S&W QC

[Japle]

I’ve had two 686+ revolvers land on my bench for action jobs in the last month. In both cases, my 1st impression was, “Who decided to throw a handful of sand into this thing before screwing on the side plate?”

The one I got today is a Performance Center gun. The DA is horrible. Heavy and rough. Is there any QC at S&W anymore?
No way this gun or the one I worked on 3 weeks ago should have left the factory. How could someone sign off on guns like this and go home feeling proud?

 

[Thomasss]

Why don't you call Smith & Wesson and ask them? They has an excellent public relations department with knowledgeable people. Be sure to have make, model ,description and serial number handy. I think you will find the new owners know each other and were playing cops and robbers in their kids sand box with them. At least I hope so. S&W is a fine group of people and I would be surprised if they tell you anything less than my explanation. But please let us know what they say.

 

[jdc1244]

Is there any QC at S&W anymore?

That’s the customers’ job.

I had a new 686 that wouldn’t function at all.

The next gun to go back was a new K17 with an M48 barrel.

Both now function perfectly, accurate and reliable.

I next bought an M25 that was perfect out of the box.

Smith makes excellent revolvers; some just need to go back to SAW.

 

[alfsauve]

Most of mine I've bought have been used so I didn't expect much. The new ones I've bought have been "ok", just "ok". However, I sent one in for a barrel replacement and it came back with the smoothest, crispest DA I've ever felt.

I guess it's a hit or miss thing.

 

[Boom Vang]

I'm a certified S&W Revolver armorer. If you have experience with S&W revolvers from back in the day, the present situation is both outrageous and depressing. There is no consistency. I would not order one sight unseen.

Last year I ordered a S&W Model 10 Classic. DA was rough right out of the box, strain screw was all buggered up. Brand new factory gun. Went back to S&W without firing it. 8 weeks later, they replaced the entire revolver. Replacement has been perfect.

This year decided to take a chance on a Model 36 Classic. Factory new gun, the barrel shank looked like it was cut with a dull hacksaw. The cylinder was rubbing against this sawtooth surface and the cylinder face was all nicked up. Called S&W, they wanted photos of the damage. Sent them pics and what I thought of their quality control. S&W emailed a shipping label and it went back to S&W unfired. Returned 3 weeks later, in a similar condition, slightly improved by injudicious application of a file. End result horrendous. Called CS again, and again they asked for pics. Sent them pics again, along with what I thought of their company. Supervisor called me, promised to make it right. Returned a 2d time to the factory. That was two weeks ago.

Basic lack of caring about the product or their customers, allowing unskilled workers to assemble a product requiring a modicum of diligence. Until they get their act together, I'm done.

 

[vanfunk]

I’ve bought two S&W revolvers in the past half-year, a 66-8 2.75” and a 629-6 4”. I purchased them over the counter so I was able to examine them both before purchase. I found them well-finished and sturdy. The triggers on both were heavy in DA but the SA pulls were crisp and appropriately light, less than 4 lbs. Both revolvers have proven to be excellent shooters so I’m happy. With that said, I would prefer to find pre-lock examples for future purchases - not because of the lock itself per se but because quality in totality seems to be higher in older examples.

 

[unspellable]

I've had generally poor results with Colts. Mustang: Rear sight falling off. Government Model Competition Series Model 0: Creepy grating trigger. My el cheapo 1911 has much better trigger. New re-intro Anaconda: Ridiculously heavy SA trigger pull. Re-ntro Python, heavy SA trigger with a little creep. Vintage Anaconda poorly fitted cylinder latch scraping side plate. This is 5 for 5 out of the box needing work.

 

[UncleEd]

..... Re-ntro Python, heavy SA trigger with a little creep.....

I believe Colt put all its engineering skill into a top notch DA pull out of the box.
In that it succeeded. And I think they made the right decision. The SA pull
is very secondary if not unimportant in today's revolver shooting market.
Shooters I think, hope are learning that DA can be just as accurate as SA
when the DA trtigger is superior.

 

[HKGuns]

I have had nothing but excellent experience with S&W Customer Service. They are truly excellent in my experience, so if there are issues, call them, they will make it correct and then some.

 

[unclenunzie]

In my experience S&W makes a great revolver with excellent designs and materials. But what gets out the door is too wide between excellent and poor. They need to tighten standards in what must be final assembly and QC. Recently on a brand new revolver I had to smooth out a burr on the cut end of the yoke barrel, and replace the DA sear in the hammer because of binding. Before a shot was fired. I did these things myself because I had the spares on hand and they are inexpensive. I didn't want to wait for them to handle it.

 

[tactikel]

I’ve had excellent experiences with S&W customer service. I sent my gen1 Shield in for a minor repair, they sent it back sans magazine. I emailed them and got a package with 3 magazines a week later. 3K rounds later no problems.

 

[.38 Special]

I've had very good results from S&W, and laughably bad ones as well. I expect that will be the case with nearly any gun company these days. As mentioned upthread, buying sight unseen is a gamble. I prefer, whenever possible, to buy used, and thoroughly examine the gun beforehand.

 

[Boom Vang]

I have had nothing but excellent experience with S&W Customer Service. They are truly excellent in my experience, so if there are issues, call them, they will make it correct and then some.

That was true at one time, many years ago. Right now it's a roll of the dice, and has been for for a few years. My account is not atypical.

 

[Boom Vang]

I’ve had excellent experiences with S&W customer service. I sent my gen1 Shield in for a minor repair, they sent it back sans magazine. I emailed them and got a package with 3 magazines a week later. 3K rounds later no problems.

With all due respect, we're talking about revolvers here, not pistols. S&W pistols have their own set of issues, but for the most part those are currently plug n' play parts-swapping type firearms able to assembled with a modicum of skill and no forethought. Fixing them involves pulling parts out of a bin and swapping them.

Revolvers require greater skill and insight to 1) assemble correctly to begin with, 2) repair and 3) inspect. All three of those are in short supply at S&W in Springfield, along with accountability and leadership.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Long, and happy relationship with Smith customer service. Most recently, got a 25-15, with a creep in the single action break...a call to Smith produced a new hammer, which solved the problem.
Over the years, I've returned Smiths for work; a 60 with undersize chambers, an M66 that shaved lead. They have come back just fine.
I generally give any Smith a good tune when I get it; happily, they respond well to a little tinkering.
Moon

 

[Targa]

I currently only have one of the newer S&W’s which is a 629 “Classic”….By the way, I hate that ridiculous classic title S&W uses, with that said, the gun has been great. Previous newer models I have owned have been a 38Spl Bodyguard and a 642, they were very good as well. I had to use S&W’s customer service for the Bodyguard and they did a great handling it, so no complaints on CS either.

 

[HKGuns]

That was true at one time, many years ago. Right now it's a roll of the dice, and has been for for a few years. My account is not atypical.

My most recent experience was just last year.

 

[JERRY]

I recently bought a Smith and Wesson 351C. It's fit and function and finish is what I would expect from a company that cares. I wish I could have said that for the last few charter arms revolvers I purchased.

 

[Japle]

The major problem I ran into with this last 686+ PC was the hammer and trigger. Instead of the usual carbon or stainless units, this one was carbon steel that had been hard-chromed.
After I got the metal shavings and black goop out, the finish was actually excellent, but getting a smooth DA always requires breaking the edge in several places and when you're dealing with Rockwell 68-69 hardness with no idea what's under there is problematic.
Little things, like the mainspring screw being cranked in all the way with a breaker bar just added to the fun.
It's very nice, now. I'm happy. The owner is happy. For an MSRP of $1,250 we should expect better.

 

[Kp321]

I have had good luck with the M&P semi auto pistols I have bought new lately. Since they are TinkerToy assembly not much can go wrong. Otherwise, I limit my Smiths to 30+ years old.

 

[shoebox1.1]

My new production Trr8 is pretty much flawless. It’s a tack driver and mechanically very good. Trigger gets better with every round. I’m Very pleased. I have not send a gun in for warranty work with them. I have with colt and charter arms

 

[Mark 40]

I purchased two new 43C models in the past two years. Both had to go back immediately. That said, customer service was very good. Any older used S&W purchased has been fine.

Edit: It did not stop me from purchasing a new Model 63

 

[Old_Grouch]

Don't be too hard on Smith & Wesson. They are not alone in the manufacturing world in their quality control philosophy.
Virtually every manufacturer of every product seems to have decided that the end consumer should be the QC department. Why pay trained employees when you can pay anyone off the street to answer the phone and say "I'm sorry. I've never heard of that problem before"?

 

[PapaG]

Sounds like 1975 and the Bangor Punta debacle all over again. We returned half the guns we received. I really think this must be an anomaly unless disgruntled employees affected by the move to TN are acting up.

 

[cfullgraf]

I’ve bought a number of current production S&W revolvers over the past decade and all have performed well. Now, the fit and finish is not what it used to be, even during the Bangor Punta days.

I have a Glock 42 that is the Perfection of Garbage. I guess everyone has a bad day once in a while.