Broken J-frame Already

[montess85]

I have a Smith & Wesson 637 that I just bought a few weeks ago and I have put about 150 rounds of Winchester white box through it and Its already broken...The firing pin doesn't come out far enough to strike the primers hard enough anymore.... I already called smith and wesson and I have no doubt they will take care of it but this still is a pain in the ass....Its a good thing I love this gun...lol....I just thought I would share my turn of bad luck with you guys....

Has anyone else had any bad luck with J frames or are the usually pretty reliable?

I just hope I dont regret buying this over the SP101 I wanted when I walked in the store!!!!!

 

[motorcycle-charlie]

thats some bad luck. let Smith and Wesson fix it back to new. thats what the warranty is for. i'm sure you will be much happier with the returned product. <deleted> happens sometimes. i have an SP101 and a j-frame. they are both great guns. the j-frame is alot easier to drop in the pocket. let the Ruger be your next purchase.. its a hard hitttin handful.

 

[MartinS]

I got a j frame based on research which showed that experienced professional gunslingers (LEO's if we must be mundane) carried it. I trust their counsel and have put around 500 rounds through it with a like amount of dry firing with snap caps. No problems. S&W has the reputation of treating you right. Please let us know the outcome.

 

[jad0110]

I got a j frame based on research which showed that experienced professional gunslingers (LEO's if we must be mundane) carried it.

Yep, I think airweight J Frames are the most popular off duty carry guns among local LEOs in my area. J Frames are usually fine out of the box but like anything else made by the imperfect hands of man, turds certainly slip through. Sorry yours was one of them, but they should fix it up no problem. I sent my 642 back in since the cylinder had side to side play in it (I fell in my garage and landed directly on the cylinder). Plus the b/c gap measured .012". I got it back in a week with a new barrel and b/c gap measuring .008" and bank vault lockup.

 

[Nushif]

[Sarcasm]
That's of course clearly your fault. You must uh .... have used the wrong uh .... lube. And uh .... S&Ws don't break you know? And uh .... their customer service sucks and uh ... don't buy one ever again because the whole company can't be trusted ....
[/Sarcasm]

That being said, bad luck on your end. Send it in and with a little bit of luck you might get a brand new gun! Or at the least they'll probably give you some goodie. Can't very well give ya any free mags, but they might throw in some new grips as well?

Let us know what the goodies are. 8)

 

[ArchAngelCD]

When something like this happens they usually try to make you happy and "throw in some goodies" like said above. You might even get a free trigger job for your troubles. (I said might)

 

[Stainz]

Do check under the extractor star for carbon - even something like a cotton swipe thread wrapped around the axle/star junction - can prevent proper primer hits. Of course, the frame mounted fp has a teeny spring, which could have broken. The fp usually breaks where it turns down to the final dimension - not just the very tip - and that's about it for insufficient fp protrusion. Clean it stem to stern - and try it again, before sending it back home for r & r. The 637/642 family is notoriously dependable. Of course, if it is broken - call 1-800-331-0852 - Customer Service - they'll send you a pre-paid FEDEX overnite label - it'll be on their dime for the call, shipping, and r & r. Here's hoping it's just crud - the whitebox ammo is on the nasty side - and you return it to service quickly.

Stainz

PS You - or a friend - didn't respring it, by chance, did you?

 

[jad0110]

Another thought: if you bought it NIB, you might take it back to the dealer and see what they do. Some dealers out there will just swap you for another, then they send it back in to S&W to get a replacement.

I just hope I dont regret buying this over the SP101 I wanted when I walked in the store!!!!!

Well, if you have acute wheelgunitis like most of us, eventually you will wind up with both anyway. Plus at least a dozen others!

 

[Water-Man]

Nothing wrong with a S&W Jframe but I wouldn't make my buying decisions based on the fact that many cops carry one.

 

[fastbolt]

S&W is usually closed for the Holidays, and should be open again on Jan 3rd.

Not a common problem on the J-frames, but not unknown. They'll take care of it.

I have 5 J-frames, myself, and while a couple of them required some repair/correction when NIB, afterward they've been fine. One of them was corrected by the former S&W revolver armorer for me, and the other one I repaired myself after attending the armorer class.

I have a Ruger SP101 DAO 2.25" revolver, as well. It's an older production model. I had to correct a problem with it that caused it to frequently seize after 1-2 cylinder loads of Magnum rounds, but once I repaired the problem it's been fine for several years. I used to carry it in a pocket holster in a bulky insulted vest, but no more. It's heavy and large enough to realistically be a belt gun for my needs.

I know a number of LE firearms instructors who carry one or another model J-frame (most of whom are older revolver shooters). Some of the younger guys are discovering the advantages of the venerable J-frame for off-duty & secondary weapons. The J-frames do, indeed, seem to be experiencing a resurgence of interest among the younger generation of cops, as well as private citizens.

Unfortunately, the very attributes that make them so attractive for their roles also make them harder for most folks to shoot accurately & effectively. Even folks who shoot larger model revolvers often have to invest some extra training & practice in order to wring the best performance from the little wheelguns.

I had to dust off my earlier revolver skills once I started carrying my first 642-1, since it had been some years since I'd been carrying my 649 & SP101.

I'm thinking about ordering a 6th J-frame sometime soon.

 

[montess85]

Yea they are closed.....They open up again Jan 3rd....I will give them a call....I have heard they have great customer service.....I went back to the store I got it from and I know one of the salesmen....He said they can have there smith look at it for free but it would take just as long and if it were his gun he would send it back to them and the usually go through the whole gun....He also said you might get lucky and get a free trigger job...lol

 

[ATAShooter]

Anything man made can fail...

 

[Diggers]

Things break.

What Water-Man said is pretty true about cops and guns. On duty guns are one thing. Someone who really knows about guns picks those for the dept.

Cops are NOT made gun experts at the academy. Not sure where that myth came from, but many officers really don't know much about guns other than how to operate the ones they carry on the job. After that they are like most everyone else. i.e. J frames are easy to carry.

 

[sgt127]

Does it have the lock? Did you try locking and unlocking it a couple times?

 

[Jim K]

Believe it or not, Rugers can and do fail also. Like S&W's, it doesn't happen often, but it does happen. It is just that Ruger doesn't seem (at least right now) to have a bunch of perturbed and disturbed folks filling the web sites with hatred for that company.

It was not always thus; when Bill Ruger testified to Congress that he saw nothing wrong with a ten-round magazine limit, some fans of huge magazines launched a boycott of Ruger products, claiming (as with S&W) that Rugers blew up, were dangerous, failed all the time, etc.

Nothing new. Just a change of the object of the hatred.

Jim

 

[montess85]

Well to take my mind of my poor little J-frame I bought a used Taurus PT1911 to beat on....

 

[montess85]

My gun arrived at Smith&Wesson today according to the tracking number FedEx gave me....I wonder how long it will take them to get it back to me

 

[451 Detonics]

I really hope you made sure the mainspring screw hadn't back out before sending it in...it does happen on S&W and it why all of mine get a drop of locktite.

 

[rcmodel]

S&W J-Frames don't have a mainspring screw.

Just the larger K-L-N-X frame guns that use flat mainsprings have them.

All J-Frames, like the OP's 637 use a coil mainspring.

rc

 

[HelterSkelter]

as a general rule Ruger > smith and wesson for toughness and smith and wesson > ruger for looks. if you want a gun to show off get a smith and wesson, if you want a gun to shoot and last long get a ruger.

 

[Dogguy]

Smith J-frames are a bit more refined than Ruger SP101s. Smiths have shorter trigger pulls, generally smoother operation. Rugers have rough edges, are over-built to the extreme. I like 'em both. If either is going to have a problem, it's usually something that shows up right away and can be fixed under warranty.

 

[Jim K]

Well, many Ruger owners simply won't believe it, but Rugers are made thicker to bring their cast frames up to the same strength as S&W's forged frames. Both are more than adequately strong for any reasonable cartridge in the caliber they are made for.

Jim

 

[Lord Bodak]

I had this issue a few years ago with my NIB 642. It would only fire about 50% of the time, and the firing pin clearly didn't extend far enough to strike primers properly. It actually took two trips to S&W to get it working 100%, but since then I have had absolutely no problems with it. Great little gun.