Inspect those used revolvers carefully.

[WarPig1976]

Picked this up on my travels today. It's a S&W M&P 65-1 in .357 mag.
Attachment 62212
Attachment 62213
Checked it over an everything seemed fine, the cylinder gap was a tad wide but I could shim that. About to hand it back and start the paperwork and I noticed this
Attachment 62210
And this...
Attachment 62211
See what I see? Well, told the the guy to hold the phone and I did the hammer thumb pressure test and...CLICK. Well, well,well, Bubba did a trigger job. Since I'm not the average gun buyer I knew I could fix all the issues and about how much it will cost. I had a talk with the owner and he took $150 off. Glad I figured it had problems at the counter where it saved me a few bucks and not while at home. Now for a new hammer and possibly trigger.

Information

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[browningautorifle]

That'll be nice after. I have a three inch 13 myself. Love shooting that. If things were different, I'd likely carry that one...or the 2 1/2" 19, or the .45, or the mod 25...well, you get the idea.

[RCS]

My old single action K-38 was showing its age and I decided to install a new hand, but things were still not quite right. The gunsmith at Brownell's told me to order the oversize
hand, which I did order and install. Everything is fine nowAttachment 62215

[Aragorn243]

For those of us that don't understand revolvers much, what is the problem you are showing us and what is the thumb pressure test?

[browningautorifle]

There are hash marks on the inside edge of the side plate showing him someone has been doing something with no knowledge of how to go about it. The thumb test is cock the revolver and try to push the hammer off the trigger...here's a list of things to consider...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/used_handgun.htm

I have an older mod 18 that I take to the range to finish up with. Strange after shooting everything else, it comforts you that you can still do golf balls at odd ranges.

[WarPig1976]

As BAR explained, I can cock the hammer and put maybe 4 or 5 pounds pressure with the thumb and she goes off without ever touching the trigger. It can be rectified by bobbing the hammer or as I'm doing replacing the humped parts. The dings and the scratches from the firing pin are a dead giveaway of Bubba's handwork.

[Aragorn243]

Thanks for the explanation and the article. I don't do handguns much aside for a few milsurps and SA cowboy or blackpowder percussion types so my knowledge is pretty limited. It's only been the past year I've gotten into the cowboy and percussion types. Getting a rather late start.

[browningautorifle]

Getting a rather late start.

Never too late.

[Aragorn243]

For me it may be. I think they rose out of my price range. I may still be able to afford a Makarov, Nambu, Enfield or maybe a P-38 but I expect that's about it.

I've always liked rifles, not so much shotguns and handguns. Shotguns I have three. One for me and two for my kids to hunt with. Only handguns I have are military or civilian versions of military.

[Seaspriter]

The thumb test is cock the revolver and try to push the hammer off the trigger...here's a list of things to consider...

Thanks WarPig and BAR for this post. I'm like Aragorn:

I don't do handguns much

I've got a few old Browning designed Colts, but nothing that would alert me to this problem.

I am amazed how much more there is to learn and am grateful to those masters that so graciously give their time and knowledge to enlighten us, save us from serious mishaps, and maybe even preserve us from dire consequences. Thank you all Milsurps contributors.