the fatman
Single-Sixer
Hear people talk about S&W problems with internal lock. Has Ruger ever had a problem with theirs?
internal lock
- Thread starter the fatman
- Start date
Haven't heard anything about Ruger problems, but I just don't buy guns with locks. The S&W locks are an abomination, to look at. :cry: At least the Rugers aren't sticking out there like a diamond in a goats a**! :)
SAJohn
Hunter
Not that I have heard. However, the lock looks cheap and flimsy. The necessarily shorter mainspring is weaker.
John
John
surveyor47
Single-Sixer
I have experienced a S&W IL failure- actually several failures on the same gun. Here is how it goes. You fire 2 or 3 shots and then you cant pull the trigger. After opening the cylinder, checking ammo, testing, and reloading, 2 or 3 shots again and lockup. Tried the rounds it locked up on in a similar pre-lock gun and no problem. The Rangemaster swears that he sees the same thing 2 or 3 times a week and suggested selling it and buying a no lock Ruger.
S&W replaced the cylinder and entire trigger mechanism. They swear that it did not have an IL failure. I have fired 300 rounds since and have had no further problem. It could be that they actually fixed the thing. But I wonder if it will go off if I ever need it.....
S&W replaced the cylinder and entire trigger mechanism. They swear that it did not have an IL failure. I have fired 300 rounds since and have had no further problem. It could be that they actually fixed the thing. But I wonder if it will go off if I ever need it.....
Dale53
Blackhawk
The Ruger lock is a non-issue. It is a totally different design and hidden under the grips where neither appearance or unintended engagement matters.
The S&W lock is easy to disable if that bothers you. Apparently, even the S&W lock failures have only been with the small, lightweight revolvers where inertia seems to allow a small number of them to have failed. There is even a gentleman on the S&W Forum that will sell you a plug to replace the lock to minimize the appearance "problem" on the revolver.
FWIW
Dale53
The S&W lock is easy to disable if that bothers you. Apparently, even the S&W lock failures have only been with the small, lightweight revolvers where inertia seems to allow a small number of them to have failed. There is even a gentleman on the S&W Forum that will sell you a plug to replace the lock to minimize the appearance "problem" on the revolver.
FWIW
Dale53
batmann
Single-Sixer
The Ruger lock is non-issue.
Surveyor47, I have a Smith with the IL and your problem doesn't sound like it is lock related. If your IL locks up, you need the key to fix it. I had a M29 mountain Gun that did the exact thing your are talking about, but it was not lock related. I will not depend on a gun that will not go bang everytime so I traded it.
Surveyor47, I have a Smith with the IL and your problem doesn't sound like it is lock related. If your IL locks up, you need the key to fix it. I had a M29 mountain Gun that did the exact thing your are talking about, but it was not lock related. I will not depend on a gun that will not go bang everytime so I traded it.
surveyor47
Single-Sixer
If the gun is ever used in self defense or accidently discharged alterations by the owner to "safety divices" will likely be an issue to the prosecutor or "victims" attorney. You could potientally end up paying for that plug for the rest of your life on what might otherwise be considered a "good shoot". If you feel the need to disable the IL of a S&W revolver, you are better off selling it and buying a pre-lock S&W or a Ruger.
surveyor47
Single-Sixer
batmann":1d1jed0l said:
Im not sure exactly what was wrong. The Range master swore up and down that he sees S&Ws doing the same thing 2 or 3 times per week. S&W said that there was insufficient gap between the cylinder and barrel, causing contact. If so, I must have pulled the trigger so hard that I bent the trigger mechanism. But the cynical side of me says that S&W never admidts to IL failure. Either way, mine is like a new gun.
Do you know exactly what caused the problem on your Mountain Gun?
I own a S&W 57 Mountain Gun and it had lots of problems, but never an IL problem. I finally found the right guy at S&W to fix it and it has worked like a charm ever since. The gun that had the lockign up cylinder is a 642.
BearHawk 357
Single-Sixer
I don't think that people ever have many functional problems with S&W locks. They have a problem with what the lock represents. The lock represents, to some, a sell-out by S&W. They didn't like the cheaper metals being used in the new Smiths and they didn't like the locks either (and still don't). Some feel that while the lock rarely malfunctions, the fact that it COULD malfunction, presents an issue with whether or not they are, in fact, a safety or a possible hazard.
My buddy thinks that his gun could lock up, at a time, when he needs it the most. Say, he was fooling around with the lock one day and forgets to put it back into the "live" mode. A week later somebody breaks into his house and my buddy reaches for his "trusty" old Smith. The next thing you know he is wielding a scandium frame club that is loaded with bullets that may as well be kidney beans.
Some folks have big problems with the issues surrounding the locks, while others could really give a rat's hind-end less. I fall somewhere in the middle, I guess. I see both sides of the argument.
batmann
Single-Sixer
Surveyor, No I never found out the problem, didn't care. I didn't go bang so it was gone. I have had Smith's (non lock) lock up with a piece of grit under the star extractor and I have had a .357M Smith get locked up with a pierced primer, that was with the hammer mounted firing pin. Never had a Ruger do anything but work, every time.
All that said, I still like my Smith's, but the ones I really count on are Ruger's.
All that said, I still like my Smith's, but the ones I really count on are Ruger's.
surveyor47
Single-Sixer
My Rugers are working guns, but I love my pre-lock S&Ws. The most practical handguns I have ever found are the 2.5" S&W 19 and 3" S&W 65, both K-frame 357s, which are in reality +P38 Specials with a limited capacity to fire 158 grain 357s. I tend to baby the S&Ws and reserve magnums for the Rugers.
