Frank James posted some more pics from the S&W presentation on their new Bodyguard plastic people poppers. I was disappointed (but unsurprised) to notice that they didn't take advantage of the clean sheet of paper to back gracefully away from the zit in the left side of the frame.
I don't know if the lock's internals are the same, but their stubborn insistence on sticking to a lock whose design can be actuated by inertia under recoil is certainly annoying... If you've determined that you just gotta have a lock for market penetration reasons, how about something in the backstrap or the bottom of the grip frame that binds up the mainspring? Or license Taurus's hammer lock for the pennies per gun I'm sure they'd charge.
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I imagine that if they change it or abandon it they feel they then admit the old one is somehow inferior or defective. Can't have that now, can we?
Unfortunately, this is why I refuse to buy one of the GD things with a lock. I'll never put my life in the hands of S&W's lawyers. This is a retched design that will eventually get someone killed and when that eventually happens, S&W should be owned by that unfortunate soul's family.
Best to vote with our dollars and not buy any S&W products until they stop hating their customers.
"but....but...but...our Kommittee of MBA's and Lawyer's said it was just fine. What does 'always work' have to do with guns, anyway?"
Prolly the same Kommittee that chose the Convention Centre for the SHOTshow venue.
If you've determined that you just gotta have a lock for market penetration reasons, how about something in the backstrap or the bottom of the grip frame that binds up the mainspring? Or license Taurus's hammer lock for the pennies per gun I'm sure they'd charge.
Heh. It's like Tam can't quite force herself to type it ... "how about something ... like Ruger's lock?"
Yep, Ruger's engineers sure do have S&W pwned five ways from Friday when it comes to the lock.
Still only one U.S. sixgun maker I'd consider buying a current-production defensive DA revolver from, and it still ain't in Springfield.
The only new gun to date I've ever bought was a S&W642 that was of the run without the zit. I hope Smith got the message. Seems they're making other runs zit-free, but I guess not all.
*sigh*
Haven't most of S&W's lock failures occured with the very lightweight guns? If that's the case, then why put the same lock in something with a polymer frame?
Also, it looks like the new S&W Bodyguard was beaten with the same ugly stick Ruger used on the LCR, but even harder. All else being equal, I think I'd rather have the Ruger...
Fortunately (fingers crossed) my own ILS-equipped 638 Airweight hasn't locked up yet...
--Wes S.
Illegitimi non compatum.
Bastard doesn't contain anything I'd want.
Rabbit.
Haven't most of S&W's lock failures occured with the very lightweight guns?
The only ones I've heard about have involved flyweight revolvers in magnum calibers. But I'm sure someone will correct me momentarily.
My M442 has the zip. I've thought about reaming it out but so far haven't done anything. My wife's M442 has a dimple on the left plate but no lock. The hole is just plugged. Guess S&W has some parts left over and used them with the hole plugged.
I've been told that the latest production model lack even the dimple.
Maybe I've not been keeping up but isn't S&W currently owned by Safety hammer or whatever?
The gun lock company that bought a gun company so that they could start making guns with built in gun locks?
aries
"Red Loctite" is a permanent cure for that sort of idiocy. To "uncure" the politically correct idiocy, a bit of judiciously applied heat will do the job without damaging the finish.
Stranger
Few years back a guy was reviewing a new Harley and mentioned to the factory engineer that it looked to him like it could use an oil cooler for hot weather riding.
"It would be better."
"Why didn't you put one on?"
"The marketing idiots said "But if we put one on, people will think the engine doesn't work right!"
Stupid question here. Where's the lock? Is that thing that looks like an allen head nut behind the cylinder?
Unless I am mistaken, that's what that is.
I don't care what a carry gun looks like (within reason), I'm not worried about it doing something on my Airweight. I'd rather not have the lock, but I trust it more than I trust my own gunsmithing. I wish Smith would do a factory plug without a lock function.
Market penetration? I wonder how many people like me, who influence friends getting a gun for the first time, would tell them not to get a defensive gun with an internal lock under any circumstances? Totally inadequate for storage safety, too slow for defensive use, an extra point of failure that makes your gun fail in a non-field-recoverable fashion, and extra manufacturing complication that adds to the price. It's a lose-lose-lose-lose scenario for the purchaser.
When those idiots in Marketing work in a high tech company, it becomes a semi-high tech business. Makes you want to beat your, um, his head against the wall.
"Market penetration? I wonder how many people like me, who influence friends getting a gun for the first time, would tell them not to get a defensive gun with an internal lock under any circumstances?"
That depends on what state you live in.
Look, do you think the gun companies are putting these things on there because they love them some locks?
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