Ashamed Of The Lock?

nunn

I notice that nearly anyone selling or displaying modern Smith & Wesson revolvers mostly shows only the right side. It's as if they are ashamed of the stupid key lock and trying to hide it. 

I had a Springfield Armory 1911, and the lock was built into the mainspring housing.  Easy to change out.

Taurus at least lets you change the hammer out and get rid of the lock, but Smith's is built right in there. Pitiful.

Ridefar

Is there some legal reason that Smith continues to make revolvers with the stupid lock ?

Horse Plains Drifter

nunn said:

It's as if they are ashamed of the stupid key lock and trying to hide it. 

I would hope so.

nunn

It almost seems deceptive to me.  It's as if it doesn't exist if we can't see it.

Any time I have had any sort of gun for sale, regardless of manufacturer, lock or no lock, I photograph it from all sides.  If it has a built-in lock, you will see it.  No deceit and no pretense here.

jimdeere

Like all safety rules, once started, they cannot stop putting in the lock. Liability, ya know. 

Ricci.Wright

I haven't sold new guns in over a year but S&W was making revolvers without locks then. I only ordered 442's and 642's without the locks.

nunn

• Yes!  Why is that?  I had a 642 that was defective, and I sent it to Smith & Wesson.  They determined that they messed up when they installed the barrel, and they offered me a new gun.  I had my choice of one with a lock or one without.  I chose the no-lock version.  It arrived in the old-style, one-piece cardboard box, as though it were a new old stock gun.

Ricci.Wright

Beats me Buddy. I guess some folks want to lock their gun.

Ricci.Wright

No you have it wrong, Buddy has thumbs, Ken does not.

Smitty500mag

I bought my S&W 340PD .357 Mag J Frame when they first came out and that was during the lock years. They now make them with or without the lock I've read. I thought about selling it and buying one without the lock but I've never never had any problems with it so I never bothered. In fact it doesn't look bad at all to me. It doesn't look much different than the other pins around it and the ones down under the cylinder. 

Grunt2

So...why not just unlock the thing and leave it that way???...SHEESH!

Ricci.Wright

My understanding is that it is very easy to remove the lock. Both of my J frames came "lockless".
https://www.originalprecision.com/slug-install.html

bustedknee

Pitiful, indeed.

Smitty500mag

Grunt2 said:

So...why not just unlock the thing and leave it that way???...SHEESH!

I've never had the key in mine. Never had any reason to.

truthful

What's the big deal? Just leave it unlocked. It's not like you have to unlock it each time you pick it up.

nunn

The big deal is twofold:  It's ugly, and it's a mechanism that can fail.