S&W Model 329 Safety Recall

Performance Center Model 329 Revolvers Safety Recall Information

This safety recall notice applies to the limited edition model 329 revolver manufactured at the Smith & Wesson performance center. This safety recall notice applies to 270 revolvers manufactured at the performance center bearing serial numbers - ranging from BVA0004 to BVA0210 and DEW0001 to DEW0099.

It has been determined that damage to the frame may have occurred during assembly of the single piece barrel. As a result, there exists the possibility that the revolver may rupture during firing, causing a failure of the firearm and creating a risk of personal injury.

You should immediately stop using the revolver and return it to Smith & Wesson. Upon return Smith & Wesson will issue a refund or a credit towards the purchase of a replacement firearm.To determine if your revolver is subject to this safety recall notice, please check the serial number. The serial number is displayed on the frame of the revolver and is visible with the cylinder open. See the diagram below:

Please note that this safety recall notice does not apply to the model 329 PD. The model 329 PD is designed with a two-piece barrel. Because of this and other design, manufacture and assembly differences that exist between the model 329 PD and the limited edition model 329 manufactured at the performance center, the safety and performance concerns that led to this recall do not affect the model 329 PD. You should return your revolver only if it is a model 329 with a serial number in the range specified above.

Please contact Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-331-0852 to arrange for the return of your firearm.

Again, the above was copied from the official S&W Website. Specifically from the Model 329 Recall Page.

S&W Performance Center 460 Safety Recall

SAFETY RECALL NOTICE

PRODUCT:  Smith & Wesson's Performance Center Model 460 Revolvers

DESCRIPTION OF THE HAZARD:  Smith & Wesson has received four (4) reports of barrel failures involving its Performance Center Model 460 revolvers. These barrels were manufactured by an outside supplier. Our investigation has revealed that the quality of steel in some of these barrels did not meet the performance requirements for these firearms and may have contributed to failure of the barrel.

You should stop using the revolver and return it immediately to Smith & Wesson so that your barrel can be inspected and replaced, if necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT INVOLVED:  This recall applies to Performance Center Model 460 revolvers shipped by the Smith & Wesson Performance Center prior to September 18, 2006. This recall does NOT apply to Smith & Wesson standard production Model 460 revolvers. The affected revolvers can be identified by the following Serial Number Range:

EBD0001 - EBD0524
EBF0002 - EBF0251
LHZ0000 - LHZ0511
LLL0000 - LLL0702
LRR0001 - LRR0552
MMM0001 - MMM1809
XMC0001 - XMC0109

To determine if your firearm is part of this recall, please check your serial number which can be found on the yoke of your firearm as indicated below. Each Performance Center Model 460 will have the words "Performance Center" engraved on the barrel as indicated below:

REMEDY/ACTION TO BE TAKEN: When the revolver is returned to Smith & Wesson, we will inspect and test each barrel to verify that it meets specification. If the barrel fails to meet specification, a new one will be provided and installed for you free of charge.

We have already begun the corrective action process on Performance Center Model 460 revolvers. To determine whether your revolver has been inspected, please do the following:

• Keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction;
• Open the cylinder and verify that the firearm is unloaded; and
• Look for a "punch dot" in the yoke opening, just above the serial number, as shown below.

CONSUMER CONTACT: Please contact Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-331-0852 ext. 2905, or through our web site at www.smith-wesson.com to arrange for the return of your revolver. All work will be done free of charge.

The above was copied from the offical S&W website, specifically the Performance Center 460 recall page.

EAA Witness Pistol Safety Recall

The following is a cut and paste from the EAA Corp. News page.

If you own an EAA Witness style semi-automatic pistol bearing a serial number between AE00000 to AE70000, please read this Notice.

Owners of the above designated Witness pistols should immediately field strip the pistol and send the slide assembly to European American Armory Corp., 411 Hawk Street, Rockledge, Florida 32955.  Upon receipt, European American Armory Corp. will replace the original firing pin with an upgraded firing pin for your pistol.

Please follow the instructions and warnings in the Owners’ Manual and do not disassemble your pistol beyond a field strip.  Any disassembly beyond a field strip should only be performed by a qualified gunsmith.  In particular, the firing pin should never be removed by you.  If the firing pin is removed, it must be re-installed correctly by a qualified gunsmith or the EAA Corp. service center.  If the firing pin is installed incorrectly in an upside down position, it may adversely affect the operation of your pistol and its safeties.  If your pistol is not operating properly, discontinue using it and take it to a qualified gunsmith or send it to the European American Armory Corp. service center immediately.

Thank you for your attention to this Notice.  Please call European American Armory Corp. at (800) 536-4442 if you have any questions regarding this Notice.

There's also a link to an online feedback form.

The Good and Bad of the Last Few Months

GOOD:  I was able to snag a Spike's Tactical 5.45x39mm AR upper from AIM Surplus.
BAD:  There's only one company making 5.45mm AR mags, and they're not too good at it.  All the C Products mags that I've tried, right out of the bag, don't work very well.
GOOD:  A little Teflon dry-lube goes a long way toward making the mags work.  Tweaking the feedlips to actually hold the rounds in the magazine seems to help a lot too.  I got 3 mags to work all the way through, with 25 rounds.  The one that was causing a stoppage every 2 or 3 rounds, all the way through the magazine, didn't give me any more trouble.  Things are looking better now.
BAD:  The 4th, and last, magazine that I had with me caused another trademark bolt-over-base malfunction.  I cleared the jam, reinserted the round, and it did the same thing again.  Like a flyer opening up a nice tight group, there's always gotta be one that screws things up.
GOOD:  From a decent, supported position (not bench rest), and practical sights, the upper will keep the shots on an index card at 100 yards with cheap Russian surplus and Silver Bear commercial ammo.  This is on par with M193 from my free-floated M4 upper, and the Spikes 5.45mm still has the plastic handguards and the delta ring and all.

BAD:  Last time I took the Bushmaster ACR out to the indoor range, I fired a shot, and immediately knew that something wasn't right.  I grabbed the charging handle, and pulled it, and the empty shell flipped out.  I discovered that I didn't have the gas plug in the rifle.
GOOD:  I brought the Tantal along, with the new scope mount, and I had enough loaded mags to keep me busy for an hour.
GOOD:  I found the gas plug for the ACR sitting on the bench at home.  Yeah, I'm a dumbass.  Go ahead and laugh, I deserve it.

BAD: When I took my folding stock 10/22 out to the rifle range last weekend, I was getting a lot of stove-pipe and failure-to-eject malfunctions.  That was weird.  I've had my 10/22s squared away for a while.  When I looked it over today, I discovered that the hook had broken off the extractor.  Yeah, that'll do it.
GOOD:  Surprisingly, about half of the shells popped out under the power of the burning powder, so I still got some shooting done.
GOOD:  New 10/22 extractors cost all of $2.50, and I have the tools and knowledge to tune them.  I can borrow one from the other 10/22 anyway.
GOOD:  The 10/22 seems to feed the blunt-nose Winchester 555 hollow points okay, and it shoots 'em good enough to hit the plates, so at least I've got one rimfire that'll work with the damn things.

BAD:  When I went to run some drills with my airsoft Glock, I tried to fill the magazine with gas, and the gas leaked right back out through the bottom of the mag.
GOOD:  Fortunately, the engineers at Marui in Tokyo did a decent job of creating a simple magazine, that's fairly easy to understand and work on.  I took the bottom off the mag, smeared some silicone oil on the seal and o-ring, put it back together, and tightened the gas valve a fraction of a turn.  The magazine started holding gas again, so I was able to work on drawing from a holster, and shooting on the move.

That's more good that bad.  I think I'll count that as an overall win, eh?

AIM Surplus - 10% Off Coupon Code

Coupon Code: july4th
Gets you 10% off accessories and magazines.  Expires July 4th, today.  Sorry, better late than never, eh?

"New" PA Governor Signs "Castle Doctrine" Bill Into Law

Many of you in other states are probably thinking, "Welcome to the 21st century," but this has been a long fight for gun owners in PA, against previous governor "Fast Eddie" Rendell and embedded democrat state politicians.  The bill was stalled for months by a state congressman who wouldn't bring it up for a vote, and some other political horseplay.  Once finally brought to a vote, it didn't meet very much opposition.  PA voted in a lot of Republicans in 2010, including Governor Corbett.  The bill was passed to Corbett on the 22nd, after passing through PA Senate, and he signed on the 28th.

For PA residents, "Castle Doctrine" law goes into effect on August 27, 2011.