Smith and Wesson locking up advice

[goodlife30]

Need some advice-was using my hammer less smith and Wesson 38 from the 60's. 4 out of the 5 rounds in the cylinder fire great. One locks up the cylinder when it's is cycled towards to hammer. So now I don't trust the firearm without a gun smith taking a look at it. Question-Is it worth a gunsmith looking at it or should I send it to the gun grave yard and buy a new 357 hammer less snub nose? This will be my girlfriends carry gun. Like the revolvers for carry-no safety and reliable. Thoughts?

 

[watchman]

Is there a lot of play in the cylinder?

 

[Arto]

It's not the bullet on the last round inching forward out of the case & blocking rotation?
sometimes they can do that on a lightweight gun from inertia if there's not a heavy crimp on the bullet...

 

[RedWing]

worst case if it's not worth fixing, take to the gun buyback from another thread and get $50 for it..

 

[Sawicki1991]

Send it into smith and Wesson.

 

[jaypap]

Question-Is it worth a gunsmith looking at it or should I send it to the gun grave yard and buy a new 357 hammer less snub nose? Thoughts?

I will take it and bury it for you.

 

[goodlife30]

No play in the cylinder when the round is about to cycle to the hammer.

 

[Peicemaker]

I've seen this before. IIRC, it was caused by a bent cylinder axis pin. You need a special tool to fix it. Bring it to a shop and have them ship it back to S&W (Smith prefers to deal with dealers for such things). The repair was less than $100 if memory serves.

 

[dhuze]

It's not the bullet on the last round inching forward out of the case & blocking rotation?
sometimes they can do that on a lightweight gun from inertia if there's not a heavy crimp on the bullet...

This is the first thing I'd look at, I've had it done on one of mine and it took a while to figure it out. When it's locked up look between the cylinder and barrel to see if the bullet creeped forward.

After that I'd bring it to a gunsmith if I couldn't figure it out.

 

[straightshooterjake]

A Smith & Wesson revolver from the 1960's is a desirable gun and is worth repairing. As others have mentioned, it is quite likely that it can be repaired for a modest cost.

Also, it is probably worth more than $50 as just a parts gun.

 

[greencobra]

for sure i'd send a vintage smith hammerless back for repairs.

 

[Garys]

There is no reason to have a FFL send it back to Smith. Call Customer Service, describe the problem, and ask for a shipping label. They should be able to fix it and ship it back to you. The only question is if they still have parts. As a couple of people have pointed out, S&W revolvers from the 1960s have more than a bit of collector value. They are also good shooters.

I've seen this before. IIRC, it was caused by a bent cylinder axis pin. You need a special tool to fix it. Bring it to a shop and have them ship it back to S&W (Smith prefers to deal with dealers for such things). The repair was less than $100 if memory serves.

 

[kimber le]

Goodlife30, It probably is one of two things. It could be a bent ejection rod or the gun needs a thicker hand. Both effect the lockup/timing. Neither is a big fix, Definitely worth fixing.

 

[Skeeter]

Like Garys said, contact S&W for a shipping label and send it in. They should be able to fix it for you. They'll send it directly to you when they're done working on it as long as there's someone to sign for it.

 

[JDL]

Just like the others have posted, make sure you check to see if the bullet moved out of the case and locked the cylinder before you do anything else. This can happen I have seen it more then once.

 

[ToddDubya]

I had a wheel gun hang up on certain chambers. It turned out to be a slightly bent ejection rod and it took about 5 minutes to fix in my basement with a flat hard surface (cast iron table saw table) and a hammer.

The easiest way to diagnose it is to cycle through the cylinder and see if the gap between the cylinder and forcing cone changes as you work through the chambers. If it's the ejection rod you'll see that in some positions the cylinder contacts the forcing cone, jamming it up.

 

[dcmdon]

I've seen this before. IIRC, it was caused by a bent cylinder axis pin. You need a special tool to fix it. Bring it to a shop and have them ship it back to S&W (Smith prefers to deal with dealers for such things). The repair was less than $100 if memory serves.

I agree with this assessment. Except I'd call S&W about shipping first. On guns that they repair under their lifetime service policy, they are happy to have you ship it yourself using their shipping label.

One other option, is to drop it off.

One thing to keep in mind. When a non-licensee (non-01 or 07 FFL)ships a handgun, they need to use 2nd day or overnight. (I'm a bit behind on which it is now, but it is one of them). Either way, its $50 or more.

When a licensee ships a handgun, they can ship it via the USPS. A J frame revolver will fit in a small flat rate box. Which costs $6 to ship. So even if the dealer charges you a $25 fee, it may cost less to ship via a dealer.

Either way, call S&W and ask them what they want and confirm that they still allow drop-offs.

Don

 

[swampy]

Does it jam up if you dry fire it with empty chambers? Is it the same chamber in the cylinder every time that jams?

 

[economist]

Don't mess with it. People often say revolvers are "more reliable" or even "simpler" than semi-autos, but take one apart or have a problem and it is obvious how complex the timing and lockup mechanisms are. I would just call S&W and send it in. I did that once and they fixed the gun, no charge shipping either way, and were very nice about it. Great service.

 

[M.L.]

Smith and Wesson is no longer allowing drop offs for repairs they want it shipped, At least they did with me last year.