Smith and wesson model 642 problem

[jwine]

Man am I having bad luck with new guns...

Picked up a model 642 snub nose revolver a couple weeks back and got out to the range today to shoot it. Got through 15 rounds and ran into some issues. After loading up the next 5 rounds I fired the first 1-2 rounds and the trigger hung up fully engaged. Thought that was weird but with a little nudge it went back. Everything seemed fine so I fired the remaining rounds. All seemed fine until I went to release the cylinder. The thumb lever to release the cylinder won't move forward at all. It will move back slightly but nothing in the forward direction. Since it won't move I can't open the cylinder so the 5 spent casings are stuck in there. The trigger pulls, cylinder cycles and everything runs smoothly but I just can't open the cylinder.

Any ideas?

[carlson1]

Is this a pre-lock model?

[jwine]

Is this a pre-lock model?

No it has the lock.

[carlson1]

A lot of people have had trouble with the S&W revolvers with the locks. You may want to give give Smith and Wesson a call first thing on Tuesday.

[rotor]

I have several S&W revolvers and have never had the problem but the following post may help

http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive ... 20055.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seems that the ejector rod can bevome loose and cause this. Hope this helps.

[jwine]

I have several S&W revolvers and have never had the problem but the following post may help

http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive ... 20055.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seems that the ejector rod can bevome loose and cause this. Hope this helps.

I read about that issue but couldn't find anything that told me how to fix it. That thread has a good post on how to fix the problem while the cylinder is locked up. Thanks for posting that, I'll give it a try when I get back to the house.

Either way I intend to give Smith and Wesson a call. I'm not the kind to get overly frustrated because I know stuff happens, but I'm not exactly enthused with having to work on a brand new gun.

Anyways, thanks for the help. I'll post here if I can figure it out.

[Jim Beaux]

This may help. Dont forget the loctite!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... tLESNgjWxg[/youtube]

Someone help with the youtube.

[jmra]

This may help. Dont forget the loctite!

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=htLESNgjWxg[/youtube]

Someone help with the youtube.

[WildBill]

I had the same issue on one of my Colt revolvers. It took me a while to figure out the cause, but I finally did. The Loctite did the trick.

[The Annoyed Man]

Just curious.... what loads were you firing? I know the gun is rated for +P (I used to own one, and my wife still has hers), but if anything were even a bit loose, +P ammo could beat things into jamming.

[WildBill]

Just curious.... what loads were you firing? I know the gun is rated for +P (I used to own one, and my wife still has hers), but if anything were even a bit loose, +P ammo could beat things into jamming.

I am sure that +P would hasten the problem, but it would eventually happen with normal loads.

[jwine]

UPDATE:

I called Smith and wesson just to be on the safe side and they told me the same thing y'all did.

I got the cylinder open by giving the thumb release a good tap with the back end of my pliers (rubber end) I can now open and close the cylinder but the thumb release is still very finicky. A couple different things are happening. When I close the cylinder, I can't pull the trigger immediately. If I give the thumb release a little wiggle, I can then pull the trigger. That is one thing that it does. Also when I close the cylinder, some of the times I can pull the trigger fine but it takes a good amount of force to get the thumb release forward again to open the cylinder back up.

I have tried tightening the ejector rod but I am either doing something wrong or it doesn't move.

This is supposed to be my new EDC so any advice on getting it going is appreciated. It isn't going back on my hip until I am 10000% confident in it and right now I am far from that.

[jwine]

Ok I think I got it. Still not very enthused with having to work on a brand new pistol but it seems to be in working order. We will see how it acts after a few hundred rounds through it. Hopefully I can get back to trusting it enough to carry.

[A-R]

Just a guess ... try removing that stupid trigger lock.

http://youtu.be/XcyL4I3zHko" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jwine]

Just a guess ... try removing that stupid trigger lock.

http://youtu.be/XcyL4I3zHko" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You know that's something that crossed my mind. I was thinking about it and that lock is a really bad idea.. If it gets locked and you don't have the key, then you might as well be carrying a hammer. Stupid idea IMO.