Not to defend S&W -- but if it is true that cracked frames are becoming more frequent I would suspect flaws in manufacture, and not in design. There have been many, many alloy-framed S&Ws turned out over the decades, and while cracked frames have not been unheard-of they have been rare. I would hope that IF this is a real problem, S&W is looking hard at what is going on. Whether it's improperly-torqued barrels or improperly-forged frames, something must be wrong in how they're being put together.

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Pisgah