Anyone ever have a S&W jam on them?

[JRingo]

I was at the range the other day firing one of my S&W Model 10s with a three inch barrel.  I was using Winchester ball ammo and as I was pulling the trigger back, it would only come back slightly and then jammed up and wouldn't let me pull back any farther.  I let the trigger go and it then fired as I pulled the trigger.  I thought at first that it may have been a high primer, but it wasn't.  I checked the hand and ratched and all looked okay.

Today I was cleaning the same revolver and dry firing it and the exact same thing happened.  Since I use both of these revolvers on duty, it definately has me more than a little spooked.  I won't be using this particular revolver until I find out what caused this.  Anyone have any ideas?  Has anyone had any similar incidents?

[tominboise]

Take the side plate off and give it a good cleaning inside.  I have had similar failures with N-frame Smiths, when the lubricant inside has dried out and gummed up.  Try this before you panic......... :wink:

[JRingo]

Thanks for the reply Tom.  -  I had just finished completely breaking the gun down and cleaned it thoroughly.  I also cleaned the hand and cylinder bolt slots.  The revolver still jammed after the cleaning.

[TScottO]

Same here. The only time I've had this happen was with a factory new gun while dry firing to break it in a bit. The gun jammed up just as you say. Come to find out the gun was shipped from the factory without the first drop of lube, dry as a bone. A good lub job and haven't had a problem since.

Take Care,
Scott

[Horsefeathers]

My Model 10 works fine after 50 years of use and 13000 rounds later. BUT!  I have had the same problem from time to time. The reason was not stroking  the trigger properly. You must follow through each time. Any hesitation will hang up the action. Just as if you had pulled the trigger half way back and then let slip forward and then back again. This will happen if you jerk the trigger double action. Or single action if you pull hammer back partially .   Thi is simmilar to pulling the hammerback while also pulling on the trigger.
Horsefeathers.

[nomikes]

Check your mainspring and your set screw for the mainspring.  The mainspring may be "knuckling".  Check the screw for length, being fully screwed in and the mainspring for being bent and integrity.  These parts are cheap, so, replacing them before spending a lot of money on something else is smart.  Also check your ejector rod for tightness.  If that is loose it can jam the gun.  Modern guns use reverse threads.  Make sure your cylinder latch is working properly.  If it is not returning completely, that can freeze the gun.  Check your cylinder and forcing cone for debris which could effect the cylinder gap and bind the gun.  And the periennial favorite, powder residue under the star!  If you reload, make sure your primers are completely set and you have not gotten any accidental extra length in your rounds..

[Sir Knight]

Anyone ever have a S&W jam on them?

Yes, a 342.

[Gregory]

Same here. The only time I've had this happen was with a factory new gun while dry firing to break it in a bit. The gun jammed up just as you say. Come to find out the gun was shipped from the factory without the first drop of lube, dry as a bone. A good lub job and haven't had a problem since.

Take Care,
Scott

Has the ejection pin backed out?  Try giving it a few turns and see what happens.

[dave375hh]

The only one I've seen was a friends gun wouldn't cycle after he had a pierced primer. The little plug of primer went back into the action and bound it up. I took it apart and got the piece of primer out and everything worked fine after that. I've never had a hang up on any of mine, some of which are 30+ years old.

[tomaldridge]

You didn't say if the revolver was new when you bought it.  If not, there a a couple of things a "gunsmith" could do to mess it up.  I'd have it checked by a S&W certified armorer.

[Old Griz]

:cb2: I'm no expert, I only have five S&W guns and that's just a drop in the bucket compared to some of the guys around here, but I've never had one jam. Had one not fire .357 rounds, but that was because the main spring screw had worked loose and it wasn't striking the primers hard enough. But so far, no jams, not even in my '60s guns.

[Nickelplated]

i have never had a model 10 fail but have had others do similar if not same malfunction after cleaning and lubing i'd mark cylinder when it does this . could be same one each time and i would inspect ejector carefully
may have burr .  

[jakes10mm]

Years back, I went through several S&W 686 models including one of the Classic Hunter Models (which I wish I had held onto).  The cylinders would lock up after some range use.  Tracked the problem back to the cylinder.  For some reason, I was getting powder residue under the extractor plate and this caused the cylinder to lock.  

Currently, I have a 17 K22 that will bind in the same way after 100 or so rounds.  This problem seems to be wear related as there is some slack in the cylinder.  The cylinder gap goes to nothing and the barrel and cylinder face bind each other.  My gunsmith in working on shimming the cylinder back into it original position a few thousands rearward.  

Never had any problems with 29, 629, or 610 models.

[Malamute]

I've had trouble with crud getting under the extractor star also. Some powders are worse about it than others. I found that by having the barrel completely vertical when ejecting shells, and giving the extractor rod a SHARP rap with the heel of the right hand, not a slow push, helped keep crud from getting under the extractor star as much. It's also good practice to clear the gun quickly, instead of monkeying around with spent brass. We tend to do under stress what we do in practice. I'll worry about brass after I'm done shooting.

Have had a couple guns bind when the extractor rod came loose. I take the cylinder out of the gun, clamp the rod in a bench vise between two wood blocks to pad it and several empty shells in chambers to hold the star in place without stress, and hand torque the cylinder tightly. I've never had one come loose when well torqued, nor have I used any loc-tite or other thread locker.

[thales]

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After ruling out extractor/extractor rod problems, I would look into the action.  First, disassemble it completely and make sure that it is very clean and appropriately lubricated.  If the revolver has had a trigger job,  there are a couple of potential problems.  One was addressed earlier; the mainspring strain screw needs to be tightened enough that the spring will not knuckle.  If the screw is not tightened all the way it can back out.  Also, if the rebound spring is too light, it will not be able to reset the trigger reliably.

You should carefully inspect the rebound slide, inside and out, and the hammer block for any burrs or divots that could make it hang up.  I had a Model 48 with a very nice action that would occasionally exhibit a very similar problem to what you report.  A burr in the hole where it engages the rebound slide pin would sometimes give just enough drag to keep the trigger from resetting, locking up the action.


*

[unspellable]

I have had several jams with S&W revolvers and various other firearms due to ammo being miss-sized.  I'm not just talking reloads, I have a collection of factory ammo that won't fit.

The old time big game hunters would check to make sure all their ammo would chamber properly before they went to the field.  It isn't such a bad idea for serious self defense ammo either.

[wyocarp]

I was at the range the other day firing one of my S&W Model 10s with a three inch barrel.  I was using Winchester ball ammo and as I was pulling the trigger back, it would only come back slightly and then jammed up and wouldn't let me pull back any farther.  I let the trigger go and it then fired as I pulled the trigger.  I thought at first that it may have been a high primer, but it wasn't.  I checked the hand and ratched and all looked okay.

Today I was cleaning the same revolver and dry firing it and the exact same thing happened.  Since I use both of these revolvers on duty, it definately has me more than a little spooked.  I won't be using this particular revolver until I find out what caused this.  Anyone have any ideas?  Has anyone had any similar incidents?

Ringo, I had one of my new Smith & Wesson .500's do exactly what you describe this past year.  I took it back to Cabela's, where I bought it and the gun manager took the grip off and proceded to look at the mechanism inside.  Plain as day, a pin hadn't been pushed in far enough, was rubbing, and every once in a while it would catch and kind of jam up.  They gave me a new gun with no more questions.  You might want to look into it.