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Picher · September 15, 2012, 06:43 AM

I'm a pretty good self-taught pistolsmith who's done many action jobs and target triggers on various revolvers and some semi-autos over the past 40 years.

Fit and finish are important to me, but more important is the interaction of well-fitted parts and excellent metallurgy, especially hardened wear surfaces within a handgun.

S&W handguns are usually very good from the factory, but need a bit of smoothing for best functioning. Stainless steel revolvers are pretty, but don't take as much shooting use as a well-hardened carbon steel revolver. Yet, I have had several and if I don't cut through the hardening layer on internal parts, they last well as a carry gun.

It does little good to the customer to have a finely-tuned revolver unless they know how to maintain them to the degree necessary. Weak springs, lack of lubrication, or backed-out strain screws can come back to bite you...at the most critical time!!! Err on the side of reliable function whenever doing work on handguns.

I refuse to work on guns that have such soft steel that they won't stay in tune. Cheap imports often wear to become dangerous to the owner. IMHO, Ruger firearms generally have some of the best metallurgy and safety margin, though smooth function isn't quite up to par with S&W "potential" in a highly-improved firearm. I've seen/owned cheap Ruger semi-auto .22s that have had hundreds of thousands of rounds through them and they still look like new inside. That's just remarkable!

September 15, 2012, 06:43 AM	#21
Picher Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 3,694	I'm a pretty good self-taught pistolsmith who's done many action jobs and target triggers on various revolvers and some semi-autos over the past 40 years. Fit and finish are important to me, but more important is the interaction of well-fitted parts and excellent metallurgy, especially hardened wear surfaces within a handgun. S&W handguns are usually very good from the factory, but need a bit of smoothing for best functioning. Stainless steel revolvers are pretty, but don't take as much shooting use as a well-hardened carbon steel revolver. Yet, I have had several and if I don't cut through the hardening layer on internal parts, they last well as a carry gun. It does little good to the customer to have a finely-tuned revolver unless they know how to maintain them to the degree necessary. Weak springs, lack of lubrication, or backed-out strain screws can come back to bite you...at the most critical time!!! Err on the side of reliable function whenever doing work on handguns. I refuse to work on guns that have such soft steel that they won't stay in tune. Cheap imports often wear to become dangerous to the owner. IMHO, Ruger firearms generally have some of the best metallurgy and safety margin, though smooth function isn't quite up to par with S&W "potential" in a highly-improved firearm. I've seen/owned cheap Ruger semi-auto .22s that have had hundreds of thousands of rounds through them and they still look like new inside. That's just remarkable!