I have but one S&W revolver with "The Lock". A 4" 686 that my wife and kids gave me as a surprise Father's Day gift a few years ago. I would never sell it, as it was a wonderful gift from my loved ones.
So one day, when I was doing a thorough cleaning and inspection of the inside lockworks on my new 686, I mistakenly surmised that the stud on the inside of the warning flag (the one that engages the slot in the hammer and locks the gun) was a machining burr and accidentally removed it with a Dremel tool. Dang it!
Then, for reasons unknown to me still, I just kept the lock flag out of the gun altogether! I don't know what I was thinking... [}] maybe I planned to order another "correct" one from S&W but I've just never gotten around to doing it.
Hey!!!! I have another story about a S&W I bought with "The Lock".
Come to think of it, I once owned another S&W revolver with "The Lock". I bought it brand spankin' new a couple years ago. It was one of the much-heralded limited production Thunder Ranch Revolver Model 22-4, in .45 ACP. A blued N-Frame with four screws, square butt, gorgeous grips, a full-moon-clipped .45ACP with fixed sights! [] Yikes!!!!
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In spite of the presence of "The Lock" I had a real hard-on for owning one.
In fact, the serial number of my Thunder Ranch Revolver Model 22 was
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I paid extra to search out and find that unique s/n and paid a premium, as there was only supposed to be 500 of that gun ever made. I found it at Ellett Bros in South Carolina and they charged me quite a bit extra for them to "hand select" it. Picture this: the young man on the other end of the phone standing there looking at the five they had just gotten in. "Let's see... Serial Number 17... 59... 104... 22...and....".
"WAIT A MINUTE!!! Did you just say Number 22??? Of a Model 22? THAT'S THE ONE I WANT!"
"Yes, Sir. But that'll be $35 extra for Hand Select</u>."
I called my FLD and had them arrange to get it for me.
But... "The Lock" nagged at me all the time. And the revolver had other "issues", one quite serious and several others less so. I could have had the main concerns fixed with a trip back to S&W but never did.
In the end I sold it one year later for far less than I paid for it. I was never happy with the gun, it shot lousy (the rifling was so shallow it barely etched Speer Gold Dot 230-gr bullets)
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And for a reloader like myself not to be able to shoot cast bullets made me, well, just want to use the gun on myself. [xx(]
Anyway..... what should have been a truly simple and elegant gun was complicated with an unnecessary lock. After the first 500 were sold, there was another longer production run, and then a third. Add in the other disappointments (I haven't even mentioned the BIGGEST one of them all) and I just said "screw it", took a $250 beating, and got rid of what should have been a real pride and joy to own.
So my 4" Highway Patrolman, my no-dash no-lock 442, my neutered-lock 686, and a 3" 65 represent the S&W lineup at my house.
I don't see a S&W with "The Lock" anywhere in my future.
So one day, when I was doing a thorough cleaning and inspection of the inside lockworks on my new 686, I mistakenly surmised that the stud on the inside of the warning flag (the one that engages the slot in the hammer and locks the gun) was a machining burr and accidentally removed it with a Dremel tool. Dang it!
Then, for reasons unknown to me still, I just kept the lock flag out of the gun altogether! I don't know what I was thinking... [}
] maybe I planned to order another "correct" one from S&W but I've just never gotten around to doing it.Hey!!!! I have another story about a S&W I bought with "The Lock".
Come to think of it, I once owned another S&W revolver with "The Lock". I bought it brand spankin' new a couple years ago. It was one of the much-heralded limited production Thunder Ranch Revolver Model 22-4, in .45 ACP. A blued N-Frame with four screws, square butt, gorgeous grips, a full-moon-clipped .45ACP with fixed sights! [
] Yikes!!!! 
In spite of the presence of "The Lock" I had a real hard-on for owning one.
In fact, the serial number of my Thunder Ranch Revolver Model 22 was
I paid extra to search out and find that unique s/n and paid a premium, as there was only supposed to be 500 of that gun ever made. I found it at Ellett Bros in South Carolina and they charged me quite a bit extra for them to "hand select" it. Picture this: the young man on the other end of the phone standing there looking at the five they had just gotten in. "Let's see... Serial Number 17... 59... 104... 22...and....".
"WAIT A MINUTE!!! Did you just say Number 22??? Of a Model 22? THAT'S THE ONE I WANT!"
"Yes, Sir. But that'll be $35 extra for Hand Select</u>."
I called my FLD and had them arrange to get it for me.
But... "The Lock" nagged at me all the time. And the revolver had other "issues", one quite serious and several others less so. I could have had the main concerns fixed with a trip back to S&W but never did.
In the end I sold it one year later for far less than I paid for it. I was never happy with the gun, it shot lousy (the rifling was so shallow it barely etched Speer Gold Dot 230-gr bullets)
And for a reloader like myself not to be able to shoot cast bullets made me, well, just want to use the gun on myself. [xx(]
Anyway..... what should have been a truly simple and elegant gun was complicated with an unnecessary lock. After the first 500 were sold, there was another longer production run, and then a third. Add in the other disappointments (I haven't even mentioned the BIGGEST one of them all) and I just said "screw it", took a $250 beating, and got rid of what should have been a real pride and joy to own.
So my 4" Highway Patrolman, my no-dash no-lock 442, my neutered-lock 686, and a 3" 65 represent the S&W lineup at my house.
I don't see a S&W with "The Lock" anywhere in my future.
