Help With Some Gunsmith Work I Had Done Please

[Tony C]

All,

I am in need of help and feedback from those with experience on what quality gunsmith work should be.

I have a S&W 642 and took it to a very well reviewed gunsmith in my area of Oregon to have the front sight post milled off and a XS Big Dot Sight installed, and to have the trigger worked. I asked them to take the trigger, which I believe was close to a 12# pull, to between 8.5 and 9 pounds.

When I got the revolver back, two things jumped out at me. First, I was surprised by what appears to me to be a very poorly done milling job. I have to admit that I have zero experience with this kind of work though, and am not sure if it is a bad as I think.

Also, when testing the trigger pull, while it was noticeably smoother, it still seemed very heavy. I asked the counter guy to tell me what the trigger weight was, and he told me that he couldn't be sure because their pull gauge didn't work that well. When he tested it, it tested at almost 11 pounds.

So, here are my questions: First, take a look at these pictures and tell me if this is what I should have expected from finished milling work. Also, is 8.5 to 9 pounds of trigger pull weight appropriate for a daily carry revolver and should I be able to expect them to correct their work to that expectation?

Thanks for your insight,
Tony

 

[FrankenMauser]

The trigger pull sounds average.

The milling job you have highlighted was done at the factory. It's the raised section just in front of that, that your 'smith worked on.

What he did was pick up the first "step" in that top rib, and carry it forward to remove the front sight. The "nasty" part was all S&W...

 

[tangolima]

642 is DA only. The trigger cocks the hammer back. Trigger weight x trigger travel = hammer energy. Unless you are willing to reduce the hammer energy there probably is not much room to lighten the trigger. It can be done for a target gun, but it is not advisable for a duty or self defense gun, as it may cause failure to fire. I wouldn't do it for my customer if I were the gunsmith, because of liability.

-TL

 

[HiBC]

I have not looked at those handguns,but,I'll agree that "milling" issue might very well be some original S+W machining,or not? The bottom of you Big Dot sight has to rest on that steel.The height of the rib it rests on is pretty much determined by what makes the gun shoot to the correct elevation.This may be a number recommendes by your sight company...as in,your smith followed the instructions,or,it may have been whatever put the front sight at original height.

But that determines what gets milled off.

On the trigger pull,I'm not a DA trigger pull expert.If it is smoother,as you say,your smith did do some level of trigger job.If it works,hes not a total hack.I can't tell you what weight trigger pull to expect.On a DA only,big dot sighted snubby,I'd not expect a bullseye match trigger.Your smith may have (justifiably) delivered a slicked but as designed reliable life and death trigger for a SD belly gun.

I can tell you,once upon a time,in Alaska,my brother bought a Redhawk 44mag for a sidearm to have along on a trip that I was joining him.He had a smith do an action job on it.He test fired it with 44 spl ammo.All was well.

As luck would have it,we were about 200 miles from the nearest road via the Yukon when Mr Bear came up to the small backpacking tent my wife and I wee sleeping in,push his paws down on the lump that was my wife sleeping,and take a bite.

She requested I not let the bear bite her again...and things got a little exciting from there.Hollering,dog barking,etc.

Eventually,one noise that was heard was the shucking and booming of my Win 97 riot gun full of slugs.

That was after the other noise which was a Redhawk going "click,click,click,click",as my brother,said(while I was still in the tent) "Bob,you better shoot that bear.Bob,the bear is right there.Bob,shoot the bear" Apparently Mr Bear was still handshake range at that time,outside my tent.

The 44 Magnum loads had harder Magnum primers and the action job would not fire magnum primers.It did fine on 44Spl primers.

I had a K-frame Smith,an M-10,that had a wonderful trigger,but required Rem primers.

Its your gun,you are the customer.I suggest,talk very nice to your gunsmith.Respectfully ask him to help you understand your options,the tradeoffs,and what work he will perform in good conscience.

Maybe the answer would be installation of a spring kit.I'm not a pistolsmith,however.

 

[Gunfixr]

The milling is fine. That is simply some left over of the original ramp. There is a fine line between removing all of a feature, and cutting down into the next lower feature, and once you've gone too far, there's no putting it back.
As for weight, since I didn't do your gun, I cannot say for sure why you still have an 11 lb trigger. What I can say is that 8.5 to 9 lbs is doable. For a carry gun, 9 to 9.5 is the norm, 8.5 with good reliability doesn't always happen.
I can consistently get 9 to 9.5 in a j frame, with good primer strikes.

 

[Snyper]

I'm surprised they didn't clean up the epoxy around the sight

 

[James K]

My 642 has the same milling. It is factory.

As to the trigger pull, the 642 is a J frame with no hammer spur, so the hammer is small and light. To have enough energy to fire primers reliably, the mainspring has to be fairly heavy, so many gunsmiths (yours truly included) won't take the DA pull down below a certain level. The factory pull runs about 12 pounds; I consider 9 pounds the very lowest and then you might have misfires with hard primers.

For a carry gun, it is better to be safe than sorry. Folks argue about what bullet to use or what caliber but all agree that no bad guy was ever stopped by clicking at him. I recommend practice with the factory pull; you can shoot that gun very accurately with it as is.

Jim