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Old May 27, 2009, 05:33 AM   #1
MadSammyboy
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Most important spare parts to buy for S&W 28?

Hey, everyone... I hope I'm putting this in the right place. I'm sort of on a kick right now, to buy replacement parts for my guns, and I have a S&W 28 Highway Patrolman .357. I want to buy about a hundred bucks worth of replacement parts to keep on-hand, just in case, so I thought I'd ask y'all experts what parts you think are the most likely to fail? Obviously, some firing pins, but beyond that, what fails on these guns? I was going to buy from gunpartscorp, since they have the schematic and complete parts list and all that...

Anyhow, I know it's a kind of broad question, so sorry if it's a dumb one, but I'm kind of new to the whole 'fix it yourself' thing with guns, and I want to get up to speed and up to stock. Thanks in advance for anyone with suggestions, and sorry for the long, rambling post!
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Old May 27, 2009, 05:55 AM   #2
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G'day Madsammy

Welcome to TFL

Keep it clean and lubed & look after it & the only 'spare parts' you will need is bullets

Nothing springs to mind as something you would have to have 'spares' on hand for it... maybe someone who has one or 2 can think of something you might need.....

I just reckon a good cleaning kit
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Old May 27, 2009, 06:07 AM   #3
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Yeah, If you had anything go wrong, personally I would just send it to S&W or find a gunsmith. I say that because I wouldn't know much when it came to repairing one. I love revolvers - especially S&W revolvers. But, I couldn't fix one if I had to, unless It was something really simple.
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Old May 27, 2009, 06:18 AM   #4
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I guess

If you are desperate to spend some cash, you could get a set of wolf springs, or spare stock springs.... maybe a set of replacement screws (in case you drop a screw or send a spring into orbit playing with your gun at the range, one cold morning)

Just MHO
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Old May 27, 2009, 06:35 AM   #5
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You guys are awesome

Wow, three replies already!

Dingo, thanks for the welcome- The Firing Line has been one of my favorite places to come, learn, get info, and just enjoy (mostly) intelligent conversation about guns.

I definitely keep it cleaned and lubed, so I'm covered there. I tend to think revolvers are indeed generally pretty reliable so long as we do that.

I do think I'll take your advice and get some springs and screws. These, along with a few firing pins and some trigger/hammer parts, ought to be enough. Maybe an extra cylinder, too.

Netto, I'm mostly with you. I really don't know much about working on revolvers- I'm tempted to break this one down, just to get some experience with it, but it's my only revolver, and I'd hate to do something goofy or not remember quite how to put it back together if I did. I might just look into buying another one, keep it on hand for parts and fiddle with it.

Thanks for the guidance, gentlemen! I'm looking forward to participating on TFL!
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:03 AM   #6
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I'd hate to do something goofy or not remember quite how to put it back together if I did. -

That is exactly why I personally would not try to repair one. as far as getting another one to mess around with or for parts, that's probably the best way to learn about it. I'll try to do the same thing one day.

When I win the lottery, I'll buy us all " tinker " guns!
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:08 AM   #7
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Madsammy

Unless you are going to do somethin' stoopid, like try the Glock torture test of towing your revolver behind a pickup, I dont think you really need to buy any 'hammer parts' or another cylinder (unless you want to have a caliber change cylinder to shoot 38 or something)

Save some cash (and buy another gun instead) , just get the screws & springs..... treat the gun good, you wont need to stock heaps of spares, just the bare essentials will do, IMO
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:17 AM   #8
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I'll agree 100% with the save your money and get another gun Idea. Why didn't I think of that?
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:22 AM   #9
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Ha, ha... that's so funny. I actually DID go to buy some extra gear the other day, and walked out of the store with another 1911... it's my favorite gun of all time, and I have a peculiar weakness for them. I'm not really worried about budgeting so much, but I have a feeling that whatever funds I set aside for revolver parts are going to end up buying more guns anyhow... I think I have a serious problem.
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:27 AM   #10
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We all have that serious problem.
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:30 AM   #11
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Old May 27, 2009, 07:41 AM   #12
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The only thing I've worn on the Smith's I've owned is the wear of the hammer nose on the "donut" in the frame. It took several thousand rounds to show wear, however. I'm sure that's a part for a smith to handle.
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Old May 27, 2009, 08:34 AM   #13
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By far the most likely part you'll need to replace is the rear sight blade. S&W revolvers tend to rotate sight-down when they're dropped, which will often break the blade off if you drop it on a hard surface.

The windage adjustment screw and sight blade are held in by a nut that must be turned with a special forked screwdriver. The screw is staked onto the nut with a special punch after the nut is tightened. The correct way to remove the sight blade is to tighten the adjustment screw until the screw breaks off inside the nut, ruining both. In order to do the job correctly, you'll need a sight blade, the "rebuild kit" which consists of the adjustment screw and special nut, and the "tool kit" which consists of the forked screwdriver tip and punch. Some vendors include the screw and nut with the sight blade, so make sure to read the fine print.

In terms of other spare parts, I'd suggest extra sideplate screws, a rebound spring assortment, and a rebound slide tool.
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Old May 27, 2009, 09:22 AM   #14
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As Dingo says, keep a set of spare screws on hand.

That's the only thing I would feel inclined to keep on hand.
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Old May 27, 2009, 10:12 AM   #15
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Maybe some screws, but I think you could get by without any spare parts.

I've owned handguns for the past 25 years and have never needed a spare part. In fact, the only think I can think of is that a buddy lost a screw out of his rifle stock during a hunting trip. Didn't effect his accuracy however.

I'd be more inclined to buy some ammo or dare I say another gun...
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Old May 27, 2009, 11:31 AM   #16
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I have a Smith Model 28. It was issued to me in the mid 70s when I was in LE, I was allowed to kept it when I retired in 1994. I shot the crap out of it when I carried it as a servie revolver, and still shoot the crap out of it. I'm talking about magnum ammo. I have never broke anything or had to replace any parts. If I was gonna stock parts for one of my guns, the Model 28 would be the last one I'd consider needing them.

I'd recommend you take the funds for those 100s of parts and put them into ammo and enjoy shooting the piece.
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Old May 27, 2009, 12:13 PM   #17
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I keep all my spare parts in a warehouse... called Brownell's
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Old May 27, 2009, 09:20 PM   #18
MadSammyboy
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These are all great posts, and I appreciate your responses. So, I'll pick up some screws and springs, and a couple of firing pins, and the rest of my allocated parts-money will go for the most important parts.*


*Rounds

Thanks, guys!
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Old November 5, 2009, 01:18 PM   #19
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The nice things about S&W revolvers is many many gunsmiths are very familiar with the S&W action and can work on it without any difficulty. Parts are easy to get hold of as well. I've had a couple older Smiths worked on in the past and it wasn't a big deal. Now Colt double action revolvers are a different story.
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Old November 5, 2009, 01:43 PM   #20
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For my S&W revolvers, I like to keep a couple spare firing pins (hammer-mount or frame-mount) and hands/pawls. Those are the parts that I've had break (firing pins) or wear out (hands).
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Old November 5, 2009, 01:59 PM   #21
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Quote: "I do think I'll take your advice and get some springs and screws. These, along with a few firing pins and some trigger/hammer parts, ought to be enough. Maybe an extra cylinder, too."

If you must spend extra money, then springs, screws are fine. In 47 years of shooting S&W revolvers I have never broken a firing pin, trigger, hammer, nor lost a screw. I have replaced main springs and trigger return springs to improve/lighten DA trigger pull and put Herrett's Jordan Trooper custom grips on them. Cylinders must be fitted to each gun by gunsmith. Don't know if S&W sells them to non-gunsmiths or not. I would spend the money on an extra pistol. YMMV.
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Old November 5, 2009, 02:01 PM   #22
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I think it would be a big waste of money. You could stock all kind of parts and the one that breaks will be the one you don't have
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Old November 5, 2009, 02:56 PM   #23
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IMHO, the only people who need spare parts for an S&W revolver are the folks who take them apart, stone, file, bend, twist and break half the parts and lose the other half. If you just shoot it and spray the gunk out from time to time, it will last until about the next millenium. (No, the springs won't weaken or wear out, either.)

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Old November 5, 2009, 05:15 PM   #24
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Buy a m m o!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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Old November 6, 2009, 01:17 AM   #25
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As has been noted already, it doesnt take much to keep a Smith running for a long lifetime of use. I would suggest a mainspring (I've had exactly 1 break in all the Smiths I've had over the years), a hammer nose (Smiths name for the hammer mounted firing pin) and hammer nose rivet, and an oversize hand, if they're still available, if not, then a standard hand. I would have a rear sight blade w/ screw and nut, and an extractor rod. A spare thumbpiece and thumbpiece nut arent a bad idea either. They can become loose and get lost. Spare sideplate screws arent a bad idea, and the front screw for the rear sight assembly is small and tends to loosen sometimes.

At the bare minimun, I'd have a mainspring and a hand.

I've never broken a firing pin, but it sounds like someone else has. I've replaced a hand or two, over many years and many many rounds. I've broken a rear sight blade from dropping a Smith.

Brownells is a good place to get Smith parts. I believe their web site has schematics for the various models.
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