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Smith & Wesson Custom Work?

milsurplus
Does Smith & Wesson do 'Custom Work' on their own firearms as I cant seem to get a definitive answer to this nor was I able to locate it on their website.
S&W did state however that they do not take 'special orders'; yet I have read several accounts where S&W owners have had S&W perform DAO conversions, trigger jobs, etc, did they stop doing this perhaps or maybe they are referring to authorized S&W facilities possibly?
Thanks.
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10 comments

Date Votes
  • Hawk Carse
    http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category4_750001_750051_757909_-1_757776_757751_image
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  • tsr1965
    Not really sure why you are so bent on DAO. It renders your weapon to shorter range. The only reason for a DAO revolver is to be snagfree, and it makes the gun bigger than what it has to be, with a fully enclosed hammer shroud like the Centennial S&W's. With a bobbed off hammer spur, and checkering on the very top, albeit a small patch of checkering, it renders the DA revolver snagless, but still retains the availability of single action. I have done several like this.

    Just for thoughts.

    Best
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  • milsurplus
    Not bent on anything and I don't know about the shorter range as I use DA all the time and don't have a ranging problem as a matter of fact I rarely use SA in a DA. If you have done that type of work then you know that it is possible to keep the original hammer and have a bobbed hammer put in its place without a hammer shroud since that is optional. The internals will also need adjusted so that the revolver will operate properly as a DAO as well, I have heard of several instances where this was done and seen some as well and it shouldn't matter anyway so as long as I like it.
    Apparently Smith & Wesson doesn't seem to do the DAO conversions anymore and is too bad, but there are some authorized S&W facilities that may.
    Thanks for the info.
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  • dfletcher
    Turning a Smith into DAO is easy, the only part involved is the hammer - no other internal parts need changing. I would say the best approach is to keep the issue hammer as is, then fit a separate DAO hammer with the SA notch removed and the hammer bobbed. Fitting the new hammer requires a bit of technical talent. Bobbing the hammer requires none to get the job done (once the SA sear is removed bobbing the hammer does nothing to effect DAO) but needs an artistic touch, I think, to make it look right. Most hammer bobbing I've seen doesn't look well done, the ones that do follow the contour of the frame and are otherwise well executed.
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  • milsurplus
    quote:Originally posted by dfletcher
    Turning a Smith into DAO is easy, the only part involved is the hammer - no other internal parts need changing. I would say the best approach is to keep the issue hammer as is, then fit a separate DAO hammer with the SA notch removed and the hammer bobbed. Fitting the new hammer requires a bit of technical talent. Bobbing the hammer requires none to get the job done (once the SA sear is removed bobbing the hammer does nothing to effect DAO) but needs an artistic touch, I think, to make it look right. Most hammer bobbing I've seen doesn't look well done, the ones that do follow the contour of the frame and are otherwise well executed.

    That is what I am looking for and completely agree with your observations, as I am taking a S&W 696 .44 Spec 5 shot revolver 3" barrel and having it changed to DAO for concealed carry.
    And the S&W 696 will compliment my S&W 640 .357 Mag 5 shot revolver not to mention being fairly close ballistically even though the .357 is faster the .44 makes up for it by its slower moving size.
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  • beantownshootah
    The Smith and Wesson Performance center (which by all accounts is excellent) will do SOME kinds of custom work on stock Smith guns for you. You have to contact them to see if they will do the work you want, and at what cost.

    Note that this is different than a "special order" where they build a gun from scratch to your spec. Smith probably WOULD do that for you, but only if you ordered a huge series of them (eg like Lew Horton, etc).

    There are plenty of OTHER custom revolver-smiths that could do this work for you, including:

    http://www.pinnacle-guns.com/revolver.asp
    http://www.cylinder-slide.com/
    http://www.fletchercustompistols.com/smith_wesson_custom_revolvers.htm
    http://www.grantcunningham.com/

    In terms of the actual work involved, Dfletcher has it. You remove the single-action notch to be double-action only, and you usually also remove the hammer spur (entirely for DAO) to make the gun snag-resistant.

    You can get the same effect *in practice* just by entirely removing the hammer spur without messing with the SA-notch. This is both easier to do, and a lot cheaper than messing with the hammer internals. If you can't physically cock the hammer, in practice the gun is double-action only. (Yes, technically you could partially cock the hammer by pulling the trigger, than cock it the rest of the way with your thumb for an SA release, but in practice, you're just not going to do that).

    Responding to TSR, I happen to have a Smith 60 that someone has done that to. . .the hammer spur is "mostly" ground off, but a little bit is left and checkered on top. Its a reasonable compromise. While its harder to thumb-cock it than a stock gun, you still can, and the gun is a good bit more snag resistant than one with the full hammer. IMO, Smith should probably offer this (or a Commander-style ring hammer. . .even cooler!) as a stock option.

    Lastly, I may be "contrary", but actually I consider hammer snagging to be a POSITIVE feature. It helps prevent the gun from falling out of your pocket by accident, and makes it extremely difficult for anyone ELSE to take it out. One time I demonstrated this on a range to my skeptical friend by literally walking on my hands with a stock J-frame in a pocket holster. . .gun didn't fall out!

    Of course when you WANT to take the gun out you simply put the thumb of your drawing hand on the hammer during the draw. . .voila. . .no snagging. Like anything else, you practice this until it becomes natural.
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  • milsurplus
    I would rarely keep a gun in my pocket if at all being that there is not much control over it especially with a hammer, as the potential for a hammer snapping from being caught on something is very possible and could do so just enough to fire a round with potential devastating effects at that range.
    I prefer my revolvers and pistols secure in a holster ready if need be at a moments notice and I don't find myself upside down very often either although mine stay secure in place as well.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by milsurplus
    I would rarely keep a gun in my pocket if at all being that there is not much control over it especially with a hammer, as the potential for a hammer snapping from being caught on something is very possible and could do so just enough to fire a round with potential devastating effects at that range.

    Just to be clear here, all Smith revolvers manufactured for at least the last 30 years have hammer block-type safeties that prevent the hammer from actuating the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled to the rear.

    Unless some shade-tree gunsmith has deliberately or accidentally damaged this safety, no amount of partially drawing the hammer then releasing it can set off a round UNLESS the trigger is also being pulled at the same time.

    As minor secondary points, pulling a revolver out of your pocket tends to force the hammer into the frame, not cock it. The "snag" occurs on the back of the hammer spur, not on the top. Again, putting your thumb over the hammer during draw effectively prevents any snag.

    Lastly, even assuming you could get it to happen with a bad draw technique (and I'm a bit skeptical) I doubt that partial retraction of the hammer would provide enough kinetic energy to set off a live round anyway. I've never heard of this sort of thing happening, and from experience, I know it takes a pretty substantial hammer hit to set of the primer in most rounds.

    In short, so long as you don't pull the trigger of your revolver while drawing it out of your pocket, you don't have to worry about this!

    Since you raised the topic, my take on pocket carry of a revolver (or most small autos) is that doing this is perfectly safe, so long as you keep the gun in a pocket holster (to keep out lint and protect the trigger guard), and follow the same rules of safe gun handling that you would follow with any other gun with any other holster. If you like, its also possible to get a pocket holster that covers the hammer too.

    I don't see how you have any less "control" over a gun in a holster in your pocket compared to the exact same gun in a holster on your belt. The pocket gun just makes it a little slower to get a firing grip and requires a slightly different draw technique.

    Neither way will the gun go off unless you pull the trigger all the way to the rear, either cocking it first, or in double-action.

    IMO, though it is certainly a valid reason, the biggest reason to go with a DAO gun isn't snagging. Again, there are multiple ways to make a DA/SA gun snag resistant, including a hammer shroud. The biggest reason to go with a DAO gun is that the heavier longer trigger pull acts as a secondary safety for the gun. Many people have a tendency to reflexively cock the hammer of their revolvers, and then you get that beautiful light 3 lb Smith SA trigger pull. Great for the range, but under the extreme stress of a life-or-death situation, a light trigger can contribute to a negligent discharge.

    For this reason, for example, the NYPD requires that all its officers carry both on or off duty guns with double-action first pulls, or Glocks with heavier-than-stock triggers. All carry revolvers must be DAO.

    EDIT, responding to below, another point of the pocket holster is that it holds the gun in one position in your pocket, so it won't shift around. I realize people sometimes do it, but personally, I would never carry a gun in my pocket without a holster.
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  • milsurplus
    I will take your word for it, but good to know never the less, however I don't think that I will be keeping a firearm in my pocket anytime soon as stated previously for my preference and have heard of accidental discharges happening before due to a failure of a part to render the firearm safe and is not something that I want to take a chance with. Concerning the controlling of the firearm in ones own pocket, I am referring to the fact that they do tend to shift around in there and leaves muzzle control something to be desired. I have had a firearm in my pocket for instance only to find that it works itself so that the muzzle is pointed in any number of positions randomly and just didn't appeal to me. Probably similar to when your in a gunstore sometimes and some knucklehead is looking at a 'hopefully unloaded' weapon but is pointing the thing all over the place and is not paying attention to that fact or simply doesn't care about it; but to each there own I suppose. Anyway this thread is way off topic now from its intended purpose.
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  • milsurplus
    My only issue with the pocket holster is that sometimes the pocket holster comes out with the gun as well. Other than that if you can find one that doesn't do that and works well then that would be an acceptable compromise to a hip holster in a situation where a hip holster might be exposed or might not be practical.
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