Back in the old days materials were expensive and skilled labor was cheap, products were designed to be manufactured with those parameters to be profitable.

Over the years that equation changed and labor became more expensive than materials, so manufacturing has changed to maintain profitability.

You may not like the changes in methods and materials, but there's no way you can tell me an S&W manufactured today isn't as good or better than one made 60 years ago.

Today J frames are made in .357 magnum for God's sake, that's the direct result of improvements in materials and tolerances. Who would have ever dreamed it was possible to build a durable gun that size and caliber 25 years ago?

Tolerances are so tightly held using modern techniques and materials guns don't beat themselves apart anymore, frame stretch and endshake are things of the past. There is no need for a fitting department, almost no "bad parts" that fail inspections.

S&W used to employ literally hundreds of fitters to match parts, benches were littered with files, stones, and hammers. Today a handful of people can assemble all the guns without fitting, because any hammer, hand and cylinder will fit any frame, first time every time.

Tolerances are so tightly held that revolvers shoot much more consistently from gun to gun. Out of the box accuracy is much better than it used to be, as is trigger feel. The enormous range of variation we all used to live with is greatly diminished. Repairs are easier.

And Herb is also probably the only reason the Model 41 is still in production. Because there really isn't a way to make that same gun with modern methods and manufacturing.

Times change and S&W has to change with them, but objectively speaking I don't think it's fair or accurate to say that current guns lack quality and don't shoot as well or better than guns made before CNC or MIM.

/c