I'm happy to say that S&W did resolve the leading issue that my 642 had.
The original cylinder had undersized throats which would not allow a .356" diameter lead .380 bullet to pass through. They replaced that with a new cylinder that would pass the .358" .38 lead bullets, but not the .356" lead .380 bullets, and they also repaired the yoke.
Last week I shot 76 reloads through it, and today another 70. No lead in the rifling, and just a little in the forcing cone. The barrel cleaned up with patches and 3-part Ed's Red. I did brush out the forcing cone a little.
Lately I've been saying bad things about S&W's repair department, but I wanted to set the record straight. They did fix the leading problem.
The original cylinder had undersized throats which would not allow a .356" diameter lead .380 bullet to pass through. They replaced that with a new cylinder that would pass the .358" .38 lead bullets, but not the .356" lead .380 bullets, and they also repaired the yoke.
Last week I shot 76 reloads through it, and today another 70. No lead in the rifling, and just a little in the forcing cone. The barrel cleaned up with patches and 3-part Ed's Red. I did brush out the forcing cone a little.
Lately I've been saying bad things about S&W's repair department, but I wanted to set the record straight. They did fix the leading problem.
Last edited: