Working the S&W 61 Escort

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’ve I observed that we are seeing long-term collections being liquidated apace as aging firearm enthusiasts fire their final shot. A young collector who has been regularly adding to his growing stable of firearms recently showed up with his latest acquisition, a Smith & Wesson Model 61 Escort in 22 Long Rifle. Anew caretaker of a given firearm has become a sort of recurring theme for me.

I checked through American Gunsmith back issues and did not see a previous Model 61 article so it made sense to take some photos and do a write-up. The Model 61 only seems to be of interest to serious S&W collectors if it is unfired at best, pristine at worst, and accompanied by the box, papers, and cleaning kit. This only if a given Escort is of a certain production range and left the factory with a royal blue zippered vinyl pouch with "Smith & Wesson" stamped thereon.

Run-of-display case Model 61s exhibiting wear, scratches to the grip panels, and missing the box and factory papers are seemingly not of much interest beyond being "shooters." I have an FFL friend of some 30 years now that frequently says, "First, second, and third generation S&W semiautomatic pistols are the best semis that nobody wants to buy." Well, the little Model 61 is even more of an outcast if at all used and showing it.

In fact, if any S&W handgun has the reputation of a poor red-headed stepchild, it’s the 61 Escort. Back to the customer. The story young James told me was that his late grandfather had a blued / black Short-lived, it was chambered in 22LR and introduced in 1970 and marketed into 1973 with a reported total of 64,938 units produced. anodized Model 61 Escort with the mottled brown tortoise shell plastic grip panels that was the first handgun he had ever fired at the tender age of eight.

The events of the day made a most favorable impression on the boy, even though he can’t recall hitting anything with the little rimfire—no, the big deal was that he was firing his grandfather’s little pistol! He had a close relationship with the father of his mother, and when he saw the pistol in a display case at a gun shop he knew he was taking it home. This is how it started for many of us when we were past 21 and had some earning and buying power.

There were particular guns with which we were familiar, and taught with by people who were important to us, not just relatives but maybe also friends of family members or neighbors. Some collectors were fortunate to be gifted firearms that had special meanings; others may have the guns but no longer have the people with whom they had close relationships who helped foster cherished memories of their youth. So it was with James’ new-tohim 61 Escort.

It didn’t come with a box or papers but was tucked inside a minty royal blue vinyl pouch. The pistol itself looked to be NIB with no blemishes to the finish and minor scratches on the tortoise shell grips. Inside, it looked darned near unfired. Looks can be deceiving and that’s why James brought it in; he was taking heed of the admonition to "have the firearm inspected by a gunsmith prior to firing."

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The disconnector pin is serrated at the left end and is a press fit in the stamped disconnector. In most cases the two form one piece, but in some Escorts the pin is loose in the disconnector. Stepping back to 1970, the S&W 61 Escort was introduced to the market as a BUG (back up gun) primarily intended for law enforcement personnel and as a purse gun for women.

It was only cataloged three short years from 1970 to 1973 with a total production of 64,938 units in four engineering variants: Models 61, 61-1, When removing or installing the manual safety, it helps to tilt the top of the safety lever away from the frame so that the end of the "tail" readily withdraws from or inserts into the sideplate. 2, retain the sideplate to left side of the frame. They are identical, so there’s no need to keep account of them by a given hole. 61-2, and 61-3.

About 10% of the total were nickel plated; the majority were blued. More correctly, the slides were blued and the aluminum frames were anodized with a glossy, almost black finish similar to that of the S&W Models 39 and 59 of the same vintage. The Model 61 was for all intents and purposes a direct copy of the 1908 Pieper Bayard handgun made by the Belgian Anciens Etablissments Pieper located in Liege, famous for the 9mm Bergmann- Bayard handgun.

When both the Escort and the 1908 Bayard pistols are stripped and set side by side, there’s no denying the Escort’s inspiration. The 1908 Pieper Bayard and the Model 61 Escort are both notable in that their recoil spring arrangement is above the barrel instead of co-linear with the barrel or below the barrel as with most pistols.

S&W would revisit this concept with their family of pistols and variants ("Working S&W .22 Pistols", September 2019) issued as their "first generation" inexpensive 22LR semiautomatic handguns as alternatives to the pricey but accurate S&W 41 target pistol. The Model 61 "No Dash" was what gave the Escort its dodgy reputation. Shootability problems were spotty but just too frequent; some of these Escorts run fine while others failed to feed, eject, cycle, etc.—essentially jam-o-matics.

I was in high school at the time of the Escort’s introduction and recall a few men at the local gun club bought Escorts which had functionality problems that they attributed to ammunition. It’s common knowledge that no 22LR cartridges are created alike, and some semiautomatic 22LR pistols and rifles just flat out prefer a diet of a certain make/model of cartridge.

As I recall, the one gent who let me fire two magazines full from "his wife’s" Escort told me it ran best on CCI Mini-Mags, and that’s what I fired, pulling the cartridges from his 100-round amber plastic box of that vintage. Not a surprise; Mini-Mags have been my own goto 22LR cartridges for decades when troubleshooting. Back to the 61 "No Dash". It’s been written by gun writers one and two generations ago and re-

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Then lift off the sideplate as shown. It is stepped on each end and thus retained by the sideplate on the left and the frame on the right and cannot be driven through either side.

The trigger and trigger bar are readily lifted off the trigger pin while the pin is still in the frame. peated that when people returned their Escorts to the factory in Springfield, Massachusetts the S&W repair technicians would often take new guns off the line and The trigger bar is rotated counterclockwise to the trigger to gain clearance for all three parts to be lifted out of the frame.

The sheet metal trigger block is riveted to the frame and is shown in position horizontally in a shallow recess across the inside right wall of the magazine well. 2 pointing to where the spring fills a vertical slot in the mainspring retainer. Be sure the sear spring engages this slot during reinstallation because it ensures proper alignment of the spring. and then carrying out the repairs.

It makes for a good story, and I don’t doubt that owners got new guns or major parts thereof, whether or not S&W duplicated serial numbers and destroyed the original guns or frames. Regardless, production of the 61 "No Dash" was 6,800, with serial numbers ranging from B1001 through B7800. The Model 61-1 was the first engineering change and it was a simple one. In May 1970 the factory incorporated a magazine safety that blocks the hammer when the magazine is removed.

Serial numbers of production Model 61- 1 pistols range from B7801 through B9850. Total production of the Model 61-1, excluding any retrofitted pistols returned by customers for free installation of the mag safety was 2,550. Thus, the 61-1 is the scarcest, most collectible of the Escort pistol variants. hand stamp the serial number of the returned Escorts on the new ones.

As the story goes, it would have took too much time to sort out the problems by first defining them The Model 61-2 was introduced in September 1970 and featured a threaded barrel nut at the forward end of the barrel to robustly fix it in position in the frame. In contrast, the barrels in the Models 61 and 61-1 were pressed into the frame and could not be removed without difficulty, and some apparently worked loose from the cast aluminum frames with use.

Serial numbers of the 61-2 have been reported to range from B9851 to B40000, with an apparent total production of 30,150 of that variant being manufactured. The final engineering change, 61-3, was introduced in July of 1971 and featured a forged aluminum alloy frame as the principal modification. There were concerns with strength and longevity (wear resistance) of the cast alloy frames, and the stronger forged alloy frame was incorporated to address the perceived issue.

The disconnector was also improved from a two piece design to a one-piece design of riveted construction and headspace was

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The hammer strut fork engages a hardened roll pin in the hammer, which is not usually removed. The sear and magazine catch are shown in relative correct position, and a paper clip holds the mainspring compressed between the flange on the hammer strut and the mainspring retainer. slightly reduced for improved ignition. Sources state that Model 61-3 serial numbers ran from B40001 to B65439, with a total production for the final Escort variant of 25,438.

Production ended in March of 1973, but guns continued to be assembled from existing parts until March of 1974. Despite the improvements, the damage was done. The Escort was not accurate, did not point naturally, most people could only get one and a half fingers on the grip, and the magazine only held five rounds. The look and ergonomics of the Escort were not appealing to most shooters, and it was a resounding commercial failure.

Through the end of 1972 and into 1973 Smith & Wesson pretty much couldn’t give Escorts away. Disassembly To disassemble, first remove the magazine and remove any remain- The rear end of the small ing cartridges. Rack the slide to verify that the chamber is empty as viewed through the ejection port. Press in the front of the recoil spring guide rod above the muzzle, and lift out the front sight.

Then remove force from the end of the guide rod and while controlling it, withdraw the guide rod and recoil spring from the front of the slide. Pull the slide to the rear and lift it up and off the recoil spring guide tube. For detailed disassembly, first remove the right side grip plate screw, and lift off the grip plate. A knife blade or thin plastic wedge (a sharpened credit card) may be needed to pry grip plates off the frame since the inside of the grip plates are not accessible from the magazine well.

Next remove the left grip screw. Before removing the left grip plate locate the cocked hammer indicator pin at the top rear of the left grip plate. Note well: This pin is cammed out of the grip by the hammer, and is returned inside the grip by a tiny coil spring that bears against the inside surface of the left grip plate, which retains the indicator pin and its spring.

When removing the left grip plate, pay attention to the indicator pin as it may be adhered to the grip plate, and without care it may be lost. diameter guide tube is crosspinned with the larger diameter recoil spring retainer sleeve, which holds the guide tube in place. The recoil spring retainer sleeve doubles as a support and guide for the slide, as the scuff marks on the retainer sleeve surface attest. 2.

The trigger block is not removed unless damaged, requiring locating or making a suitable rivet for reattachment.

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This photo illustrates how the boss projecting from the slide normally rides on the rear-projecting recoil spring retainer sleeve mounted to the top of the frame. There are rabbets in the bottom edges of both side of the slide that act as guides for the slide alignment. It can only be inserted one way, and the front sight direction is the clue. With the left grip plate and cocking indicator removed, next unscrew the ejector screw and lift out the ejector.

The ejector is the nearly vertical T-shaped flat stamping whose upper forward end is the The hammer would fall when the trigger was pulled on every Model 61 whose slide was not fully forward when function checked by the author, possibly resulting in an out-of-battery fire condition. Chambering around by "lowering" the slide forward invites this condition; "slingshotting" the slide sends it fully into battery and avoids trouble. actual ejector component and protrudes into the sideplate.

The L-shaped stamped lever beneath the ejector is the disconnector and it is retained by across pin that’s serrated on its left end, the one that is in the hole in the disconnector stamping. The disconnector and pin are lifted directly up and out of the left sideplate as a unit. It is recommended to use an assist from forceps or small needle-nose pliers. Next lift the safety lever off the sear pin.

Rotate the top of the safety lever away from the sideplate as if it was hinged across its lower length, then lift the safety up and away from the sideplate. Rotating it about its bottom edge serves to lift the safety up from its pivot pin and unhook the tab at the rear end of the safety from the sear. With the ejector and levers out of the way, select a proper-fitting slotted screwdriver tip and remove the three identical flat headed screws that attach the sideplate to the frame.

These are interchangeable so there’s no need to keep track of which screw came from which hole. Locate the cross pin just forward and slightly above the maga- Factory S&W magazines have "S&W" stamped into the floorplate but are virtually unobtanium. Triple Koffers newly manufactured replacements that are unmarked, and may require some tuning for functionality.

S&W 61 Escort (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 6701 Disconnector 6702 Ejector 6703 Extractor 6704 Extractor Pin 6705 Extractor Spring 6706 Firing Pin 6709 Firing Pin Retaining Pin 6710 Firing Pin Spring 6711 Frame 6712 Hammer 6713 Hammer Pin 6714 Indicator 6715 Indicator Spring zine catch and push it partially out from left to right, so that the left end of the pin is just inside the magazine catch. It helps to use your bench block. Do the same for the trigger axis pin and sear pins.

Partially pushing the pins to the right makes removal of the sideplate far 6716 Mainspring 6717 Magazine Butt Plate 6718 Magazine Catch 6719 Magazine Catch Pin 6720 Magazine Follower 6721 Magazine Pin 6723 Magazine Spring Plate 6724 Magazine Tube 6725 Magazine Spring 6726 Mainspring Retainer 6727 Manual Safety 6728 Rear Sight 6729 Front Sight 6745 Stock, Right 6746 Stock Screw 6747 Trigger 6748 Trigger Pin 6749 Trigger Bar Spring 6750 Trigger Bar 6751 Trigger Bar Pin 6152 Stirrup Pin 6754 Recoil Spring Stop Pin 6755 Ejector Screw 6756 Trigger Block 6126 Trigger Block Rivet 6730 Sideplate 6731 Recoil Spring Guide 6732 Recoil Spring Tube 6734 Recoil Spring Retainer 6735 Sear 6736 Sear Spring 6737 Spring, Magazine Catch and Sear 6738 Spring, Recoil 6739 Sideplate Screw 6740 Slide 6743 Stirrup 6744 Stock, Left easier.

Do not attempt to drive out the trigger axis pin; it is stepped on both ends and can only be removed with the sideplate off. Grasping the sideplate at top and bottom, lift straight off. You may have to wiggle it, and you have the option of striking the frame with a soft faced hammer to loosen the sideplate in the manner of S&W revolvers. Note that striking the frame may cause the partially removed pins to fall out of the assembly.

With the sideplate off, lift the trigger arm away from the frame slightly and rotate it upward with spring force, then lift the trigger, trigger arm, and trigger reset spring assembly off the trigger pin and out of the frame. If the trigger pin comes with the trigger, so be it. Again, note that the trigger pin is stepped on both ends and larger in diameter in the center which makes use of the frame on the right side and the sideplate on the left side to capture and retain the trigger pin.

It bears repeating: Do not try to drive the trigger pin out of the frame or sideplate! Next, locate the wire form magazine catch/sear spring and note that it rests in a groove in the front end of the lower hammer spring seat. Unhook the upper end of the wire form spring from behind the sear lever and rotate it forward. At this point all forces are removed from the magazine catch, and its cross pin can be withdrawn from the right side.

Note that the groove for the magazine catch/sear spring is at the front of the symmetricalappearing magazine catch, and the catch is thus re-installed with the groove forward facing the magazine well. If the hammer is cocked at this point, insert the end of a Universal Gunsmith Tool (bent paper clip) in the hole in the lower end of the hammer strut to keep the hammer spring compressed, then restrain the hammer and trip the sear by pushing the lower end to the rear.

The unloaded hammer/hammer spring assembly can be lifted from the frame by dislodging the right side trunnion of the mainspring retainer and lifting the hammer up and off of the hammer axis pin. The frame is now fully disassembled.

Turning attention to the slide, the firing pin and its spring are retained by a pin in the conventional manner as with dozens of other pistol models; tap out the pin from left to right. The stamped sheet steel extractor is retained in its slot by a vertical pin that is larger in diameter at both ends and smaller in diameter in the middle. This pin is in turn retained by the spring steel extractor, which occupies the narrow diameter section of the extractor pin.

The extractor pin resides in a blind hole that is open at the bottom of the slide. To remove the extractor pin and the extractor, take a small diameter punch and push in on the extractor just behind the extractor pin and in the general area of the extractor spring.

The extractor must be pushed in sufficiently for the semi-circular bend in the extractor to clear the stepped extractor pin, which then can be pushed out toward the bottom by means of a very small punch, nail, or paper clip tip applied to the pin at the bottom of the extractor slot. When the extractor is pushed away from the extractor pin sufficiently, the extractor pin readily falls from the underside of the slide; a few taps of the slide on a bench block might also work.

Remove the extractor only if required, particularly to clean behind it or for replacement. The extractor, pin, and spring are the same as that used in the S&W model 22LR pistols. When reassembling a Model variant, take care to ensure that the right trunnion of the mainspring retainer is fully seated in its hole in the frame, lest it be launched when the Universal Gunsmithing Tool is removed from the hammer strut.

Before installing the sideplate, it helps to have all of the axis pins pushed about halfway out the right side of the frame, except for the stepped trigger axis pin which will project from the left side and act as a locator and alignment pin for the sideplate. Once the sideplate is on and in place flush, install the three sideplate screws and then tap the projecting pins into the frame from the right side. All of those pins are retained by the grip plates.

A final reminder to reinstall the cocked hammer indicator with its tiny coil spring toward the outside before attaching the left grip plate. The slide is reassembled to the frame in the reverse of disassembly; the slide is reinstalled on the round recoil spring guide tube and pushed forward into battery. The recoil spring and guide rod assembly are installed into the hole in the front of the slide spring-first.

Push the button end of the guide rod into the slide and insert the front sight into the notch in the guide rod. Rack the slide to check for function. A point of interest: The problems with the Model 61 "No Dash" were spotty, unpredictable, and partly rooted in the cast frame and lack of a robust barrel retention system that one is cautioned against taking on a Model 62 "No Dash" as a project to repair to improve reliability.

You may find yourself going down a time-suck rabbit hole on a pistol that spent its life in a drawer or gun cabinet and should have been returned to the factory like so many "No Dash" Escorts were early on. Smith & Wesson no longer supports the Model 61 and any gunsmith tackling a "No Dash" issues does so at his or her own risk. Just sayin’.

Dodgy history aside, like so many firearms that re-enter the secondary market as collections are liquidated, the Model 61 Escort has just enough nostalgia appeal for anew generation of young firearms collectors that one might find one walking through your door accompanying its new owner as one did for me. AG American Gunsmith Reader Services 1.