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I was out to the range and this elderly gentleman, who was a gun shop/gun smith for some 40 years before retiring, claimed that S&W revolvers loosen up and become sloppy after about 1500 rounds have passed through them. Sorry, but I had a hard time swallowing that statement, nevertheless, I thought I would ask the good folks on GT for their experience and/or opinions on this. He wasn't speaking to any specific model, just S&W revolvers as a whole. Any comments?

BTW, I've only owned one S&W revolver, a 686, and that was back shortly after they were introduced. Didn't keep it very long, not because it was a bad gun, just because I needed cash at the time.


PLM

I'm not much into working on revolvers but I don't see too many S&Ws with end shake issues, especially not fairly new ones. Any revolver will loosen up a little but they still stay within acceptable tolerances.

R,
Bullseye

That's pretty much what I expected to hear Bullseye. It just didn't make sense to me that such a small number of rounds would cause significant wear and tear on a firearm with Smith's reputation.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

PLM

You sometimes hear that 686 revolvers are not designed to fire mostly .357s and will loosen up if you mostly shoot a lot of .357s rather than .38s. I do not know how true or untrue that is because I mostly fire .38s anyway in both my Smiths and my Rugers.

I'm not a gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination, but I did check the lockup of each of my 357 revolvers. A S&W 686 (DA), and Ruger 357 Vaquero Bisley (SA). The Ruger 'appears' to have a little less wobble then the smith?, although the Smith has a lot more usage. Nonetheless, I think the wobble in each is acceptable. Appearance wise, I like the Ruger(polished SS SA), but like the handling and shootability of the Smith.
Haka

I think the gentleman referred to maybe made an overly broad statement.
I have a S&W 38/44 N frame that was originally purchased by the WA. state police.
I routinely run pretty hot loads through it. It still mics within limits for cyl. gap, headspace with no noticeable end shake.
Admittedly, that's only one of many S/W's
Your mileage may vary.

I've noticed they loosen up a bit with shooting. I suppose if you do a large number of the hottest loads possible, the S&W revolvers will get really loose. I have several S&W revolvers, most of which have been fired a "normal" amount with "normal" loads. I haven't noticed them loosening up exceptionally. Of course, my shooting ability may negate my ability to notice problems.

Maybe a smith with decades of experience has a perspective most of us don't have, but based on my experience, I'd buy an S&W revolver and shoot it frequently with a wide range of loads without any trepidation.

Hot loads, yes, just like shooting out barrels on 220 swifts, or motors on NASCAR cars.

but, if you nurse them along with a steady diet of love, and cast bullets.

They're a Timex watch...

That'll do, perazzi

Nice group