Hello
I have always been a Fan of the .32 Caliber in revolvers. I have several in my S&W collection and recently added the now Not Produced model 431 P.D. This revolver is a Titanium & Scandium built revolver which spells light weight carry at 11 OZ. & I felt it would be the perfect summer Pocket Carry Gun and this one had only been fired a dozen times when I Picked it up, so it was still New to me. It is chambered in the Infamous .32 H&R magnum caliber, and the bonus is it is a Six round revolver unlike their larger brother The .38 Special or .357 Magnum caliber being both of them are Five shot revolver's. I took this revolver to the range right after buying it and was not surprised as it proved to be very accurate, with the box of Federal Factory ammo I shot through it. I then hand loaded some medium Power target Loads much less Powerful than the factory Loadings were and ran about Three hundred rounds through it. The revolver performed flawlessly as well with these hand loads, and actually they were what I call "Powder Puff Loads" due to their lower state of Power. Upon Getting back home it is standard Practice with me to clean all my guns before Putting them away. I noticed the extractor did not look right nor feel right in this gun. I took a 10-X Loop and looked much closer and it was apparent that each notch that advances the cylinder when the cylinder hand comes in contact with it, Had some small Pieces broke off them. I could not believe what I was seeing with a revolver that had such a Low round count. I then Placed a call to S&W service and left a Voice mail message with Larry who I always speak there when calling the service department as he has been there a Very Long time and knows his craft well. I waited the whole day and did not hear back from him so called the next day and left another Phone voice mail message that I needed him to call me as soon as Possible as this concerned my Daily carry weapon that I had a major safety problem with. Another full Day passed with no return call. By now, I was not all that Pleased with the performance of the S&W service Department, so I Placed a Third Call to Larry and again, had to leave Yet Another voice mail. I will not print here what I left for a message the Third time I called him, But it was not shall we say very Product user friendly. On the Beginning of The Fourth Day of waiting Larry, Finally returned my call. He explained to me that evidently the extractor had been "Over heat treated" and he felt this was the reason it had broke some small Pieces of it. He then asked for my address so the revolver can be shipped back to S&W so they can Fit a new extractor to the gun. I have always had Older S&W revolvers in the past and for the most part have not had any issues with them. The revolver I carry in the winter time is a carbon steel High Polished Chrome refinished pre-30- Model -J- Frame in .32 S&W Long caliber that I have fired Many, Many Hundreds of rounds through since I got it used and who knows how many it had through it before I got it since it was made in 1958,
{See Picture of It's Extractor Below} But back then it is my feeling that S&W Built a revolver to carry, shoot, enjoy and pass down to many generations without these sensless problems. When I went to buy this revolver, I did not even mind that It had the Dreaded "Hilliary Hole" Lock a lot of People complain about in the side of it , But it is pretty pathetic that less than 500 rounds have been fired through this gun and most were far less powerful than the factory Loadings and now it has to be returned to have a new extractor placed in it. I can only Imagine what Might of happened if I had missed this Very Crucial Safety related issue and went on to shoot it, Possibly having it not index the round correctly and either blow the gun apart or hurt myself real Bad from self destructing. This Product Nor The Service is real Impressive to me right at this Point, and I Hope their repairs are good and last when I get it back. It Pains me to see how Poor the quality is with these Parts as I Never expected to be returning this revolver in my Lifetime for anything, But it shows me why perhaps why sales are in a slump for these High Priced Ill Made Products. Regretfully, Hammerdown
Model 431 P.D. Revolver With Damaged Extractor
Pre-30 Extractor Circa 1958 with Many, Many hundreds of rounds on it.
