Have you ever had the lock malfunction on your S&W ? Poll

[sakeneko]

My Model .317 .22 target revolver has an ILS, which so far has been no trouble at all. I'd probably remove it, or sell the gun and get something else, if this were a self-protection carry gun. But that's just an abundance of caution speaking; I have no reason to think that it's at all likely the ILS would malfunction.

My Model 60-10 does not have an ILS. It was built a few months before they came out with the Model 60-15, which does. I bought it used before I was even aware of the ILS issue, and all in all am glad that it worked out that way. The M60 is an excellent gun.

 

[Black_Sheep]

black_sheep,
did you dicide to keep the revolver?

Yep, I removed the "flag" and ground the nub off and reinstalled it. It's been 100% reliable ever since. I did the same on my 642 since a SD gun that won't go bang everytime is pretty much worthless. I felt the same way a lot of the posters do, the IL was no big deal. After experiencing the IL failure my opinion changed. I still love S&W revolvers but chose to buy only pre-lock models from now on...

 

[Jimmy10mm]

I am the OP and appreciate the replies. I have a 340PD with lock and I am going to sell it. I used to carry it but a Kahr and a Sig have shot it out of the saddle so I don't need it anymore. My 386PD is a fun gun so I may or may not disable the lock. I have read in a post somewhere that it may void the warranty. I'll have to call S&W and ask Anyway, it ain't an SD gun so I don't really care one way or the other if I have it in there.

 

[bluetopper]

I have a 629 with the lock and it's been shot a lot with my cast lead reloads without any problems. I never pay it any attention. It's also got a mim hammer and trigger, no I don't particularly like that aspect but it's got the smoothest, lightest action of any Smith I own.

 

[pcbowman]

No Problems So Far

My model 60-14 has never experienced a problem, and it gets a steady diet of whatever is available from range reloads/wadcutters in .38 SPL to 125 gr SJHP in .357MAG. I have personally fired at least 500 rounds of .357 magnum and more than 750 rounds of .38 SPL +P since purchasing the revolver approx. 20 months ago. The lock has never been engaged since the purchase of this revolver, and it never will be. Should there be a problem, I will reach for my trusty model 65, deal with the situation, then remove the lock from the model 60.

 

[orionengnr]

Herb called me and said that at the time, this was the first and only factory verified failure of the new lock system

And therein lies a serious credibility issue...

There have been any number of documented "auto-lock" incidents on any number of fora (the S&W Forum had a dedicated thead that documented at least a dozen individual "hard failures" that somehow got "lost" about a year ago ).

Many other documented cases have been reported on other "non-S&W dedicated" fora. I have one acquaintance (and very experienced shooter) who experienced "auto-lock" while dry-firing...that was enough to make me re-think my association with ILS carry guns.

If S&W says "it has only happened once" then that is an extremely suspicious quote... and that is being as charitable as I can be.

For me:
Range gun...okay.
Carry gun...no way.

 

[sw282]

I own just ONE revolver w/lock. First Smith I had purchased in maybe 15yrs. I did not know revolver locks even EXISTED. My first reaction was, "Thats DUMB". I still feel that way. Thread like this reinforces that feeling too. I am a member of the 'Lock People' forum. I heard rumor over there several times that all the "lock" threads keep mysteriously disappearing. I prefer pinned barrel Smiths. Thats all I buy now.

My 24-3 Lew Horton is a nice gun.Even with the DUMB part. I shoot it at the range. It does not protect me. Daddy used to say. "If its possible for it to happen, IT probably WILL"

 

[Ozzieman]

I only have one, a Thunder Ranch in 44 special and I know that it is impossible to fail.
100% impossible to fail.
I removed it.
If I wanted a lock on a revolver I would get one of the trigger locks that completely cover the trigger guard. This will be the only S&W that I will ever buy with an internal lock and I did so because it was never made without them.
Adding the lock was a mistake by a company run by lawyers that appeases groups like the Brady bunch.

 

[bumnote]

One of six of my Smith's have that stupid lock, and it's one of my most used revolvers. I've never used or had a problem with the lock and while I dislike the lock it wouldn't stop me from buying another if it was a revolver I liked.
I've never seen one fail and even if I did just seeing one fail wouldn't stop me from buying one or carrying one. Just seeing a gun malfunction wouldn't tell me enough about the gun, in many cases it may be more of reflection of the owner's care of the gun rather than the gun's reliability. Is the guy a shooter with an allergic reaction to cleaning? Is he an inexperienced reloader or one who loads to or over the max? You don't know. If seeing a malfunction kept me from owning or depending on a type or brand of firearm, I'd never own or trust a semi-auto.
I don't bet on much, but I'd wager any amount that failure rate of the lock, in real life, is nowhere close to the results here. If the failure rate is even close to 1% I like to see the test results and who did them, and not from a blogger or in forums. I'm not trying to be insulting, but I really concider the S&W lock failure thing to be a bunch of internet BS, and I have a hard time believing that S&W has put a device on 95% of their revolvers with a failure rate of 5-10%. IMO they're by and large stories to justify hating the lock, or the reason it's there to begin with. I hate the lock to and it's reason for being on one of my 686's, but it's just as reliable as my nonlocking Smith's and none of them are 100% reliable.

 

[Elvishead]

sw282

I prefer pinned barrel Smiths. Thats all I buy now.

Why?