Sending a S&W back for repair (need advice)

[wantoutofca]

Does anyone know what the manufacturing tolerances are on a S&W 44 mag cylinder? I'm trying to help my brother in law figure out if his throats are undersized and out of spec; I don't have the proper tools to measure, but boolits sized .429 will not go through the throats when pressed by hand. I can't do this with any commercial .429 boolits or bullets either. They are sending him a shipping label and he's keeping his fingers crossed, but I was hoping for some advice or other words of wisdom before we pen the letter describing the problem.

[bhn22]

S&W never seems to ever release manufacturing tolerances, no does any other manufacturer. If they did, every body would start measuring their guns, looking for things to complain about, and they'd never have time to even manufacture new guns. What you really need to do in this instance is get some soft lead "egg" shaped fishing sinkers, and slug the throats, all six of them, and measure the resulting slugs with a micrometer. The throats need to be absolutely clean for this procedure, and lightly oiled.

[pmer]

I would slug the throats and bore before sending it off. Push a soft piece of lead through and measure the diameters and report back here. This way I think you'll have a better idea on how to handle the issue. Too small is better than too big as far as the throats go.

Does it shoot good now with out much leading?

[wantoutofca]

We slugged the bore at .4285 but have not slugged the throats yet. It leads the first 1-1.5" of the barrel so I'm sure they are under sized. No problems in the same model gun opened to .430.

[bhn22]

You need to know for sure. S&W throats run all over the place, but most I've seen were on the large side.

[wantoutofca]

The throats vary from right at groove diameter (,4285) to a thousandth under.

[gray wolf]

Too small is better than too big as far as the throats go.
??? are you sure ???

[HATCH]

Are you having issues putting loaded rounds in the cylinder itself??

i can tell you that if you send it back to sw that you will not get it back for 6 months

[wantoutofca]

Are you having issues putting loaded rounds in the cylinder itself??

i can tell you that if you send it back to sw that you will not get it back for 6 months

No issues with the loaded rounds... Just have a leading issue in the first inch of the barrel.

He is like many of us are these days: free trumps speed. In talking to my shooting buddies they have had pretty good turn around times as of late.

[HATCH]

My dad sent a 610 back to sw and its still there. 6 months and counting....

[Tatume]

My dad sent a 610 back to sw and its still there. 6 months and counting....

i can tell you that if you send it back to sw that you will not get it back for 6 months

I've sent back several revolvers and S&W has always returned them within two weeks.

[KYShooter73]

They have a laser for a bodyguard of mine right now, just needs to be replaced. 3 months and still waiting on them to mail me one.

[cbrick]

Too small is better than too big as far as the throats go.

I think that needs some of that there re-thinking. Why would you think it's good to use the throats as sizing dies & then send a re-sized boolit that's too small down the bore? The throats need to be at or just a tick LARGER than groove diameter.

As to turn around time it's been my experience that . . . It depends. On what? Who knows but the factory. Ruger had a revolver of mine for a year but that's certainly the exception, not the rule.

If all is well with the revolver except throat diameter (yes, you need to slug them) I would find a good local smith to ream them as opposed to the shipping both ways and then the factory which may or may not do anything. You can even do it yourself if your willing to invest in the proper tools, reamer, guides etc. Brownells can fix you up with the right tools.

Rick

[Wayne Smith]

July to the end of October for me, and absolutely no communication from them to me. Not even a notice that they had returned the gun!

[wantoutofca]

I would find a good local smith to ream them as opposed to the shipping both ways and then the factory which may or may not do anything.

He already checked with our local smith. He won't do it. The next closest smith is 2 hours away. At least with s&w they will pay the shipping.

[pmer]

[QUOTE=cbrick;2496379]I think that needs some of that there re-thinking. Why would you think it's good to use the throats as sizing dies & then send a re-sized boolit that's too small down the bore? The throats need to be at or just a tick LARGER than groove diameter.

As to turn around time it's been my experience that . . . It depends. On what? Who knows but the factory. Ruger had a revolver of mine for a year but that's certainly the exception, not the rule.

If all is well with the revolver except throat diameter (yes, you need to slug them) I would find a good local smith to ream them as opposed to the shipping both ways and then the factory which may or may not do anything. You can even do it yourself if your willing to invest in the proper tools, reamer, guides etc. Brownells can fix you up with the right]

Yes the throats can be fixed if they are too small..is the cylinder Smith still in business?

Oops, having trouble deleting post with the smart phone.

[wantoutofca]

Cylinder smith only does 45 cal now

[detox]

A lot of S&W revolvers have thread choke where the barrel screws into the frame. So opening up the cylinder throats may not help. Have you tried a gas check lead bullet with softer 16/1 - 20/1 alloy? I bet this will cure your leading problem without working on the gun.

Lead can be removed easily from barrel with smaller bore brush and 0000 steel wool...Hoppes solvent makes it easier also. Lead also collects in cylinder just before forcing cone (very hard to see without bore scope). This can be removed using a cordless drill and oversize bore brush and Hoppes solvent.

[WallyM3]

These are the SAAMI specs. No guarantee about correlation with S&W specs.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saami.org%2FPubResources%2FCC _Drawings%2FPistol%2F44%2520Remington%2520Magnum.p df&ei=5FGZUqvVHIfisAS6soDABQ&usg=AFQjCNE86I3lHqXEtNoey08NUfg2oYSSJQ&sig2=ejSEhe-qWz3ktwU4UnaWdw&bvm=bv.57155469,d.cWc

Recently, a friend had trouble with a S&W 27. Factory sent him a label and had the gun back in less than a week.

[wantoutofca]

Thanks for the specs... .4275 throats seem way smaller than they did a minute ago. He is currently waiting for the shipping level. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

[wantoutofca]

Just got off the phone with my BIL. The gun came back with a new cylinder and .430 throats. Got to hand it to s&w on this one. Looks like they done good.

[HATCH]

Great. My dad still hasn't got back his 610. It appears they had a fire or something and lost all the computer records a few months ago and that is the delay.

[azrednek]

Cylinder smith only does 45 cal now

Can anybody recommend another cylinder smith to ream cylinder mouths?? I have a 44 I want opened to .431.

[pojv]

azredneck,
Give Kent a call. he worked on my S&W28 and I was very pleased. He is located in Glendale.

Phil

Kent@KSCustom.com 602-526-6836

[FergusonTO35]

I'm taking my 642 to the dealer tomorrow to ship it back for a rough forcing cone and to have the rear sight notch opened up a bit. Hopefully I'll also get a good repair done quickly.