unclenunzie
Contributing Member
I'd been on the lookout for a nice 442 no lock. Found a 442 pro series NIB at one of my favorite shops and it came home with me back in 2022. The pro series is a standard factory model with a moon clip cut cylinder. After test shooting I discovered two issues with it that took five - yes five trips to S&W to finally fix it including a frame replacement for a broken hammer stud. And yet it still had one of the original problems which I had to fix myself, and which I think caused the hammer stud failure. The entire process spanned nine months and a lot of irritation across helpful customer service people but useless "gunsmiths" at the factory, and one arrogant, bull-headed "supervisor" who argued the gun was fine. Bah.
But finally after all that and fixing the original problem myself it has become a trusted J frame.
NIB problems:
Prob #1 I found one of the charge holes wouldn't carry up with a little drag on the cylinder. A replacement extractor fixed this in the long run, eventually. Yay S&W.
Prob #2 I found the trigger pull would bind at a mid-point but eventually break over to complete the pull. This turned out to be the most serious issue and one that I had to fix myself. Needless to say the trigger pull was atrocious until fixed (by me). S&W had no clue. Really.
Prob #3 hammer stud broke off requiring a new frame.
Prob #2 was revealed to me (but not to the S&W folks) as the true cause of problem number #3. When the replacement frame was assembled S&W used the original parts in the gun as this is their standard practice and I think it is wise. BUT, even with the new frame, the binding was still present (!) and that made me take an even harder look at the mechanics inside and I discovered the cause: The factory original double-action sear, a $9 part, was manufactured slightly too long. It became clear to me that continued trigger pulls through this bind would pressure the new frame hammer stud repeatedly and eventually break it off too. This revelation changed my opinion of S&W repair service capability. Sometimes they won't actually make it right because they no longer have the combined operational competencies to live up to that expectation.
A replacement sear of proper dimensions immediately and permanently corrected the bind. The trigger pull and function matched the rest of my J frames, smooth and reliable. It is now my favorite J carry.
Lessons learned:
If S&W has actual gunsmiths in their employ, they are either overwhelmed or focused on new products only. Don't expect them to catch and repair anything that isn't obvious.
Learn as much as you can about the internals and how they work if you don't have a true pistolsmith available to you so you can do armorer level work yourself. And by armorer level I mean parts replacement with little to no fitting.
But finally after all that and fixing the original problem myself it has become a trusted J frame.
NIB problems:
Prob #1 I found one of the charge holes wouldn't carry up with a little drag on the cylinder. A replacement extractor fixed this in the long run, eventually. Yay S&W.
Prob #2 I found the trigger pull would bind at a mid-point but eventually break over to complete the pull. This turned out to be the most serious issue and one that I had to fix myself. Needless to say the trigger pull was atrocious until fixed (by me). S&W had no clue. Really.
Prob #3 hammer stud broke off requiring a new frame.
Prob #2 was revealed to me (but not to the S&W folks) as the true cause of problem number #3. When the replacement frame was assembled S&W used the original parts in the gun as this is their standard practice and I think it is wise. BUT, even with the new frame, the binding was still present (!) and that made me take an even harder look at the mechanics inside and I discovered the cause: The factory original double-action sear, a $9 part, was manufactured slightly too long. It became clear to me that continued trigger pulls through this bind would pressure the new frame hammer stud repeatedly and eventually break it off too. This revelation changed my opinion of S&W repair service capability. Sometimes they won't actually make it right because they no longer have the combined operational competencies to live up to that expectation.
A replacement sear of proper dimensions immediately and permanently corrected the bind. The trigger pull and function matched the rest of my J frames, smooth and reliable. It is now my favorite J carry.
Lessons learned:
If S&W has actual gunsmiths in their employ, they are either overwhelmed or focused on new products only. Don't expect them to catch and repair anything that isn't obvious.
Learn as much as you can about the internals and how they work if you don't have a true pistolsmith available to you so you can do armorer level work yourself. And by armorer level I mean parts replacement with little to no fitting.
