Here is a mystery for you all that I don't necessarily require a solution to, just seeing what ideas you may have. It's not urgent.
I'll try keep the story short (difficult). A year ago I sent my N-frame Model 27-2 in to S&W because the ratchets were taking a good sized chunk out of the left "ear" (as the S&W rep calls it) or "recoil plate". There was also a scratch on the other side of that ear at that thin point so I was sending the gun in to evaluate if that scratch was actually a crack and if the gun was safe to continue to use.
They had the gun for quite some time with no word (a few months?) and when I called them there was no documentation on it. The rep stated that the shop guys must not have known what to do about it since the gun was no longer being produced. So they sent it back.
When I got the revolver back it turns out it HAD been worked on. Their solution to the problem was to buff down the left recoil plate and reblue that part. I find that satisfactory because after thinking about the problem I think the culprit is the nub that holds the cylinder forward when it is swung out. That nub must be a little short.
That's not what this post is about - but it's related. The real issue is:
They swapped out the old target trigger + hand, the center pin, the cylinder stop and gave me the old parts back in a plastic bag. (that's what their written note said: new this, new that) I'm all for the pin and the new cylinder stop but I wonder about the trigger. Here are some picture comparisons of the trigger. In all these pictures the new trigger is the one with the hand connected.
The new trigger is narrower not only at the face but in general by about .005 inches (if I remember... need to check later)
I didn't see a whole lot going on with the new hand. The revolver was in time.
The old trigger is noticeably smoother, the new one is rather lumpy and the case-hardening might be a formality if it is MIM. There was more lateral play with the new trigger installed and you can see where the sides of the trigger have begun to rub the frame.
- the gun was used but in very good condition when I got it. There was barely a cylinder turn line. Someone had slicked up the parts of the action and you can see the part of the old trigger that interfaces with the cylinder stop has been rounded (rebound slide had rounded/polished edges too). Maybe they used to do this at the factory or a 'smith was called upon.
The old trigger nose had been polished. If anything is sketchy, I'd say it's the single action sear below it based on appearances. There looks to be preferential wear on the left side. There is no push-off to the trigger.
And that's all the pictures I took. Please excuse the green-ness. My table lamp broke so I hung my EDC LED light from the body of the lamp by a rubber band. These are cell phone pictures. Git-er-done!
My conclusion for now:
Was that these parts were replaced in the hopes of improving cylinder lock-up, kind of fishing around - or merely as a favor. If the original parts were unsafe to use I'd think they wouldn't be sent back to me without some kind of warning. So what did I do? I reconnected the original hand and trigger and put it back in. I was thinking that having a new trigger with the old hammer would accelerate wear to the hammer sears as a new shape was cut.
any other ideas on why they swapped out the trigger?
- Just to make this clear although I was put off by the lack of communication (partially my fault for not checking in) I'm very happy with S&W in the end because new parts/labor come at a cost and I paid nothing except for shipping! Even though I put the original trigger back in I do appreciate having the spare.
I'll try keep the story short (difficult). A year ago I sent my N-frame Model 27-2 in to S&W because the ratchets were taking a good sized chunk out of the left "ear" (as the S&W rep calls it) or "recoil plate". There was also a scratch on the other side of that ear at that thin point so I was sending the gun in to evaluate if that scratch was actually a crack and if the gun was safe to continue to use.
They had the gun for quite some time with no word (a few months?) and when I called them there was no documentation on it. The rep stated that the shop guys must not have known what to do about it since the gun was no longer being produced. So they sent it back.
When I got the revolver back it turns out it HAD been worked on. Their solution to the problem was to buff down the left recoil plate and reblue that part. I find that satisfactory because after thinking about the problem I think the culprit is the nub that holds the cylinder forward when it is swung out. That nub must be a little short.
That's not what this post is about - but it's related. The real issue is:
They swapped out the old target trigger + hand, the center pin, the cylinder stop and gave me the old parts back in a plastic bag. (that's what their written note said: new this, new that) I'm all for the pin and the new cylinder stop but I wonder about the trigger. Here are some picture comparisons of the trigger. In all these pictures the new trigger is the one with the hand connected.
The new trigger is narrower not only at the face but in general by about .005 inches (if I remember... need to check later)
The old trigger nose had been polished. If anything is sketchy, I'd say it's the single action sear below it based on appearances. There looks to be preferential wear on the left side. There is no push-off to the trigger.
And that's all the pictures I took. Please excuse the green-ness. My table lamp broke so I hung my EDC LED light from the body of the lamp by a rubber band. These are cell phone pictures. Git-er-done!
My conclusion for now:
Was that these parts were replaced in the hopes of improving cylinder lock-up, kind of fishing around - or merely as a favor. If the original parts were unsafe to use I'd think they wouldn't be sent back to me without some kind of warning. So what did I do? I reconnected the original hand and trigger and put it back in. I was thinking that having a new trigger with the old hammer would accelerate wear to the hammer sears as a new shape was cut.
any other ideas on why they swapped out the trigger?
- Just to make this clear although I was put off by the lack of communication (partially my fault for not checking in) I'm very happy with S&W in the end because new parts/labor come at a cost and I paid nothing except for shipping! Even though I put the original trigger back in I do appreciate having the spare.
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