S&W 637 -- Worst S&W Revolver of all time?

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TheEgg

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My rant --

This little POS sucked me in by the price, when they dipped so low last year (2004).

Since then, I have fired maybe 150 rounds through it -- the 'finish', which appears to be a poor grade of Knox Gelatin is peeling off, the frame (apparently made of recycled beer cans) is dinged up, gouged up, and wearing rapidly at every contact point, the accuracy stinks, and I am now afraid to keep this thing, or sell it to some other poor smuck.

This is the only J-Frame I have ever owned. I have other S&W revolvers which are excellent examples of the art of gun-making -- but this little thing is most definetly NOT!

What happened? Is this just a bad example of the 637, are all 637's junk, are all airweight J-frames junk? Are the steel framed ones good?
 
Buy cheap, get cheap.
Same reason the 870 Express is considered a junky version of the real 870.
 
Wife's 637 Airweight just keeps on tickin'. And she drives nails with it.

Although I'm no where as proficient with it, my 642 Airweight has been ultra reliable and seems to be holding up well.

stellarpod
 
You probably got the one made out of Schlitz beer cans. The good ones are made of Bud beer cans. :neener:
 
Go unload it at pawn shop and pick up a old real S&W, when they had a number like 36. and were either blue or nickel. I have a old CA undercover that I perfer to their new *#+&$$#* pistols .
 
Wife's 637 Airweight just keeps on tickin'. And she drives nails with it.

Although I'm no where as proficient with it, my 642 Airweight has been ultra reliable and seems to be holding up well.
Click to expand...

I envy you that you got a good one -- the concept is great, but in my case (and I have heard from a number of others with this revolver, so I don't think I am unique), it is wearing down faster than a bar of soap in a hot shower.

Someone mentioned dumping it at a pawn shop -- it may come to that, but I want to be real carefull to plan the trip on a cool, dry day, so that there is something left of the item -- I can't expose it to rain, moisture or hard looks. ;)
 
J frames have never been for shootin'. They're for carryin'. That has been my experience, YMMV.
 
Chicken

Egg, call the chicken (S&W), voice your complaints in a nice manner, and the chicken (S&W) will send a call tag for your gun. Write a nice letter explaining your problem with the gun. It will come back to you fixed most likely. Cost to you will be 0.
 
When the 637 and the 642 came back out with the matching finish for the 2 alloyed parts many people reported how the finish just wasn't holding up. It's a sprayed on affair that will crack and peel plus some cleaners will attack it to accellerate the wear.
Functionally they worked fine, but if yours don't why not send it back to the factory? It has the lifetime warranty and they will spray the finish back one. It generally don't hold up any better, but will look new for a while.
If you like the concept then find one of the older models with the 2 tone color or switch to the darker 442 which has none of the finish problems.
 
yep! me to just got mine back last week s+w had it for 2 weeks. shot 5 +p corbons out of it and the cylinder would not shut.it's fixed now but for how long? no corbons for me. but i do like the little gun. now my 640-1 is the gun but a littel to heavy.by the way every gun I shot corbons out of damaged the gun.
 
This is not a cheap model of the 637 just because the price is lower. The 870 Express is a cheaper version of the Wingmaster. The S&W 637 was selling at a low price but it is the same gun that was selling for $450 a few years ago.

My 642 has been good. Not great but it does what I need. It shoots about 4" high and to the right at 20 yards but I consider that a minor problem because I won't be shooting it at 20 yards in a gunfight I hope. It has been 100% reliable and nothing is wrong with it. I have chipped the coating in a few places but it doesn't appear any less durable than the coating CZ uses on their poly coated guns.

It is good for what it is, a lightweight snubbie. I am not overly impressed with it but I am not dissapointed in it either.
 
M637

Isn't the "6" in the model designation supposed to mean that it is made of stainless steel??
If that is the case, then why is Smith and Wesson bothering to spray paint it???? :confused:

Hey, I'm not fully into Smith revolvers!! So, this should be regarded as a ligitimate question, not a flame thrower attack!!! :scrutiny:
 
Send it back to Smith...I bought a 686 several years ago, that had been "unloved" (prolly a cops gun)...I sent it back with a letter asking them to refurbish it and to call me and tell me what the charge was...Gundude called me about 6 weeks later and when I went to get it, the charge was zero...

While I dont IN ANY WAY like Smith auto's, there revolvers have always been good to me..
 
Isn't the "6" in the model designation supposed to mean that it is made of stainless steel??
Click to expand...

The cylinder, barrel assembly, and yoke are ss; the grip frame is aluminum alloy.

Mine has probably seen 1,000 rounds without any finish problems, but I wouldn't be shocked if the clear finish gets damaged; I doubt there is any way to make paint stay on aluminum in that application. I suspect the model 37 has similar problems with the dark anodizing scratching off, but perhaps not to the same degree.
 
Thanks for all the feedback -- I guess I will try to send it into S&W.

But the problem is that even if they return it to factory specs, it is still (it seems to me) a real bad concept. The soft aluminum frame, the lacquer spray on finish, etc. Brand new, in perfect condition, still does not fix these kind of problems.

But if I can get it into factory like-new condition, I guess I won't feel too bad about selling it to someone.

But no more of this airweight stuff for me.

I think however, that my original assessment is not far off the mark, this may be the worst S&W revolver of all time.

Happy New Year Y'All!!!!!!
 
Thanks for this info. I've been on the fence about getting a either an airweight or scandium J frame but have seen similar reports on other forums. ( Some models seem to have finish issues more than others.) I have 5 J frame S&'s and 2 J Magnums. All are steel /stainless steel and all are trouble free and built as they should be. Guess I'll stick with steel a little longer.
 
My 37 has worked just fine since my grandfather got it in the 70s, and is quite accurate.

the other problems you cite (rapid finish wear) are immaterial to the functioning of the gun.


did you buy it as a carry gun or as a range blaster?
 
Why do you have to spray paint it???
Click to expand...
When the 637 first came out it had a 2 tone finish as the aluminum alloy didn't quote match the SS. Customers complained of the look and it didn't sell very well so it was pulled off the market. They then decided to spray paint the revolver so it would have an even finish and it sold like hotcakes (expecially as CDNN was selling them at rock bottom prices).
If you let the finish wear completely off or remove it yourself then the new M637 will look exactly like the older version (two tone).
 
All 637/642's can exhibit decent shooting with a better grip, of course, at a CC expense. I had a young lady purchase a bigger Hoque grip from the range's store where I work as a part-time RO... after I swapped them, she was able to center all five shots in the chest area of a bg target at 12 yd... they weren't all 'on paper' beforehand! You will never shoot a gun well if it is uncomfortable to hold. One must understand the design philosophy of the Airweight's here - as stated, to be a 'toter', not a 'shooter'. In their defense, they did have a batch of 'thin' finishes on their 637/642's and will refinish any 637/642 you send them... great folks.

I bought a properly made .38 snubby new for less than the 637's price - and also from CDNN - in 9/03. It is a 2" 10-11... weighing in at twice the weight of the 637, of course, and having six chambers. It came with UM's rounded combat grips, great aid to accuracy. I can hit the 12" plates at 110yd on occasion (1-2 of 6, after I find the drop.). It is just a short barrel version of a "M&P' after all. I switched to the S&W wood service grips for a better 'carry' grip... and the old 'FBI' load, 158gr LSWCHP +P's, for PD. It's blueing is still perfect... they should have kept this one 'in the line'. Of course, for pocket carry, I wish I had a 637/642...

Stainz
 
did you buy it as a carry gun or as a range blaster?
Click to expand...

And this matters HOW?

It is ok for the finish to peel off of a gun for use in one capacity, but not the other??????????

And for those that have gently implied that I don't know how to shoot a snubby (that is why I like this forum -- it was gentle here, other forums would have not been quite so 'nice'!) I can shoot snubbies quite well thank you. With the 637 in question, tight groups are a fantasy.
 
I would just help the finish along by removing it myself. Like somebody else already mentioned, the original 637 had a regular finish but it had two tones of grey. Ppl didn't like them so now we have this. (shrug). I bought a 442 because I didn't like the two tone either :)

Not saying you're not used to shooting snubbies but an Airweight snub takes even more trigger time to figure out. I always dread +P practice day...
 
And this matters HOW?

It is ok for the finish to peel off of a gun for use in one capacity, but not the other??????????
Click to expand...

Quite frankly, it's okay for the finish to peel off in any capacity. it's not the finish that makes the gun work.


have you had any reliability problems with it so far?
 
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