S&W disassembly

[supton]

Am debating (again) if I want a 4" revolver, already have LCR and SP101, so would like a six round 38/357. Well, except the 686+ is seven rounds--and 7 is better than 6, no? I haven't taken my LCR apart yet but the SP101, MkII and 10/22 are pretty easy. My understanding is that the GP100 is no different. I watched a video on the S&W though and I'm a bit reluctant. In my mind, it should be taken apart initially and then about once/year (or whenever I think it needs a cleaning). I tend to buy used and my SP101 desperately needed a cleaning before shooting.

It looked like only three screws, but still... I know people like their Smiths, so perhaps I'm being too reluctant and/or expecting to need to clean too often? I shoot reloads 99% of the time, using Bullseye, which isn't that clean (but Bullseye has been used in 38's since before Ruger came along).

 

[SuperDave456]

Long story shorton't disassemble a modern day Revolver unless you know what you are doing and have the proper screw drivers.

BTW, I get tired of seeing lightly used Revolvers for sale with buggered up screws.

It makes me ask to many questions about the previous owner. Like, "If they cant use a proper screw driver, what else are the going to mess up inside of there?"

It's your firearm, but most of mine that are difficult don't get torn down to the tiniest pin and cleaned yearly. Or for that matter every decade.

Unless it is something simple, like an AK style, or AR-15 style firearm, then it gets the basic cleaning and put away in a clean place.

Don't know what you are doing with your revolver, unless you are putting a 100,000 rounds and up through it a year, dropping it on sandy and rocky ranges, and other hard use. But a decent firearm won't need a detail cleaning in a very very long time.

Tens of thousands of rounds can go downrange before such a cleaning is necessary.

And most modern revolvers are a true bear to reassemble once detail stripped.

 

[90crvtec]

I've had the side plate off many J frames, K frames, and N frames. SuperDave is right, get a good fitting set of driver bits before attempting disassembly.

The biggest mistake I see people make is to try to pry the side plate off of the revolver once all the screws are removed. Do NOT pry, instead tap the grip frame lightly with a rubber or plastic hammer until the side plate pops free from the frame of the revolver. This will ensure proper fitment on re-assembly and it will also prevent an ugly ridge from forming just in front of where the hammer rests in the frame.

I do not think these Smith and Wessons are complicated to re-assemble. But, I'm biased and I've had more than my fair share of them apart and back together again without issue.

For a detail cleaning of the internals, it is not really necessary to remove the hammer or trigger assemblies. Just leave them in place, use a q-tip and your favorite solvent to swab out the internals. Then lightly re-oil or re-grease with your favorite lubricant. Doing this once a year is fine on a heavily used gun (5000+ rounds a year).

To put this in perspective, I shoot a lot of different revolvers in a year. Some of them might see 1000 rounds, some may only see a few hundred. The ones that see round count into the thousands are still not that dirty at the end of the year. I think you could go two or three years between detailed cleaning of a Smith and Wesson without neglecting the gun. But, that's just based on my usage and that's using mostly HP38 powder in the reloads. For dirty powders and/or more rounds fired, you may need to do it yearly.

Either way, don't let this small effort prevent you from owning one (or 20) of these fine guns. The only time I would consider a frequent "detail" cleaning with the side plate removed would be if I had a carry gun with an exposed hammer. At that point lint and fuzz can get into the internals rather quickly from frequent carrying, and since the revolver would be something I might stake my life on, I would be detail cleaning it as part of a 6 month maintenance routine. Barring that, once a year side plate removal is overkill for the vast majority of these fine guns.

 

[supton]

Yeah, I saw the bit about getting a good set of screwdrivers, but what worried me was the video (granted, I went off the first youtube I saw) was the recommendation to snug the screws down, then an eighth turn. I'd think I'd want to buy one of those torque-screwdrivers and set the screws to some known value. I guess an eigth-turn isn't that bad, but I don't want to bugger up threads.

I oughta look up the date on my SP101, but the lube was dried out something wicked when I got it. I guess I coulda sprayed it down and let oil get into the various spots, but it's pretty simple to break down.

 

[bubbatime]

This is a once every few years clean/lube type of thing. If you are doing this several times a year, you are doing it too much.

 

[2cool]

Another reason to stick with Ruger revolvers, if you needed one, is easier takedown and reassembly. I have shot a 7-shot Smith .357, good gun, pretty chrome finish; but didn't make the holes any different than my GP. To me, the difference in weight is in my wallet. It's heavier after paying for a Ruger. I seriously don't understand all the talk about a supposed "quality" differential. Both are well made and look good. The engineering difference between cast and MIM is not pertinent to the end user, IMO.

 

[Slick17601]

Originally Posted By: 2cool
Another reason to stick with Ruger revolvers, if you needed one, is easier takedown and reassembly. I have shot a 7-shot Smith .357, good gun, pretty chrome finish; but didn't make the holes any different than my GP. To me, the difference in weight is in my wallet. It's heavier after paying for a Ruger. I seriously don't understand all the talk about a supposed "quality" differential. Both are well made and look good. The engineering difference between cast and MIM is not pertinent to the end user, IMO.


I'm sorry but a Ruger DA revolver in no way, shape or form can compare to the classic design of an S&W DA revolver. I like and own Ruger Blackhawks but won't own a DA Ruger. Everyone says they're so strong but they're also too big and clunky for the given caliber.