Revolver doesn't strike primer with enough force

J

Jeffhere

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
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Hi all

I purchased a Smith and wesson 617 (22lr) from a local gun store this past week.

Unfortunately, the primer strikes aren't strong enough.

This will cause usually up to 2-3 failures out of 10 shots.

What do you recommend? Should the retailer fix this for me?

Side note, this is the second gun I bought from them. The first one was a Ruger 10/22 that didn't cycle properly because of a bad extractor. Lol they didn't fix that.
 
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Have you tried different ammo? Sometimes you'll find a brand that your particular pistol just won't cooperate with at all.
 
Gele Donut said:
Have you tried different ammo? Sometimes you'll find a brand that your particular pistol just won't cooperate with at all.
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Not yet.
I don't find the ammo at fault here, though.
The indentation on the primer is very shallow and I can easily see why this would cause a malfunction.
 
Just checked out the cost on that pistol (yikes!) for the money it should shoot damn near anything you feed it.
 
Strain screw? It's the first thing I check on a revolver.

P.S. Stop buying guns from that place.
 
4n2t0 said:
Strain screw? It's the first thing I check on a revolver.

P.S. Stop buying guns from that place.
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X2, take the grips off and on the front grip frame there is a screw near the lower end , Some guys will back that off to make for a lighter trigger pull = less power in the mainspring= light hammer hits, if it is not tight , screw it back in. I that don't fix it , take it to someone else to fix or get you money back.
There is not much that will go wrong on these , unless Joe the plumper has "tuned" it New gun or well used, you never said? .
Take it back , I just sold a exc one for 7 all in with extras.
P.S. I just see your last post about warranty, so I presume a new gun, his idea on warranty is pure bullcrap, if you just bought it.
 
Yup, totally new gun.

Maybe I'll try cleaning it a little better and what you suggested. If it still doesn't do a decent job, I'll likely be forced to send it off to Wolverine supplies for warranty.

If you google this particular gun apparently this is a common problem where the firing pin is too short or other components are problematic and need to be replaced by a manufacturer service center
 
Three things if not the ammo. :

1) strain screw not tight,
2) strain screw tight but shortened,
3) hammer spring thinned out.

A new gun should not have issues; may be Bubba owned your gun before a short period of time ?
 
I take the grips off all my S&W revolvers once or twice a year to tighten the strain screw otherwise I will start getting light primer strikes. Also, I have made the switch to Federal primers as well.
 
Jeffhere said:
Yup, totally new gun....I'll likely be forced to send it off to Wolverine supplies for warranty.
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Wolverine? I thought the S&W Warranty people were Gretch Outdoors since Murray Charlton retired (alas). Have heard nothing good about Gretch here on CGN, unfortunately.

A new gun shouldn't need any fixing, but "stuff happens." Consistent light primer strikes suggest a) a less-than tight strain screw. b) short firing pin or gunk in the firing pin hole preventing the hammer from coming fully forward. .22 ammo is apparently particularly sensitive to being struck firmly. Another remote possibility is the cylinder being slightly too far forward (ie excessive headspacing on the cylinder).

I checked for this problem on the gunsmithing section of The Smith & Wesson Forum and the few hits I got were several years old and seemed to be related to used guns where someone had replaced the mainspring with a lighter one or, sometimes, a peened strain screw which had effectively become too short. In that case, as I recall, the guy replaced ot with an 8-32 set screw (since it has a standard thread, unlike just about every other gun screw!) Just for s&g you could try this, as a set screw can be turned in further than the factory one since it has no shoulder. But i will increase the trigger pull slightly, so I'd only do itas a test.

.
 
AllAboutTheBenjamins said:
I take the grips off all my S&W revolvers once or twice a year to tighten the strain screw otherwise I will start getting light primer strikes. Also, I have made the switch to Federal primers as well.
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Maybe this could be it then. While the gun is purchased new, I believe the manufacture date is still several years back.


Interestingly enough, I found this review on Al Flaherty which is summarizing all of the issues I have with my 617;

"I've had serious light primer strike issues in double action and timing was off, so its back with S&W for repair/replacement. I expected much better quality control for a $1,000 gun from S&W. It came with the hammer spring tensioned to the max and was still having light primer strikes three out of ten times in double action. It was also spraying lead back to my face and accumulating it all around the forcing cone. I gave it a fair shake and a chance to break in, but it got only marginally better. I love how it looks, feels and shoots, but this is not acceptable. We'll see what it's going to look like when they return it (its been about a month now)."
 
Jeffhere said:
Maybe this could be it then. While the gun is purchased new, I believe the manufacture date is still several years back.


Interestingly enough, I found this review on Al Flaherty which is summarizing all of the issues I have with my 617;

"I've had serious light primer strike issues in double action and timing was off, so its back with S&W for repair/replacement. I expected much better quality control for a $1,000 gun from S&W. It came with the hammer spring tensioned to the max and was still having light primer strikes three out of ten times in double action. It was also spraying lead back to my face and accumulating it all around the forcing cone. I gave it a fair shake and a chance to break in, but it got only marginally better. I love how it looks, feels and shoots, but this is not acceptable. We'll see what it's going to look like when they return it (its been about a month now)."
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I have a 10 shot 617 and the only issue I have with it is that I have some lead buildup between the top of the forcing cone and top strap but I keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get to the point that it obstructs anything. It shoots very well!
 
Jeffhere said:
Maybe this could be it then.
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You still haven't tried tightening the strain screw? It literally take 2 minutes to check and tighten

If the strain screw backing out is your problem than a touch of blue loctite on the threads is your solution.
 
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4n2t0 said:
You still haven't tried tightening the strain screw? It literally take 2 minutes to check and tighten

If the strain screw backing out is your problem than a touch of blue loctite on the threads is your solution.
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Well, looks like the screw holding the grips onto the revolver is a damn american sized screw and I don't have the right size hex wrench to get it out..
 
Jeffhere said:
Well, looks like the screw holding the grips onto the revolver is a damn american sized screw and I don't have the right size hex wrench to get it out..
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They're using hex head screws now? Well, easy to find hex wrenches. The actual screw thread used to be 5-44 as I recall, which you won't get at Crappy Tire so don't lose it!

(I was going to say, "Take it to the dealer to sort out, but of course that would require getting an STATT, "to keep Canadians safe" because "there are people driving around with guns in their cars" according to Billy B.)
 
If it happens to be something that requires warranty I strongly recommend fighting for a refund instead. Grech will be an experience you want to avoid.
 
B said:
If it happens to be something that requires warranty I strongly recommend fighting for a refund instead. Grech will be an experience you want to avoid.
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Oh, oh... yet another down-vote for Grech. I read somewhere here a while ago that someone had actually sent a letter to the head honchos (honchi?) at S&W to complain about them and, typically, got no reponse.
 
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