Problems with lock on S&W 329!

[dairycreek]

Earlier today my son-in-law and I were shooting some of my reloads and his S&W 329 just froze. We examined it and found that the lock mechanism had engaged. Used the lock key and turned it off but, after a few more rounds, it happened again. The reloads were quite mild and the 329 has no more than 300 rounds through it so we are quite concerned. Have any of you had any trouble with the lock mechanism on your S&W revos? If you did have trouble what did you do about it? Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

[Sarge]

Dairy,

While I have no personal experience with lock-equipped S&W's (won't buy one) I am a member at S&W Forum where this thread exists for the express purpose of documenting these events as accurately as possible.

First, I'd like to suggest that you read through it. There's a lot of good info & photos there, excellent photos of the mechanism itself, and you'll get an idea of what to expect fro S&W on the service issue. Second, it would be great if you or your son-in-law could register over there, and add your experience. There are some who contend that lock-related failures 'never happen' and the prospective buyer needs an easily-referenced database of failures to review before making a purchase.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[dairycreek]

invssgt

Many thanks for the heads up. Will take your suggestion and see what happens.

 

[BikerRN]

My Thunder Ranch Revolver locked up when I first fired it, and again dry firing it at the gunshop where I bought it, when I returned it to them to investigate it.

They sent the gun back to S&W for me and S&W "fixed it" and shipped it back to me. What keeps me buying S&W's is the warranty and Customer Service.

Since I've gotten my Thunder Ranch Revolver back it has not failed on me, but S&W "claims" there was no issue with the lock. They did however replace the firing pin and mainspring.

I don't know what was wrong with it, but it does work now and that's all I care about. I have tried to get the gun to fail, and it hasn't. I would suggest giving S&W a call and getting a Return Authorization Number and let them check it out.

Also, I heard that if a lock was going to fail on a new Smith it would be in the beginning. Mine happened within the first 60 rounds. I don't know if there is any truth to that statement, but my expirience bears that out.

Good luck and keep us posted on what happens. 1-800-331-0852 is the number for S&W.

Biker

 

[Stainz]

You can't beat that S&W warranty - 800#, they send you a pick-up label, and return it overnite, too - generally in ten days or so. Great folks. I love the statement re insurance... paraphrased, they state that if your gun is lost, they'll replace it!

Stainz

 

[Paul105]

Plus one on what Stainz said re S&W customer service.

"Also, I heard that if a lock was going to fail on a new Smith it would be in the beginning. Mine happened within the first 60 rounds. I don't know if there is any truth to that statement, but my expirience bears that out."

Don't know who you herd this from, but it ain't true. I have a 329 that locked up at round number 835 (all 240/250s at 1,150 to 1,200 fps). It seems to me that the locks don't "wear in" but are more likely to wear out.

FWIW,

Paul

 

[HammerBite]

I get a kick out of all the lock apologists citing S&W's warranty and service. If the stupid things worked right to begin with you wouldn't need service, would you?

 

[Shadi Khalil]

I have had both taurus and smith revolvers lock up on me in the past and not cause of the locks. I've also seen it happen to a ruger. The locks suck but revolvers are gonna lock up regardless. Sure removing the locks would get rid of one more layer of failure but what are you gonna do?

 

[inkie]

tiefman 1948

I hate to disagree with you most decent wheelguns normally do not lock up especially prelock S&W's. I have been using Revolvers on the job, in PPC competion, Bullseye, and for any other type of shooting event. and never had one lock up on me yet. Lets put these present complaints where the blame should be. On the locks!

 

[Gonzo_308]

Yes, anything with moving parts can fail but there is a common theme to these complaints and that is the lock.

actually, you dont even need moving parts for something to fail.

I need a new handle for my axe.

 

[j-framer]

I have 2 J-frames with the internal lock. In each, one of the first things I did upon taking custody of it was to carefully remove the sideplate, mainspring and hammer and get rid of the piece with the locking lug on it.

I chose this option (as opposed to grinding off the lug and leaving the piece in) only after carefully examining what I could see of the lock's mechanism and satisfying myself that the absence of this part should not result in any mechanical problems--that is, that it didn't serve any purpose besides being able to engage the slot in the hammer.

What I do dislike is that there are still parts in there ( the locking cam, the cam spring, the shaft, etc.) that do not contribute to the gun's function. Ideally, I'd like to get rid of everything that doesn't help the gun go bang and just be left with holes and milled-out places in the frame.

But these last parts are somewhat inaccessible and do not seem to want to budge. As long as they stay put and don't vibrate out of place or anything, things should be fine. I actually don't have much fear of this happening, because it looks like the remaining parts, all of which are much smaller than the "flag" that I took out, have little enough moment of inertia so that recoil wouldn't tend to shake them up too much. I hope, anyway. Could anybody comment on this last observation, either agree or disagree?

Although the round count of both these guns is not high (<500 rounds) there have been no problems since the lock removal.