I think that with the aging and retiring and dying of S&W's old fitters and finishers, just about nothing they make now is guaranteed to be right when they ship it. The Performance Center isn't what is used to be, either. It used to build guns way above normal production standards but now, it seems they just make unusual variants of their standard products with non-standard features and call it good.

I know it's aggravating when an expensive product arrives in less-than-expected condition, especially in your case, where returning it to the factory is so difficult. I hope you find a solution.

Are you aware that when you type, you don't have an Australian accent?