S&W Revolver Take-Down

[bluealtered]

While out shooting the S&W BG 38 the other morning I had a blown primer. OK, no big deal right? No, it ended up a very big deal. It blew back just far enough that the cylinder wouldn't turn, so that ended that until I got home with it so I could move the primer back into the bullet far enough to rotate the cylinder and release it to remove the stuck round. However there wasn't enough clearance to do that.

Still no big deal, just take the gun apart and do it that way right? No, ... you see S&W decided that none of the people who bought this gun are smart enough to work on a gun so to keep us from working on something that cost us about $500 they refuse to print any information on how to disassemble it. That by itself has made me rethink buying another wheel gun from them.

Ok, being the guy I am I simply stripped it down the frame and then took the frame apart just because there were still a few screws left in it and I had gone that far so why not? I mean if you put a tool in my hand I am going to strip everything apart.

I now know that you don't have to go that far to remove the firing pin and punch the primer back in enough to get everything apart. After that it all went back together without any problems. and the gun works just like it should.

The bottom line here is that because S&W to C.S. to share that info with us I went out and bought another brand wheel gun to throw in the ATV toolbox, no more S&W for me and that's a shame.
( I have found that Apex Gunsmithing has a pretty good writeup on how to take it apart)

 

[Richard Jones]

This took about 3 minutes to find. Hopefully it's the right gun. There are a lot of sources for S&W besides S&W...

http://apexgunsmithing.com/detail-strip-guide-sw-bodyguard-38-revolver/

 

[Rockchuck]

I don't know of many gun manufacturers that give you that much detail on disassembly. Just basic field strip mostly. There is tons of info on sw revolvers. Stick with smith.

 

[Propbndr]

Way back in the day, I carried a S&W Model 66 Stainless Steel 357 Mag when I was on the Naval Armed Forces Police. During range quals, I had a primer back out on a +P round that jammed the wheel. Luckily, the gunnersmate was able to work his magic with a thin brass wedge. Had me up and shooting in less than 5 minutes. It was the first and last time I used +P ammo on anything.

Now the reason for the Mag. The issue weapon at the time was a Colt Police 38 Special. They were so old that the barrels were actually warped to the left from being sat on for years in the patrol vehicles. The OIC got permission for us to carry personal weapons provided they were equal to or greater then 38 cal and NOT an automatic. His reasoning was that auto can jam but revolvers could not. He happened to be at the range and, being the smart ass I was, I said “I thought you said that revolvers couldn’t jam”.

 

[DGP4]

Feeler gauge set comes in handy for such work. No need to strip down the entire revolver.

 

[SBS]

I tore down and cleaned many a S&W along with Colts in my younger years and never had access to instructions. Pretty logical and straightforward; don't think Smith is trying to keep it a secret. BTW, a solid rod just a little smaller than the inside of the fired case can be inserted down the barrel to tap the case head against the recoil shield and reseat/flatten the spent primer.

 

[Fast14riot]

^^^ this. A 12" brass rod under bore diameter is part of my range kit and tool kit for all guns. For rifles, its great for a bullet stuck in the lands.