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Revolver internal locks on S&W

924 views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  john in jax 
#1 ·
I've read several posts that mention pre lock guns being more desirable. No argument from me on the aesthetics. It reminds me of a flaming big pimple on your nose. Really disrupts the clean appearance of a S&W revo. But does anyone here actually have personal experience with a gun locking up when fired? I've got one pre lock and a few post lock and I've never experienced a failure to fire. Am I just lucky? :dunno
 
#3 ·
There are examples of the locks engaging while firing, rare, but it's happened and been reported. Usually with the small J frames firing stout loads. I won't own a Smith with a lock, one less potential when my life may hang in the balance.

I know several people who've deactivated the lock in their guns for street carry, thereby reducing the potential for Murphy to rear his ugly head at the most inconvenient time.
 
#4 ·
Never owned one with that infernal hole in the frame so no firsthand experience. There are a couple current models I'd love to have but I'm waiting/hoping for the day they do away with the locks. You're probably more likely to hit the power ball than have one fail when you need it to save your life. Do you feel lucky ... well, do ya :grin
 
#6 ·
http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2009/09/03/internal-gun-locks/

My experience and research has shown that spontaneous locking of the guns during firing (characterized as an ILF, or Internal Lock Failure) has occurred, but rarely. It normally involves very powerful guns with very violent recoil, and also very light guns (Scandium, Titanium) firing these extremely hot rounds. The buffeting from the heavy “kick” seems to be what’s jarring the parts out of alignment. However, one of our readers reported in the comments section that he saw an all-steel S&W spontaneously lock after it was accidentally dropped. Again, a violent impact to small parts seems to have been the culprit.

I know several folks at Smith & Wesson, some highly placed, who don’t much like the locks either. However, prevailing corporate policy says the locks are going to stay for now.

Personally, all the S&W revolvers I carry or use for anything serious are older models without the locks.
 
#7 ·
I have a S&W model 25 "Classic" in 45 Colt that has the ILS. It engaged several times the first time I took it to the range, completely locking the hammer. I had to use the provided key to unlock the hammer. This is a big N-frame revolver and I was shooting light cowboy loads. Since this is just a range and hunting gun, I had my local gunsmith remove just the locking plate so that it couldn't engage, even if the key is turned. I haven't had any problems with it since(~300 rounds). Most people have the entire lock removed, but that leaves an open hole that just begs to collect all kinds of dirt and grime. I am planning on getting one of the model 627PC or an M&P R8 both of which have the lock which will also be deactivated. If it comes to it and I have to use it for SD, I will just have to have a good lawyer who can explain the difference between a gun's safety and a storage lock.

Garry
 
#9 ·
The "works" inside an old pre-lock s&w are beautiful in design and simplicity. Just my opinion but I think the action on a pre lock S&W is better than any of the other revolvers out there on the market. Putting the lock in there mucked up what was nearly perfect, made it more complicated and more likely to fail. That chance off failure is slim but still there. While there were lots of stories of failures early on I have not heard of any lately? Maybe because revolvers just aren't as popular as pistols this century?

I think it is a lot like when they added firing pin block safeties to the slides of 1911's . . . created quiet the outrage at the time. But today it seems like almost every semi-auto has one.
 
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