J-Frame SA Issue

S

Shadi Khalil

New member
Good afternoon all.

This morning I was out back doing some drills with the EDC (S&W 637) and once I'd finished up with business end of things, I decided to have some fun with a few long range shots (25 yards). Normally, for very slow aimed fire, I'll just stage the trigger; once in a while I'll cock the hammer back, just to make sure everything is functioning.

After firing off my first single action shot, I noticed the trigger felt a bit heavier than usual. I fired off the rest of the 4 rounds in SA and certainly noticed that the usual "like breaking glass" feeling was gone. I did a quick clean and oil and loaded up another cylinder. This time the hammer would not cock back some of the times. Other times it cocked back but did not rotate the cylinder.

The revolver has no issues shooting in DA, no matter how slow or fast I pull the trigger. I do clean the gun pretty regularly but have never had the side plate off. Could it be just a matter of gummed up works? Here's some vitals about the gun...

- it's carried a lot and shot a lot. Most of the ammo it seems is SD +P ammo.

- The gun is almost 3 years old and after its first month of ownership the hammer cracked. I sent it back and for some reason, S&W changed the whole frame.

- The gun is cleaned regularly but has never had the side plate removed.

I've already sent a request to S&W but I'm hoping to avoid sending it off. I don't have the right screw driver set so I have not really attempted any diagnosis..

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
You might have some junk stuck somewhere inside. It's really easy to remove the side plate to see, there are a number of videos on how to do it. You don't have to have a great screwdriver, just take great care not to let it slip out of the slot while turning it. Of course there is a screw under the grip, don't forget that one. When the screws are out, just tap on the handle (from the side the plate is on) gently until the plate loosens up. DO NOT PRY. The frame and side plate are aluminum and won't take much abuse.

Further disassembly is also very easy, at least removal of the hammer which will likely be beneficial for cleaning. The rebound spring is kind of tough, avoid that on your first time out WBMA. If the plate won't press all the way back on, don't worry, you can use the screws gently to draw it back into place once it's on far enough to get them started.

Good Luck.
 
spacecoast,

Thanks for the reply. I've taken the side plates off other revolvers in the past but never any real disassembly. I'm admittedly not the most handy person but I can takedown / reassemble my 22/45, that counts for something, right? I'll watch some YouTube videos and gauge the difficulty level.
 
You can strip down a J frame bare very easily. The rebound slide can be tricky to get back in but if you use a small screwdriver that is just big enough where it cannot fit inside the rebound spring it helps getting it back it without tearing up your finger.

This video helped me out a few years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVPYgohVCNM
 
I recommend taking the gun to a knowledgable gunsmith.

Clean it, check for obvious problems like bug poo on the sear and so forth. But especially if you're admittedly "not the most handy", get it to someone who is. Working on the inner mechanism of a revolver is not the same as installing a paper towel holder.

You will hear contrasting opinions.


Sgt Lumpy
 
Normally I'd say that you've got a mainspring strain screw that's backing out, but with the J frame that's not possible.

It could be any number of things, but this:

"Other times it cocked back but did not rotate the cylinder."

Tells me that you've might have a broken cylinder bolt spring, and it's not allowing the bolt to cycle properly.
 
The first thing I'd look at is the gap between the forcing cone and the cylinder. Some people don't do a very good job cleaning in this area. I've seen guns start to drag and the owner didn't "get the lead out".
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

It sounds like it can be any number of issues, so I'll just let S&W sort it out.

My biggest concern is what kind of trigger pull my revolver will come back with. Over the last couple years, the trigger on my 637 has become near perfect. There has been no work done on it, other than live and dry firing. So, I'm really hoping it comes back the same but I doubt it will.
 
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