[41mag]

I bought it new back in '97.I only shot it for the first time last month.The little bugger was,seemingly as accurate as my new MKII.

Well,tonight it broke.It was on the last round that it stopped functioning.I have three mags for it.The first three were loaded w/Federals & the last three were Stingers.There is a hook on the back of the barrel asm-below the rr sight-that mates w/a corresponding hook on the frame asm.It broke the barrel asm hook off.I can hardly believe that the Stingers had the power to break the gun!?

Has this happened to anyone else?I'd heard that there were problems w/this pistol which is why I never used it before.I expected mag problems[none on mine] & the finish flaking off when cleaned[too new,hasn't even been cleaned yet].I sure didn't expect it to physically break though.

If I send it back to Smith what are they likely to do?As a new barrel is $108 & I only paid $230 for the whole pistol.I'm inclined to waffle about doing anything.

Thoughts?

 

[GBullet]

I've never heard of that type of breakage on the S&W. I don't think that the Stingers had anything to do with it. It sounds more like a pre-existing problem. Call or email S&W to find out if they will help you out.

 

[GBullet]

Let me add that my neighbor has a 22A with many thousands of rounds through it and he loves it. The 22A should be pretty tough.

 

[andy]

steel sometimes has flaws in it. A nice .22 pistol,for $250, is unlikely to have undergone any sophisticated heat treatement (to relieve stresses, or harden any "wear"areas, ya know. Much less to have had any special examination of the parts for stress cracks. It's not a defense gun, and even the defense guns probably get no such special treatments, either.

 

[Teufelhund]

I had a 22A with the scope rail and a dot sight mounted, thought it a cool rimfire rig for hunting small game. Every once in awhile though, it would throw some of the bolt parts out with the spent cartridge. The last time into about 4' of snow while I was shooting rabbits off x-country skis in the mountains. I ordered new parts when I got home and traded it for a used compact Leupold 4X scope at the next gunshow.

I don't even mess with any other .22 LR pistols but MKII's now, we have several and havn't ever had one break. My brother is a Browning Buckmark fan and we go back and forth about the "best" .22 auto-pistol. The Brownings are nice handguns too and also have many different models to choose from.

Condolances to .41mag from the Teuf clan, we are all diminished by your loss, a .22 rimfire pistol is a terrible thing to loose and no one should have to experience outliving thiers.

Teuf,

 

[41mag]

Here it is.If you look closely you'll see that the broken part is cast.Not steel.

Teuf?ROFL!I now have 2 MKII's & since I finally found a used S&W 41 for a good price I'll have that too septemberish.I'll get over it.

 

[DJetAce]

I mucho prefer Ruger MkIIs. My favorite is a 4 inch thin barrel stainles with a 3 lb trigger. That and 3 boxes of good ammo and I could survive for quite a while in the woods.

 

[41mag]

I mucho prefer Ruger MkIIs. My favorite is a 4 inch thin barrel stainles with a 3 lb trigger. That and 3 boxes of good ammo and I could survive for quite a while in the woods.

That's exactly what the guy @ the range/store & I were talking about when I showed him the broken pieces.I paid within ten bucks for a new MKII what I paid for the 22a.The MKII probably won't break within my lifetime either.

Silly.

 

[GBullet]

41 mag, here are my observations from what I can see in the picture:

The broken part suffered an impact from the rear of the pistol, possibly on the right side of the rear face of the hook, directed mostly toward the front.

The fracture shows no sign of having been a fatigue failure.

The assembly with the broken part may have been dropped onto a hard surface such as a concrete floor.

 

[41mag]

Well GBullet,here's another pic.I checked the slide.frame,& the rest of the barrel asm.That spot is the only one that I can find.It's so shallow that I can barely catch it w/a fingernail.It looks like it's just a scratch in the powdercoat(?) coating.I suppose it could be an impact markNothing else really makes sense,but I don't recall ever dropping the barrel asm (or the rest of the gun for that matter)?

 

[GBullet]

In 1983 I saw a revolver that was shipped from the factory that had been dropped. It was in sealed packaging.

 

[GBullet]

That small blemish would be consistent with an impact.

 

[RIKA]

The gun should still be under S&W warranty. If they refused to fix it, I would sell every piece of it as parts - except the frame - on Ebay. If bidding is good, you could maybe even get your money back.

RIKA