I currently have 2 revolvers, a 581, barrel is in alignment, a 29 Classic with barrel canted left. The rear sight adjustment can compensate for it. It's a 4". Got a great trigger and timing is spot on, is very accurate. I've decided to live with it.

I don't think it's "normal" but lately,it seems to be the "norm".
It's one thing to put a bit of a cant on a fixed sight model(though aren't most SAAs adjusted with a hard rap of the barrel?),but on an adjustable sight model,if it can't be dialed in with the adjustments,I see a problem with how the gun was made.

That second pic looks good to me .

Shoddy workmanship. If the barrel was machined (rifled) incorrectly, it should never have been put on the frame. On a bolt action rifle with no sights, it makes no difference, on a S&W handgun, it shouldn't be canted. There are fewer and fewer true gun craftsman every year.

+1 on that.

I also have a smith with a crooked barrel. My model 66, which I purchased new. The front sight on mine is straight up and down, however, and it SHOOTS! I have a real old (5 screw) K38 with an off set hammer and a bent firing (hammer nose) firing pin, won't shoot worth a poop. The old ones have enough hand fitting in them, if you look hard enough, there will probably be somethng wrong. My heavy barrel square butt model 10 is my second most accurate handgun, I haven't even given it a good visual critique in enough years to know its flaws, reguardless, I'll keep it.

Detroit Auto worker Huh? Guvmint Motors? If I didn't look at my guns, I would buy Rugers,,,but my Smiths, they better be purty at the prices I pay. I did buy a 629 Classic Hunter once in an ice storm, I noticed the rear sight was canted to the right, but assumed the sight was bent? I had a 627 at home so took it anyway, should have said no. Replaced the sight still canted to the right, called Smith, oh thats not likely, OK! Sent it in, well we tried to fix it, [milled improperly], but we really messed it up, and had to replace the frame, worst crane to frame fit I have ever seen on a Smith and Wesson. It was brand spankin new, took it back to my dealer and traded for a used 29 Classic DX, it remains to this day one of the most beautifull accurate revolvers I ever owned. My shooting partner, and best friend hounded me until I traded him for a Colt Combat Commander, so if anyone has a 29 Classic DX for sale or trade pm me. I expect outstanding quality from my Smiths, yes I have been dissapointed in the last few years, but when I pick up an old Smith, hand fit by the Master Gun Smiths of the past, now that is ART WORK. That front sight is engineered to stand straight up at 0 degrees, if it doesn't thats poor "execution". If you aren't cursed with an "eye", then you won't notice it, and it will be good enough for guvment work.

Now your advice about shooting is what its all about, but we all expect better from Smith and Wesson, don't we fellas? Billy

"Amen"! and that all important sight picture is critical to longer range shooting, when bullet drop becomes a factor, and yes I do shoot all my handguns at over 50 yds most of the time. Billy

With perfectly aligned barrel and sights, one only need be concered with bullet drop at various distances appropriate for handguns. Any cant to the barrel or sights introduces lateral indescrepances of POI at various distances. My 629 Classic 6 1/2 barrel has perfect alignment and is my primary hunting revolver. I can hit 6in. plates at a hundred yards all day as long as I have a steady rest. This gun will also shoot, with slight adjustment of vertical hold, accurately at 25, 50 or 75yds. My sights are adjusted for 50yds. I would not use this gun to hunt with if there was any misalignment. I can take deer at 100yds only because I know my revolver is spot on. The rest is up to me.

I guess i'll be looking closer at my new S&W N Frame revolvers before i purchase them. So far my 3 new ones look ok.

This tells me that the CNC machined parts won't go together without a gunsmith fitting them properly. Is the barrel off to one side or canted? If its off to one side its off the centerline of the frame too. If its canted its not fully on center too.

I have one of the newest 686 (6", 6 shot). It has correct adjusted barrel. The gun shop where I got it is also a fine gun smith and he would never sell a gun with canted barrel. The guns he gets are checked and if anything wrong he sends them back to the importer. Why does your gun shops accept revolvers with canted barrel and why do you buy them? ....I assume that you check the gun before you buy it? ... I think you should return the gun to the shop and let them have the trouble by sending it to s&w for repair or they should give you a new gun.

On the 686 I have a trigger job has been done and LPA fiber sights has been mounted. The gun smith would never work on a gun with a canted barrel. My rear sight is adjusted very close to the center.

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There are some people who "DRINK THE KOOL-AID" when it comes to S+W.This Model 36 with a born on date of 6/12 had a barrel so badly canted to the right that if I had to use it at 10 feet without aiming before testing it I may be very dead today.This failed 3 points in quality testing and should have never left the factory.This is highly unacceptable when you are making a product that may be used to save the buyer's life one day.When it got sent back after this I got the letter adjusted to factory specs with vice marks on the gun.In 25 rounds it was so canted right the cylinder ejector rod could not engage the frame.They cared sooo much they just twisted the barrel back.After round 3 they "Got around " to taking off and replacing the DEFECTIVE BARREL which should have been done to ascertain if the barrel or frame threading or both were bad THE FIRST TIME.Thank God I look at the barrels of my guns instead of just shooting them and PRAY that S+W did the job right to begin with....JMHO.....Mike

It's not getting any better. S&W burning the midnight oil right now producing nothing but M&P 15's and shields. Mostly the AR's. In anticipation of the unknown.

The original design demands that the center line of the forward lock is in exact center of the ejector rod. If this is not the case the rod is in a bind and the cylinder will be pushed out of center. To ignore this when mounting a barrel is poor workmanship. I have noticed that on most post WWII guns that the front lock is poorly fitted, and exists in name only.

I bought a S&W 29-10 and after one week took it out to the range and the barrel is canted to the right put a box of 44 magnum 240 grain loads through her and it shoots great and when I got home I called S&W about my problem and was told that a canted barrel is normal.I do not think so and she is headed back to S&W for repair and I hope to get it back fixed.

Oh really? That's the biggest crock of schit I've ever heard. S&W needs to step up their game if they are going to continue to charge premium prices for their firearms.

I've been waiting for someone to bring that up. Smith&Wesson armorers school teaches this method and has since at least the 70's. It is not used to "turn" the barrel to align the sights as much as barrel to cylinder alignment checked with a range rod. It works!

How do you know where the point of aim is if your sights are crooked? This is not a trivial problem. It makes aiming very difficult. It is unacceptable in my opinion. I've seen in on two Colts and probably three S&W's. It needs to be fixed if you have any sense of accuracy.

Agree, you should ship it back to S&W and get the barrel screwed on straight. I had a Ruger GP100 that was canted maybe 2 degrees. Sent them a picture, they sent me a FedEx label 5 minutes later and I had the gun back in 9 days with a straight barrel.