"Durability Enhancements" to S&W N-frame

J

Johnny Guest

Moderator in Memoriam
I've noticed the use of this term, "Durability Enhancements," in several recent strings. I confess ignorance but would like to be enlightened.

When did these begin to be included?

Would my 625-6(??) Mountain Gun have 'em? Hammer mounted firing pin on mine.

How would I tell by looking?

Appreciate the information.
Johnny
 
Essentially it was a thickening of metal in certain critical points, possibly combined with new heat treating (I'm unclear on that aspect) to allow the .44 Mags. to stand up better to repeated use.

Essentially, it's the same thing that was done to the K-frame in the early 1980s, only the N-frame didn't get a new model name to go with it.

I'm pretty certain that after a certain date ALL N-frame revolvers were so modified. I just don't know when the date was.

I would say that yes, your Mountain Gun is late enough by far to be so modified.
 
I understand my 629-4 has the durability upgrades. They were put in place as a response to complaints from sillhouette shooters about cylinders backing up during firing with heavy loads. All mods mentioned above, and a slightly stiffer spring for the bolt, to prevent unwanted cylinder indexing. Nothing like a click when you want a bang in competition to get your attention!
 
I believe it includes all the mountain guns

On the Endurance package models, the locking notches on the cylinder are visibly longer than on the pre-enhancement revolvers.
 
Between 1988 and 1990, guns got a strengthening package that included; improvements to the cylinder crane, studs within the frame were radiused to help remove metal stress, cylinder stop notches were enlarged and the bolt and other internal parts were changed to prevent battering under recoil.
 
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