Posted: 12/4/2016 2:08:35 PM EDT
| I want to get a SW revolver in 38/357. I can't get over the internal lock over the cylinder release. I've looked around locally and there aren't many pre-locks available. How big of a deal is it? |
| It takes an effort but pre lock guns can be found for a fair price ( my personal irony is when I lived in anti gun New York the shops were full of older smiths now that I live in free America- Arizona- they seem to be unobtainable here for the most part except at premium price) I have had just a few lock guns and they functioned just as well as the older guns honestly. Having said that my guideline for revolvers is to buy only those older than me (50) |
| The older no lock Smiths just keep going up , I saw this some time ago and started to pick them off when I would see one , like a nice clean model 67 no dash stainless sights for 299 I even left the shop came back later and still there . I found a real clean 4 in model 28 for 275 took that home . even a bare bones model 10 38 spl. are 500 now . |
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Pre lock is like pre 64 Winchester. Collectors bid them up because of some belief they are "better." MIM parts are one excuse, but the reality is that MIM works just fine. In fact a MIM hammer and sear are more likely to deliver a smoother trigger pull because they aren't machined with old tooling or grinder marks. MIM doesn't need finish machining, its the entire point. That's why later SW 3 Gens with MIM parts are a bargain - you get a better trigger for less. I have a 4566TSW and it's a great trigger.
I also realize I'm not going to convince older shooters of it. They outvote me with money and we all have to live with it. If you are looking for a specific SW model get it while the getting is good, that market is now being trolled by a lot of shooters and the prices won't ever go down. Buy now before SW's approach Colt Anaconda pricing. Since I bought my 4566TSW I have seen maybe three listings getting flipped and they all want retail or collector value. I suspect the wheelguns bottomed out last year with no where to go but up. If you wait you lose. Really. I wouldn't buy a used German auto pistol back in the day when they were $450 and you had your pick. HK P7's are now $1400 and they aren't making them any more . . . |
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The internal lock is a non-issue, and the reason that the misinformation lives on is because of people spreading BS that they heard on the internet.
Another reason is because owners of the older pre-lock revolvers keep pushing the rumors so higher prices can be demanded. Personally, I have owned many S&W revolvers over the years with and without the internal lock, and between the 629, 686, 642, 637, and 67 I have thousands upon thousands of trouble free rounds with internal lock variants. I actually prefer the newer production revolvers over the old ones... Blasphemy I know... 
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Quoted:
Good to know, thanks. Still seems like a quality piece. They are great little pistols. MIM parts are hated and criticized by the noisy minority for mostly emotional reasons. They are hated because it's not the way it used to be done, and because other manufacturers such as Taurus have made a bad name for MIM parts. The truth is S&W uses quality MIM parts that actually produce a smoother trigger pull out of the box than forged parts with little to no fitting, and are just as strong. Some people may disagree with the above, but it's the truth. |
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Quoted:
They are great little pistols. MIM parts are hated and criticized by the noisy minority for mostly emotional reasons. They are hated because it's not the way it used to be done, and because other manufacturers such as Taurus have made a bad name for MIM parts. The truth is S&W uses quality MIM parts that actually produce a smoother trigger pull out of the box than forged parts with little to no fitting, and are just as strong. Some people may disagree with the above, but it's the truth. If done right yeah they are good to go. But you do have the probability just like forged or machined parts to have a bad one in the batch. I have never seen concrete data that MIM is more prone to failure. I have Kimber and Springfield 1911 pistols with MIM parts and have never had a part fail that was MIM and pretty much all my Glocks have MIM parts as well. |
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Buy the revolver and if the lock still causes you upset simply remove it, S&W still makes a nice revolver and the mim internals most often obviate the need for a trigger job.
And besides, S&W offers a "lifetime service policy" so they still own every unaltered part in every gun the sell. |
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While I mentioned for me the lock is no deal breaker or what type parts they use as long as they work and are durable, my biggest issue with guns today to include S&W is the lack of guns in old style blued finish.
I previously lived in a very humid area and never had a problem with bluing rusting with minimal attention. Everything otherwise new and interesting seems to only be made in stainless steel which I just don't like the looks of. |
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Quoted:
While I mentioned for me the lock is no deal breaker or what type parts they use as long as they work and are durable, my biggest issue with guns today to include S&W is the lack of guns in old style blued finish. I previously lived in a very humid area and never had a problem with bluing rusting with minimal attention. Everything otherwise new and interesting seems to only be made in stainless steel which I just don't like the looks of. IIRC the original bluing method has been banned by the government, allegedly for environmental issues. |
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Quoted:
While I mentioned for me the lock is no deal breaker or what type parts they use as long as they work and are durable, my biggest issue with guns today to include S&W is the lack of guns in old style blued finish. I previously lived in a very humid area and never had a problem with bluing rusting with minimal attention. Everything otherwise new and interesting seems to only be made in stainless steel which I just don't like the looks of. Smith & Wesson still makes a full "Classic" product line in blued finish. Most shops don't carry them because there is very little demand for them over the stainless versions. Gunbroker Search |
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"Lifetime warranty service" was discontinued for the 3Gen guns and parts are starting to dry up. Along with magazines. S&W isn't run by the same management that used to be in charge, and it's changing further in the near future when it drops the S&W name for it's organization. We will likely see the logo on the guns but it's not going to be on the sign at the factory gates.
Precisely the trend why collectors are bidding them up. |