NEW Mod 60 (162420) Canted Barrel

itr674 · #1 07-21-2014, 10:42 PM

Just picked up new S&W Mod 60 (162420) and when I opened in at home noticed almost immediately that there was more metal on the the right side of the frame where the barrel and frame meet.

Just eye-balling it, it looks like the barrel is canted to the left.

I'ill do some measuring and post pic tomorrow.

This is a brand new firearm, I'm the first owner--I'm assuming S&W is going to fix this?

sac-gunslinger · #2 07-22-2014, 12:39 AM

Ahhhh, grasshopper, you have encountered the magic canted barrel. A rare variation from the deep jungle where all bullets must turn left to find their targe....

Oh, alright, it is a manufacturing defect. A very common one these days. Smith will rectify it at no charge and quite quickly to boot. Call their customer service line and explain your problem. They will send you a FedEx shipping label, the gun should be back to you in about 10 days. I just had a similar problem with a 640 which was corrected blindingly fast.

The guy at the FedEx counter recognized the Smith address immeidately, has he seen too many Smith labels lately?

TazTJ · #3 07-22-2014, 08:57 AM

I had the same issue on my brand new 686+ 3". Emailed Smith, had it back the next week with the barrel lined up correctly.

sac-gunslinger · #4 07-22-2014, 03:56 PM

At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon (I know, I sound like that anyway), it seems it would be cheaper for Smith to go back to pinned barrels when building the guns. We never had "canted barrel syndrome" back in the day. The cost of all this air freighting plus the cost of dedicating staff to correcting the problem could pay for a lot of barrel pins.

joe sacco · #5 07-22-2014, 07:07 PM

Amen, sac-gunslinger. Best, Joe

itr674 · #6 07-22-2014, 09:36 PM

Got home late...do they come to your home to pick it up or do I have to go to them? Pain in the neck...thanks for the replies they have made me fill a lot better, as long as they fix that will work for me...

shawn mccarver · #7 07-22-2014, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sac-gunslinger

At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon (I know, I sound like that anyway), it seems it would be cheaper for Smith to go back to pinned barrels when building the guns. We never had "canted barrel syndrome" back in the day. The cost of all this air freighting plus the cost of dedicating staff to correcting the problem could pay for a lot of barrel pins.

I'm sorry, but the pin in the barrel has absolutely NOTHING to do with the canted barrel. There are plenty of posts on this.

I will say that the new style 2-piece barrel as on the new Model 66 and Model 69 completely eliminates the possibility of the canted barrel. There are many good reasons why S&W should adopt this new barrel design across the board, and this is one of them.

TazTJ · #8 07-23-2014, 09:50 AM

S&W sells out a call tag (usually Fed Ex) to you, sometimes in an email, where you box up the firearm, print out and attach the label to the box and then you usually call Fed Ex to schedule a pick up. They include the label and all instructions as an attachment to the email, so make sure you open and print the attachments!

KLYDE · #9 07-23-2014, 10:04 AM

I will say that the problems encountered in todays new guns and new anything else, is a sign of the times and the almighty dollar being the bottom line, instead of quality. These QC issues are not specific to Smith & Wesson. They are applicable to just about every brand of mass produced guns.

I bought a Ruger SP101 a couple of weeks ago. Took it apart for initial cleaning, oiled and assembled. Wiping it down and I notice the gun has end shake. Brand new, never fired gun. Call Ruger and off to New Hampshire it goes. Got a call yesterday from Ruger CS. Gun is non repairable. ????? For end shake. Must have been something more serious unknown to me. They are sending me a new gun. Had to send them FFL info.

First new gun I have bought in ages. Probably will be the last. I'm not saying the majority of new guns are not fine. I think it is a roll of the dice.

Chock it up to business in America.

H Richard · #10 07-23-2014, 11:25 AM

Yes, the pinned barrel guns did come with a cant sometimes, and ask anyone that had been through the armorer school back in the 60's, 70's, 80's the purpose of the babbot bar that was included in the armorers tool kit. The cant was never as pronounced as the ones presently being shipped, but they did happen.

rcp1936 · #11 07-23-2014, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLYDE

I will say that the problems encountered in todays new guns and new anything else, is a sign of the times and the almighty dollar being the bottom line, instead of quality. These QC issues are not specific to Smith & Wesson. They are applicable to just about every brand of mass produced guns.

I bought a Ruger SP101 a couple of weeks ago. Took it apart for initial cleaning, oiled and assembled. Wiping it down and I notice the gun has end shake. Brand new, never fired gun. Call Ruger and off to New Hampshire it goes. Got a call yesterday from Ruger CS. Gun is non repairable. ????? For end shake. Must have been something more serious unknown to me. They are sending me a new gun. Had to send them FFL info.

First new gun I have bought in ages. Probably will be the last. I'm not saying the majority of new guns are not fine. I think it is a roll of the dice.

Chock it up to business in America.

Or to the huge demand for guns over the last several years that caused the manufacturers to add new hires and churn the guns out as fast as the lines could roll

ptgarcia · #12 07-23-2014, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLYDE

I will say that the problems encountered in todays new guns and new anything else, is a sign of the times and the almighty dollar being the bottom line, instead of quality. These QC issues are not specific to Smith & Wesson. They are applicable to just about every brand of mass produced guns.

The almighty dollar has always been the bottom line, its just that in the past you could actually produce a quality product in the USA at an affordable price. Now you have to choose between "quality product" or "affordable price" because the morons in D.C. that have never had a real job in their lives have made it damn near impossible to put out any product at all.

Old cop · #13 07-23-2014, 02:00 PM

FWIW when our agency traded (late '70s) our blue M15s for stainless models a good many had to be tweaked by the range guys. Those that could not be tweaked were returned to S&W. I doubt this is anything new.

KLYDE · #14 07-23-2014, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old cop

FWIW when our agency traded (late '70s) our blue M15s for stainless models a good many had to be tweaked by the range guys. Those that could not be tweaked were returned to S&W. I doubt this is anything new.

I reckon you are right. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Bob1943 · #15 07-23-2014, 05:57 PM

I bought a new Ruger 3" GP100 last August and was not educated on the "canted barrel" issue until a few months ago while reading some posts on the Ruger forum. Grabbed my GP and looked closely at it and noticed that the barrel did indeed have about a 1-degree cant of over-torque. A lot of people say that is no big deal if it still shoots accurately.

I am going to take it to the range next week and shoot from a bench rest at 11 & 25 yards and see what happens. I contacted Ruger about it and they also said bench shoot it first and if that yields unsatisfactory results then send it back for repair. Does seem to be a fairly common issue on production line guns, regardless of manufacturer.