Late yesterday afternoon I happened across a fellow who had a very nice condition circa 1978 Smith & Wesson Model 67-1 Combat Masterpiece .38 Special stainless steel revolver with adjustable rear sight and Pachmayr Presentation grips. I wasn't looking to buy a gun, but I had some cash with me and the fellow who owned it had an interest in selling it so it now belongs to me.
The gun was really clean so I didn't have to do much to it other than take it to the gun range today. It was very accurate and felt really nice in my hands. Problem was I had some light primer strikes on some Perfecta ammo, so I switched to Winchester. Still had some light strikes so I figured it wasn't an ammo only issue. Not how I wanted my first time out with the 67-1 to go, but figured the gun was too nice to have something really bad wrong with it.
I thought the strain screw might not be tight but couldn't see it because the Pachmayr grips cover the rear of the gun. I didn't have my gun screwdriver with me so I brought the gun home. When I took the grips off the strain screw was backed out quite a bit and the head of the screw was sticking out of the frame. I tightened the screw down all the way, put a set of S&W K-frame wood grips on it so I could see if the strain screw moved, and went back to the range.
Problem solved as I went through the remainder of the Perfecta and Winchester in their 50 round boxes to make sure. No issues at all as the strain screw stayed snug, resulting in nice solid primer strikes with smooth single and double action.
I took a few pics today of the gun after I came home and cleaned it up after shooting it. I apologize for the uneven lighting as it shows some lines and shading from the sunlight coming through the blinds and glare reflecting off the stainless frame. I am looking forward to taking it out again and not having to deal with any light primer strikes or any other issues.
The gun was really clean so I didn't have to do much to it other than take it to the gun range today. It was very accurate and felt really nice in my hands. Problem was I had some light primer strikes on some Perfecta ammo, so I switched to Winchester. Still had some light strikes so I figured it wasn't an ammo only issue. Not how I wanted my first time out with the 67-1 to go, but figured the gun was too nice to have something really bad wrong with it.
I thought the strain screw might not be tight but couldn't see it because the Pachmayr grips cover the rear of the gun. I didn't have my gun screwdriver with me so I brought the gun home. When I took the grips off the strain screw was backed out quite a bit and the head of the screw was sticking out of the frame. I tightened the screw down all the way, put a set of S&W K-frame wood grips on it so I could see if the strain screw moved, and went back to the range.
Problem solved as I went through the remainder of the Perfecta and Winchester in their 50 round boxes to make sure. No issues at all as the strain screw stayed snug, resulting in nice solid primer strikes with smooth single and double action.
I took a few pics today of the gun after I came home and cleaned it up after shooting it. I apologize for the uneven lighting as it shows some lines and shading from the sunlight coming through the blinds and glare reflecting off the stainless frame. I am looking forward to taking it out again and not having to deal with any light primer strikes or any other issues.
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