Here is what people refer to as "problems" that were worked on by S&W...(I may have copied this from the S&W Forum)
FBI 1076 Pistol Lockup
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There has been much discussion over the years as to the cause of the reports (five or less) of FBI 1076 lockups and other FBI issues with the pistol. The following description comes directly from an internal S&W document authored by a S&W engineer sent to upper management at S&W. The date is unkown.
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"The descriptions of the pistols which locked up in Miami and Tampa were identical. The hammer was in the half-cock position; the trigger was fully forward with no freedom of movement; the hammer could not be fully cocked, and the rearward travel of the slide was limited by the hammer. Both pistols were reloaded just prior to the lockup.
It has been determined it is possible for the drawbar to be lifted and locked in a position that prevents trigger movement. Once in the locked position, neither the trigger nor the drawbar are free to move. Therefore, the slide can only move to the point where the hammer makes contact with the drawbar. Only with the hammer in the 1/2 cock position, and even then the possibility exists only on a small percentage of limits, is the drawbar free to be put into a locked position. The force that lifts the drawbar into the locked position is the top round of the magazine during loading.
This lockup is not possible with other S&W pistols in that the special FBI trigger has a different interface where the trigger, the trigger play spring and drawbar intersect. On standard S&W triggers, the area of the trigger that is causing the lockup has been removed.
A simple test has been devised to determine whether or not a pistol can possibly be locked up. This test is performed with the pistol field stripped and the hammer in the 1/2 cock position. To test the pistol, you simply push the drawbar forward and up. Then pull the trigger. If you cannot move the trigger, it is possible for the pistol to be locked up. Even then, it would require a round to be very far forward in the magazine to actually contact and push up the drawbar.
There appear to be two possible product changes to prevent a pistol from locking up. First, the current trigger can be modified to add 0.010" of material to the front stop surface. This added material changes the relationship between the trigger and drawbar in a way that prevents the two parts from ever getting into a lockup condition. The second solution is to change back to the standard trigger used on all other S&W pistols. Further testing is still required to insure that this solution has no negative tradeoffs.
To verify the effectiveness of both solutions, the FBI trigger with 0.010" added and the standard trigger, are not sensitive to wear, endurance tests were conducted for both configurations. Contact is made between the trigger and drawbar in the FBI configuration. No contact exists between these parts in the standard trigger configuration. Therefore, four pistols were endurance tested with the FBI trigger and only one with the standard trigger. The four pistols with FBI triggers were fired 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 rounds. The pistol with the standard trigger was fired 20,000 rounds. No wear on the critical surfaces was seen after the test. None of the five pistols could be put into the lockup position after the endurance test.
II. CHIPPED EXTRACTORS
As we have previously reported, the cause of the chipped extractors was the processing of this part. A small burr was being generated during machining and became brittle when the part was hardened by heat treatment. The correction was in reprocessing the part to eliminate the burr.
Parts have been made to the new process and test fired. Six pistols were test fired with new extractors. The number of rounds fired through each pistol are:
1 pistol 36,000 rounds
2 pistols 20,000 rounds
1 pistol 15,000 rounds
1 pistol 10,000 rounds
1 pistol 5,000 rounds
No chipping or any other damage was seen on any of the six extractors. These parts are available for inspection.
III. CRACKED MAGAZINE FOLLOWERS
The test procedure used to determine which material should be used in the magazine follower was described in our previous letter. In addition to these tests, we have loaded and fired 100 magazine assemblies 100 times each with no damage to the follower. An automated machine was developed to slam both loaded and unloaded magazines into a frame. This machine has been used, and did not fracture the new follower after 50,000 cycles.
IV. BROKEN TRIGGER PLAY SPRING
Trigger play springs had been breaking after approximately 1,500 rounds during training at Quantico. Prior to the spring actually breaking, it was frequently observed that one or both of the legs, which contact the trigger, had been severely bent rearward.
The first action taken to improve the durability of this part was to increase the amount of clearance between it and the pistol frame. This was done to assure no contact between these two parts under any condition. When the clearance cut in the frame was increased by 0.020" on each side, the severe bending of the spring was eliminated and the durability increased to approximately 3,000 rounds.
After exploring and discounting stress resulting from thermal cycles, die wear, and improper processing, it was decided to decrease the stress level in the part by making it more flexible. This was accomplished by increasing the length of the two slots in the spring and decreasing the material thickness from 0.008" to 0.007". Alternate materials were also investigated but none proved superior to the 301 stainless now used. The combination of the increased clearance cuts in the frame and new trigger play springs have been 100% successful in five pistols. The number of rounds fired are:
2 pistols 20,000 rounds
1 pistol 15,000 rounds
1 pistol 10,000 rounds
1 pistol 5,000 rounds
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(end of article)
With all that said, To date I have only seen two cracked frames, one was by poor gunsmithing work, the other not sure. Many times people are there own problems.
Remember the two dots under the decocker levers, that was were S&W was addressing the problems listed above.
Some of the issues were with the side plate lever because the way people removed the factory grip panels which cause them to get bent out of shape which in turn mess up the timing.
This comes from the Smith&Wesson Forum http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-semi-auto-pistols/190095-grip-pin.html (http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-semi-auto-pistols/190095-grip-pin.html)
(http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43717&d=1304054879)
(http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43718&d=1304054893)
(http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43719&d=1304054912)
(http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43720&d=1304054925)
Also the levers got some wear from excessive use, others from improper assembly because they require a steady alignment while all the parts are being placed.
So if the S&W guns were as bad as some have reported, I'd like to see proof of all the cracked frames and galled rails...
Thank you, that was interesting. I bought a 1076 back in November. I later noticed it did not have the "two dots". In February I contacted S&W about the pistol. They had me ship it back to them and they did the work and shipped it back to me at no charge. At the same time I had a 1066 on which the decock function did not work. They also repaired and returned it at no charge. The 1076 came with a factory letter showing that it was originally sold to the East Baton Rouge, LA Sheriff's Dept.
gcw16, East Baton Rouge, LA Sheriff's Dept. you say, not too far from me! Congrats! The Louisiana State Police also had a few of the S&W 10mm guns down here as well...
I do wish S&W would have had more of the 11 and 13 round magazines for these 10xx pistols, they are scarce as hen's teeth.
The letter says it was shipped to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff Dept on October 10, 1990. I don't know how it found it's way up here to Kentucky. I also have a Virginia State Police 1026 and a "regular" 1066. I'm still looking for a reasonably priced 1006. If anyone is looking for a 1046 there is one for sale on the S&W Forum for $2500 but he doesn't give much info and there are no pictures.
@ gcw16-McQuade was selling several S&W 10XX handguns and was listing them on Carolina Shooters Club. He had a 1006 and I can't remember whether or not he sold it. I do not remember what else he had. He is a member of this forum.
Here I am. I've been thinning down several of the pieces that I just don't use. I had that 1046 listed and let it run for a week. I had several descent trade offers but nothing that I needed, looking mostly to sell. I sold that 1006 for $700 iirc, it had no box and fixed sights. I'm keeping a few of my favorite shooters but I'll still part with the 1046 and I have a 1076 in excellent condition with box that I'll let go of. And for .44 fans, I have a rare Texas Longhorn Arms #5 custom made for a factory employee with a birdshead grip and beautiful pecan stocks that I'm advertising locally. It's like new and very pricey. I'm not able to shoot much now, my job has me locked down for 13 hours a day, 5 days a week, minimum.