I've always kept an eye on the bearing surface around the underside of the screw head. The older & blinder you get the more magnification helps. It usually gets to looking pretty beat up visibly before it starts letting the base pin get by. I have several old models and always keep a couple of spare latch ass'ys around. Being sure to keep it tight helps. When the notch (or groove) on the base pin starts looking beat up it gets replaced as well. The 41's & .44's seem to be the worst offenders, but .357 can do it, too.
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