistake is too high. Inside of 9 feet, a person has a better chance of stabbing you than you have in getting the drop. Everybody has to decide for themself.
If someone threatened me by saying they were coming to get me, Iâd keep an 870 Remington shotgun with #9 shot next to the bed, and nothing smaller than a Browning HP under a baggy T-shirt for the summer. The difference would be a credible threat. Nobody has to justify. Some people face a legitimate credible threat daily. Trying to explain or justifying it could lead to greater jeopardy for them, so its none of my business. Its a guarantee.
Penetration and damage to my house. The furthest distance from available cover to open space is no more than 15 to 20 ft. It can be controlled off-hand One ounce of lead at that range is fist sized and still weighs one ounce. Light recoil and recovery translates to repeatability. Even with a heavy coat on it hurts more than a fist. Like a one ounce flash bang with a follow up impact. #4 is .24, #0 is .32. #00 is .33. That could carry further through my picture window and people on the street in one direction and a wide screen tv in the other. Reminds me of John Wayne and Glenn Campbell when he used the Sharps on the turkey.
My husband and I visited Portland, OR in 2008. Such gorgeous natural scenery around itâŚbut when we walked through a part of that city, heading towards their Chinatown, we saw derelicts literally sprawled lying on the sidewalks, with others walking around like filthy predatory zombies waiting to hit on tourists. We had never been in such a disgusting scene, nor have we since then, anywhere.
By the way, my comments above about what I would select for self protection should not be considered a recommendation to follow. That is a personal decision based on my level of comfort with my level of experience. I donât mind pointing out safety concerns, but its evolving away from @strings OP about a specific problem. I think he made a good decision to involve the manufacturer. That way, he knows his second hand purchase meets factory spec. Waiting to hear how you made out String. Shouldnât be long.
âsecond hand purchaseâ . The pistol was new when I bought it . I consulted the Internet trying to determine if others had the problem and there were many. Several reported that Taurus had immediately addressed their problem , so now they are addressing mine.
The barrel got here yesterday.
Clean the gun. In my experience keyholing like that is a sign of a dirty barrel that is not stabilizing the bullet. 100% of the time in my rimfire experiences that cured the keyholing, at least for many hundreds of rounds.
True but running a Ramrodz down the bore with a good dual use lube solvent like Slip 2000 takes 5 seconds. Itâs easier than shipping it back for warranty repairs.