S&W 686 repair question

C

CapnCurly

Inactive
I purchased a new 686 Plus with a 4 inch barrel in December - my first revolver. After taking it to the range for the first time, I noticed a blemish on the finish - a pit on the outside of the barrel. Having just dropped a lot of money on it, contacted S&W about getting it fixed. I went through the normal warranty process; they sent me a fedex label, I sent it to them with a description of the problem, and it arrived back to me two weeks to the day. The blemish on the barrel finish was corrected, BUT there was a new problem. It came back to me jammed/locked up. The cylinder was completely stuck and unmovable in a not-all-the-way-closed position, and the cylinder release was in the forward position (where you push it to to release the cylinder) and completely unmovable also. (see attached pictures)

I immediately called S&W. They apologized and sent me another fedex label to send it back to them again. I got it back yesterday, and it is no longer jammed. However, they included a piece of paper that said there was nothing wrong with the gun when they got it, so they're just sending it back to me. Obviously they did SOMETHING, because they it's working now. The skeptic in me guesses they unjammed it and didn't want to document that they did anything wrong in the first place. Now I'm nervous about the condition of my gun. So, a few questions:

1) any guess, based on the description and the pictures, what might've caused the jam in the first place?

2) should I be concerned about my gun? I don't SEE anything wrong, but I'm terrified that my new baby is worse for ware or the alignment/tuning is poorer or some part is bent slightly more than it used to be after being like that for so long (probably at least a week). Because S&W didn't give me any info on what they did with it the second time, I'm worried that I might just be behaving like a hypochondriac or a new parent, but I don't know enough about revolver movements and fit and finish to know if I should be concerned about something I can't see or not. And without knowing, I'm left to imagining what might be wrong - is an important part warped now? is the alignment worse?there's a little rotational wiggle in the cylinder, is it more than there was before? stuff like that.

I'm not opposed to taking it to the gunsmith at the shop where I got it, but the last time I went in there with a question they treated me REALLY poorly and just kindof made snarky comments. So, if there's reason to want a gunsmith to check it out, I'll suck it up and have them look at it (they're the only ones in my area), but I'd just as rather not if there's no need to. If I'm just being a worry-wart, it would be a relief to be told that, too.

Thanks for the help
 

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My guess is that either something was jammed under the ejector star or the ejector rod itself was ever-so-slightly loose, either of which will NOT allow the ejector to sit completely flush -- and will thus not allow the cylinder to be closed.

And when you start looking at the crane, you start to wonder if something got bent or taken "out of shape."

I just went through this with a Model 19. When there's something mucking up the ejector's ability to lay absolutely flush where it belongs, things go to hell in a hand basket.

Let me tell you, I absolutely love revolvers, I've got more than a half dozen of them and I'm far from done buying them. I'm a huge, huge fan. But I'm not in that group of people who believe that revolvers are dead-balls reliable and won't ever stop. There's nothing "simple" about them and the biggest different between a revolver and semi-auto tends to be (in my experience) that when an auto has a mishap, it's a one-second two-hand motion and you are back in business. But when a revolver stops working, it's a trip to the work bench under bright light or a visit to a gunsmith.

And I believe the folks who thing revolvers are end-of-day reliable haven't owned or shot enough revolvers.
 
Here's one thing you can try to help put yourself a bit at ease.

The forward most screw on the right side of the revolver is there to retain the crane. With a proper gunsmith screwdriver (so you don't bugger up the screw head using a cheap Stanley ;)) remove that screw.

When you do that, you can pull the crane forward and remove your cylinder from the revolver.

Remove the cylinder completely from your 686 and then casually fit the crane back in to the revolver with no cylinder. You should see with a fine eye and also "feel" how precisely that crane fits in to the frame. It fits as nicely as your head on a pillow. Just putting that piece in there and "closing" it will put your mind at ease. It should come to rest and look like Horace Smith himself fitted that crane to the frame.
 
I don't SEE anything wrong, but I'm terrified that my new baby is worse for ware or the alignment/tuning is poorer or some part is bent slightly more than it used to be after being like that for so long (probably at least a week). Because S&W didn't give me any info on what they did with it the second time, I'm worried that I might just be behaving like a hypochondriac or a new parent, but I don't know enough about revolver movements and fit and finish to know if I should be concerned about something I can't see or not.
Click to expand...

If it came back from Smith, I can almost assure you that it works perfectly....

Now...about your comments....Do not EVER watch a Smith and Wesson armorer work on your gun. Some of the favorite tools are wooden wedges and a babbit bar. A babbit bar is, literally, a round chunk of lead used to beat a Smith & Wesson revolver into submission. Files, stones, hammers and reamers are the other tools used. Its kind of like sausage...you will enjoy it more is you don't actually watch it being made.

:)
 
Wish I could find a 4 inch 686 right now, but I cannot. As soon as I find one I am gonna plop the money down for it right then and there.

Mind if I ask how much you were able to snag yours for?
 
Wish you had taken a third picture of the forward parts.
Just a guess, but
Bet the ejector rod wasn't screwed all the way on, was hitting the barrel shroud, and wouldn't allow the cylinder to close.
Hard to imagine that whoever worked on it the first time didn't see that.
If so, it's no big deal and a common occurrence.
Just a revolver thing.
 
S&W revolvers are my favorite handguns, both new and old. The new ones don't hold a candle to the old blued guns in appearance. You'll see dings, marks, pits, and once in a while real issues like timing, fouled up extractor, forcing cone area messed up. But the guns usually work right out of the box. That is to say they will fire if you pull the trigger and that is all some people care about. If you want it to run as sweetly as the old guns you may have to do a little work on it.

Of the last 5 new S&W revolvers I bought 4 went back for warranty repairs. The fifth one isn't right but works every time I pull the trigger, I use it as is.
Of the 4 that went back to S&W, one wasn't repaired in 3 trips, no longer own it. one they replaced the extractor but failed to fit it properly, I'll get around to it someday, it does shoot when you pull the trigger. One is OK. One they replaced a bad extractor, didn't do any thing about the cosmetic defects, did not correct the rear of the bbl where it is ground off lop sided and not square to the face of the cylinder, it really looks bad but shoots good enough for IDPA.

All of the guns would fire right out of the box but noe were close quality wise to the 4 0r 5 I bought in the 70's or the used guns I've bought that were made prior to the 80's.
 
I'm sure it is fine. If it isn't, send it back to them again but this time go shoot the heck out of the gun first. Putting a box or three down range should put your mind at ease and if there is a problem with the ejector or cylinder, it should manifest itself at the range as the gun gets dirty.
 
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