J-Frame action job?

[Dollar An Hour]

Have any of you had success with an action job on S&W J-Frames? I'd like to smooth mine out without compromising reliability, so I'm hesitant to put lighter springs. A carry gun needs to be 100%.

Is it possible for a gunsmith to de-burr and polish the internals and smooth things out? Or is there a lighter spring that is still 100% reliable?

Thanks

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Is it possible for a gunsmith to de-burr and polish the internals and smooth things out?

Sure.

Or is there a lighter spring that is still 100% reliable?

While there may be some room to play with the spring weights a little, I would consult with the smith. Emphasize that ignition reliability is first priority.

There are some well known gunsmiths in the Phoenix metro area as well as Prescott and Flagstaff, but not having used them I cannot give a personal recommendation.

 

[MountainBear]

I do not believe that even the S&W performance center will guarantee a noticeable improvement on j-frame action jobs.

 

[SAWBONES]

A qualified S&W armorer can do several different "levels" of action jobs on Smith revolvers, including J-frames.
It helps, but it's pricey, and I've only had the "lowest level" work done.

 

[spwenger]

I'm Not Sure Of The Time Frame...

...to get your gun(s) back but I recently handled a pair of S&W 640-1's that a student had had tuned by Teddy Jacobson. While the pair I carry has trigger strokes just as smooth (done by other smiths), the "Actions by T" had much lighter strokes. Teddy, by the way, limits his work to "street tunes" so there is no question about reliability.

To put things into perspective, if you lighten springs without polishing the mating surfaces and optimizing the angles, you may lighten the stroke at the expense of reliabiliity, which, on a revolver, is mostly a matter of consistent ignition. (On Ruger double-actions, however, trigger return is an issue and lightening the trigger-return spring on them can compromise reliability in that quarter.)

 

[earplug]

How old is your J frame?
I have had very noticable positive results with my older J Frames M-38, 34, 638, 60. that had rough internals. The newer guns need less work and the parts fit better, A change of springs and dry firing is all most need. My newer guns are 638, 642. I don't own two 638's. One was replaced after years of use by the factory due to a loose trigger pin.

 

[jfh]

When I got my (new) j-frames back in May, I had first one and then the other given an "action job"--by my 'smith. He did NOT change springs, but did smooth the action a bit. The pull remained over 9 lbs, but it was fairly smooth.

As I gained proficiency in shooting them, I was able to learn to stage the trigger nicely. Now that I have shot the 640 over 4,000 rounds, it is very smooth, a bit lighter weight for the pull, and stages beautifully. And, I've never had a reliability issue--and that's mostly shooting reloads with WSPs.

Jim H.

 

[Dollar An Hour]

How old is your J frame?

The J-Frame in question is a new 340 M&P. I think with some polishing and dry firing it'll come around nicely.

 

[lesjones]

Yes, you can have an effective action job done an a J frame.

Coal Creek Armory did an action job on my 642-2 three years ago. The original DA pull weight after lubrication and firing a couple hundred rounds was somewhere well over 12 pounds (12 pounds was the limit of my Lyman digital trigger pull gauge).

After the action job the DA pull was under 10 pounds and much, much smoother. I've never had any misfires out of the gun in the 700 or so rounds I've put through it since then. Don't let anyone tell you a J frame won't benefit from an action job.

 

[Sistema1927]

The best action job for a J-frame is plenty of dry firing.

 

[Lewis Wetzel]

Did a minor actions job (sear polish, replacing with lighter springs) on a 36.

Had an occasional misfire. Screw it. I changed out to the original springs for greater 'ooomph' on the hammer. I want 100% reliability, FIRST.

The J's simply do not lend themselves to tweeking as the K,L, or N frames.