I bought a used 617 on line last year and I had to send it back to S&W because it shot waaaay right . They replaced the gun with a brand new one because they said the sight channel was not cut square in the frame .
Finally got around to shooting the new replacement 617 and sure as heck this one shot waaaay right . Just looking at it I could tell the sight channel was off in the frame . Sent it back last week .
Got the call from their CS department today . Yep, another completely new 617 is on it's way to my dealer . The rep said the frame was bad . Sight channel again . Hopefully this third one is the final one .
I got to say that their quality control hasn't been real stellar to me but their CS department is top notch .
***UPDATE*** Got the new one in less than 10 days . My dealer felt so bad for my bad luck that he didn't even charge me a transfer fee .
A quick visual confirmed the barrel was indexted properly and the rear sight channel was cut square to the frame. Good lock up and forcing cone cut . Good muzzle crown and the cylinder gap is a snug .006 .The .007 gage would not slide in .
A quick trip to the range today showed this one will be a keeper .
Again great service from S&W's customer service .

Hang in there. They'll make it right.

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But then, what do I know?

I'm glad for you that their customer service is going the second through the ninth mile. It's just a shame they so often seem to have to these days.

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Oh well, what the hell.

UPDATE in the OP .

Nice to hear they finally got you taken care of

Should have been right the first time, I like happy endings, Larry

That's great that S&W honored a new gun, twice! That is fantastic customer service. I guess it makes no difference that it was second hand owner once they found it was a factory issue? I just got my first S&W and I'm already plotting on when I can save up for my next one. Good to know for future reference.