S&W regulation police question

J

jhard

Inactive
I have a regulation police that will only fire every few times, my question is looking at the hammer nose (firing pin) it will move up and down, seems to be too loose. Can any of my S&W guys tell me is that the way it should be and are my misfires because it is worn or loose? that you so much..
 
The hammer nose (firing pin) of S&W's are generally loose, that is not likely the cause of your problem. Things to look at when having misfires, are: Strain screw backed out, faulty (someone altered), main-spring. It is difficult to determine what is causing your problem without looking at the gun and its internals with the side-plate off.
 
The firing pin on an S&W should be able to move up and down. Tighten the screw on the bottom of the front strap (might have to remove the grips to see it).
 
By allowing the firing pin to articulate relative to the hammer face, the pin can travel linearly through the tunnel (vs. on an arc), which in turn allows the pin hole in the frame to be smaller.

Concur with others as to possible causes of light strikes.
 
1. Clean it. Guns can become clogged with gunk, lint and congealed oil slowing down the hammer fall.

2. Tighten the strain screw for the hammer spring (if it has one, some S&Ws don't).

3. Try different ammo. Some brands may have a harder primer.

4. Check for excessive cylinder movement fore and aft.
 
dahermit said:
Things to look at when having misfires, are: Strain screw backed out, faulty (someone altered), main-spring.
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SaxonPig said:
Tighten the strain screw for the hammer spring (if it has one, some S&Ws don't).
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FWIW if the gun has an actual .38 REGULATION POLICE roll mark on the barrel and a fixed rear sight (i.e. a simply notch in the topstrap), it was probably made between 1917 and 1942 on the S&W I frame, the predecessor of the present-day J frame.

I frames of this era have a leaf mainspring that is tensioned by a strain screw at the base of the grip. I frames were redesigned in the mid 1950s to use a coil mainspring and no strain screw, and they were phased out of production in 1960-1961.

Light strikes on leaf spring Smiths are most often caused by a loose or shortened strain screw. On a revolver of this age, another likely cause is that the mainspring has "taken a set" and lost some tension from remaining in one position for too long. Under normal circumstances, if tightening the strain screw does not fix the problem, the recommended course of action is to replace the screw and/or the mainspring. However, it's hard to find parts for a pre-WWII S&W like this one, and if you do, you're likely to pay dearly and/or get used parts that may not be an improvement over what you already have.

Here's what I would do:
  1. Verify that the strain screw is tight. If not, tighten it and test-fire to see if the problem is solved. If so, remove it, apply blue Loctite, retighten, and STOP HERE.
  2. If #1 doesn't do it... remove the mainspring and carefully bend it opposite to its current curvature. Don't go overboard- if it's approximately straight or slightly curved the other way, you're good. Do NOT kink it!
  3. If the strain screw appears to have been filed down, replace it with an appropriate socket head set screw with the tip filed into a rounded shape. (Newer S&W's take an 8-32x1/2 screw, but I'm not sure about an I frame of this age.) Tighten the screw until the light strikes seem to stop, measure how far it's screwed in, then remove it, apply blue Loctite, and retighten slightly past the previous measurement. (If you don't Loctite the screw, it WILL gradually loosen on firing.)
Two words of caution:
  • Do NOT attempt to remove the stocks (grips) or the sideplate until you have watched some videos and/or read some books about the proper procedure. I don't want to go into too much detail, but in short, the correct way to remove the sideplate of a S&W is to remove the screws and stocks, then whack the grip frame with a non-marring tool such as a block of wood or a screwdriver handle; this will cause the sideplate to "walk" upwards. NEVER attempt to pry it upwards!
  • As with the mainspring and strain screw, it is NOT easy to find replacement sideplate screws for a Smith of this vintage. Use proper hollow-ground gunsmithing screwdrivers and exercise caution. Also, do NOT mix up the small sideplate screws; contrary to superficial appearances, they are NOT the same size, and the front screw specifically is hand-fitted to the revolver.
 
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great stuff, thanks for all the input. I will watch some vids and read up on it a bit and see what i can see. you guys a great. thanks for the pointers!
 
"Military and Police Model, not regulation police."

The OP never mentions what cartridge it's chambered in, and the Regulation Police was an I-frame hand ejector chambered in .32 Long or .38 S&W.

Cabela's in Maine has a rather nice .38 Regulation Police for sale. Pricey, but it looks to be in very good shape, and probably made in the 1920s or 1930s given the mushroom head ejector rod.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Smith-Wesson-Regulation-Police-S-W/1785462.uts
 
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Mike Irwin said:
The OP never mentions what cartridge it's chambered in, and the Regulation Police was an I-frame hand ejector chambered in .32 Long or .38 S&W.
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I assumed it's a prewar .38 Regulation Police (.38RP) because the name is actually roll marked as such on the barrel. (Interestingly, this one of only two vintage S&W Hand Ejector models- along with the .357 Highway Patrolman- that is normally marked with the model name.)

The prewar .32RP and .38RP have an unusual shouldered backstrap that is partially covered up by the stocks, which also cover the butt. The serial number is on the frontstrap so it can be read with the stocks installed. The .38RP normally had a 4" barrel with the model name marking. The .32RP was available with a 3-1/2", 4", or 6" barrel, and AFAIK always lacked the name marking. These guns were available as a seldom-seen Target model with an adjustable rear sight and taller front sight. These guns were discontinued in early 1942 when S&W ended all civilian handgun production to meet WWII military demand.

After WWII, S&W assembled a handful of .38RP Targets using prewar parts, and later restarted standard production using the new sliding hammer block design and a standard-style square-butt grip frame rather than the earlier shouldered design. Postwar .38RP's also lacked the model name marking. The guns were later changed to the coil-spring Improved I frame and subsequently the J frame, the .32RP became the Model 31, and the .38 RP became the Model 33.
 
"I assumed it's a prewar .38 Regulation Police (.38RP) because the name is actually roll marked as such on the barrel."

How do you know that ? The OP never mentioned it being rollmarked, nor did he post pictures.


"The prewar .32RP and .38RP have an unusual shouldered backstrap that is partially covered up by the stocks, which also cover the butt. The serial number is on the frontstrap so it can be read with the stocks installed."

Yep. Exactly how my 1922ish I frame Regulation Police is configured.

Interesting note...

You can get a set of Hogue rubber grips to fit, and work. Sort of.
 
Mike Irwin said:
How do you know that ? The OP never mentioned it being rollmarked, nor did he post pictures.
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It's an assumption based on the proverbial bazillion threads that start out something like this...

"I have a Smith & Wesson .38 S&W Special Ctg." (or .44 S&W Special Ctg., or .32 Win. Ctg., or whatever.)

Those not "in the know" about vintage Smiths tend to assume that the model name is what the roll mark on the barrel says. The .38RP is one of only two models on which this IS in fact the case. :)

[jhard, if you're not familiar with S&W Hand Ejectors made prior to the 1957 model numbering system, the guns were identified only by name, and the name can generally only be determined by examining the chambering in combination with the frame size and other features. For instance, a 6-shot revolver on the K (medium) frame in .38 Special is a .38 Military & Police. The names were printed on the original box and owner's manual, but in most cases, these items are long lost.]
 
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Maybe, Mike, but "regulation police" is not a real common term or one that comes to mind unless one is actually reading what is on the gun.

Jim
 
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