Smith and Wesson Barrels

[dtippie1]

I was just wondering if anyone has noticed that in the last, say five years the "grooves" are not as sharp as in the older Smith and Wesson Barrels. It does not seem to effect accuracy but the barrels are not the same. I purchsed a 686 a while back and noticed the same thing. Does anyone know why they changed their manufacturing method. When did they change?

 

[Blueduck]

I've *heard* they changed to different form of rifling in later years from cut to a newer type (EDM??). Supposedly gives caparable accuracy with jacketed bullets but often so-so with lead.

Recall reading about it on the S/W forum but no search up, so can't be sure, sorry.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Haven't paid much attention to that, but I have noticed over the past 10 years an AMAZING inability for S&W's drunken monkey line workers to get the barrels screwed in to the frames correctly so that the ing front sight is vertically aligned with the rest of the ing frame!

 

[CMcDermott]

S&W has changed to ECM (electro-chemical machining) to rifle their barrels. Apparently this is a cross between EDM and reverse electroplating (used to REMOVE a nickel or chrome finish). It uses a liquid full of chemical ions (I don't know exactly what) in the barrel between the electrode and the barrel steel to carry the current that ionizes the barrel steel. Supposed to result in a very smooth finish on the rifling as the steel is actually removed as part of a chemical/electrical process, instead of an electric arc heating the metal.

 

[bountyhunter]

Haven't paid much attention to that, but I have noticed over the past 10 years an AMAZING inability for S&W's drunken monkey line workers to get the barrels screwed in to the frames correctly so that the ing front sight is vertically aligned with the rest of the ing frame!

Amen. I looked at a 627 PC gun that was so far off it was at least 0.1" out of align between the center of the top of the barrel and the center of the top strap. It was the first thing I noticed looking at the gun (actually, the $950 price was the FIRST thing I noticed...)

 

[Standing Wolf]

Haven't paid much attention to that, but I have noticed over the past 10 years an AMAZING inability for S&W's drunken monkey line workers to get the barrels screwed in to the frames correctly so that the ing front sight is vertically aligned with the rest of the ing frame!

It's not exclusive to Smith & Wesson, but the company seems to have tried to write the book on the problem.

 

[Blueduck]

I'm not sure who wrote the book on it as I've always paid more attention to S/W than any others, but if you go to the Ruger Forum you will see a lot of complaints about the exact same thing.