Refurbishing by Smith & Wesson - Handguns

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2004 by Massad Ayoob

S&W's Performance Center, in addition to building their own exotic handguns, will now give new life to yours.

Smith & Wesson announced in January 2003 a new program in which a customer could send in his or her S&W for refurbishing up to, and beyond, factory spec. This hit a responsive chord with the kid here, who had at least one revolver of that brand which had been ridden hard and put up wet.

It had begun a decade or so before as a spanking new Model 442 Airweight Centennial .38 Special. I had sent it to Ted Yost, who then ran the Gunsite Gunsmithy, and he had done a wonderful job with it. The action was smoothed, and the gun was given a handsome Birdsong Black-T finish. I had been so pleased with the gun that I carried it almost constantly for backup thereafter.

That had included a lot of shooting with P ammo. You want to qualify regularly with anything you carry, and you want to qualify with the same kind of amino you carry, and that meant this gun got shot a whole lot with hard-kicking 158-grain P all-lead hollowpoint, the cartridge that used to be called "the FBI load."

Ten years of P had taken their toll. The finish was badly worn, though the metal beneath where it disappeared had never so much as tarnished, let alone corroded. I didn't mind the gun looking old, worn, and shabby. Hell, I looked old, worn, and shabby. But when the gun started misfiring due to worn parts during an instructor class I was teaching in the first half of 2003, it struck me that I should give the Performance Center's new service a try.

Rebuild

My Airweight fell into the capable hands of Jim Ray, the Center's well "known revolver expert. I put a note with the gun stating that it was "out of time" and misfiring, and needed a refinish on top of the fix. The bolt stop and rebound were shot: new ones were installed. The cylinder hand was badly worn down, and was also replaced with a new, expertly fitted part. The ratchets on the extractor were recur to more perfectly engage the new cylinder hand, which was mated with it.

Then the finish was stripped and the bare metal repolished. The aluminum frame was black anodized, and the chrome molybdenum steel barrel and cylinder were reblued. The result was a very pleasing matte finish in charcoal gray.

The stocks had been pretty ugly, too, and I had requested that they be replaced. Jim chose Eagle's "secret service" grips in checkered rosewood. Adding no more size to the frame than a grip adapter, these fill the palm nicely and allow a better hold while maximizing concealability.

Satisfied Customer

I got the gun back during the summer, and was pleased with what I saw. The crane no longer gapped away from the frame. The sweet Ted Yost action hadn't been impaired in any way. The finish was flawless, with the Gunsite raven logo still perfectly intact on the frame.

I took it to the range immediately. The "secret service" grips aren't built for recoil absorption, but I had gotten used to that a long time ago with the earlier and very similar Craig Spegel Boot Grip design. More to the point, the gun shot spot on, just as it had before, and now a shot went off with every pull of the trigger again. Opening the cylinder revealed deep, perfectly centered firing pin hits.

My favorite pocket revolver was back, with a new lease on life. Total cost was $251.18. I was delighted with the outcome.

Tell the Gunsmith

When you send your gun in for work with specific instructions, as I did, those instructions are what the craftsmen follow. I should have added, "And give it a thorough inspection and fix everything else you find wrong." After its return, I noticed that the cylinder stop at the bottom rear left of the cylinder window had worn badly. This is a job that needs to go back to the factory, but it'll be a quick turnaround. It was my fault.

Overall, I was very happy with the results. Intensive, abusive shooting had literally worn out a fine little shooting iron, and the Performance Center had restored it to like new condition. I am comfortable recommending this work to anyone.

To get the ball rolling, check out their web site at www.smith-wesson.com; or call toll-free [800] 331-0852 and ask for the performance Center.