Well perhaps "plagued" is a strong description but I know there are several cases of later S&W pistols having canted barrels and the front sight not being aligned because of it. Recently I have had some good fortune and planned on picking up a couple of the guns I've wanted for some time. I have wanted either a model 60 Pro (3") or a standard model 60 with 3" barrel and adjustable rear sight. Because I live in BFE I have to buy online and can't examine them personally. Have these models had the same issues as some of the larger framed revolvers?

I personally have not run into canted barrels on smiths but have found some with iffy lock up but to be fair the new guns need a case in the chamber to check it correctly cause the star doesn't have the two pins anymore. Go for it the odds are in your favor and smith stands by thier work if you have a problem.

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A republic if you can keep it

I have a 60-15 that I bought new last year. It has been trouble free and the barrel is on straight. I've shot it a bit and am still playing around with grips. Presently, decelerators as the recoil gets stout as you play with .38 Special +P and on up. I have several older J's, and the 60-15 just falls along side them in reliability and accuracy.
Stu

Attached Images

60-15.jpg (105.9 KB, 86 views)

Thanks guys.

I was at a gunshow looking for a J frame. A dealer had a 642 Talo with the enhanced action that I was going to buy. When I was checking out I looked over the gun and the front sight was noticeably bent to the right. I asked if they had any others and they had four. ALL FOUR had the front sights bent to the right........unbelievable. It didn't appear the barrel was canted, the sights were actually bent. I didn't buy one and instead found a Deep Cover model that was OK. I know I could have sent the gun back to S&W but was afraid they would say it was within specs and I'm telling you, it looked bad....even the dealer said it was very noticeable.

With that said, over several months time I've purchased a 686 3" 3-5-7 Talo, 686 3" .38 special, two 637 Deep Cover, model 60 Pro Series, 317 snub, 317 3" barrel and all have been fine (if there's any barrel cant it is too small to be bothersome....you know, I stare and stare at the barrels and think they are all fine but my brain wants to see a tiny bit of cant just because I've read about it so much I personally don't think any of my guns have any canted barrels). All are new models with IL.

Only gun I've ever sent back to S&W was my 686 .38 special to have it's chambers looked at (they have some rough cuts in them which I think should not have been there). That gun is coming back to me next week and it was so fast I have a feeling they may not have done anything to it. But if they say it's OK then that's fine. Or maybe it was a quick fix. At any rate, they promptly sent a shipping label and had a fast turnaround time. UPDATE: received my 686 back today, they replaced the cylinder to bring within standards. Sure am glad I sent it in. VERY FAST: shipped 6/24 and received back 7/2.

Good luck with your purchase(s).

Just bought a new M60. The barrel is canted and it's going back to S&W.

I posted a discussion thread on this last week.

Lgs had 3 j frames, all with canted barrels that were noticeably canted. When I pointed it out they checked the other j frame they had on the shelf with a fine tooth comb and found that the barrel's crown was extremely defective. I bought a j frame NIB from davidson's and it had an extremely damaged muzzle, and the barrel was on too tight. When they returned it the frame was cracked. They made it right alright, but what if I was someone who was being stalked by a malicious individual? I would have had a weapon that wouldn't group at 5 yards. I know thats the point of testing and looking it over but that really is no excuse for the pathetic quality control that it seems smith and wesson has. I haven't found a well put together j frame yet in my area since November 2012. Maybe it's bad luck, but too much bad luck for me to want to buy one again with confidence.

[QUOTE=QB Too;137303849]

With that said, over several months time I've purchased a 686 3" 3-5-7 Talo, 686 3" .38 special

Only gun I've ever sent back to S&W was my 686 .38 special to have it's chambers looked at



Is your 686 chambered in .38 special or .357 mag.?

Does S&W make 686 in .38 special only?

From this thread it looks like S&W is having some serious QC problems with new J frames. However, in other threads on this forum there is nothing but praise for S&W's service department in repairing older revolvers. The other posts all commend S&W's fast and high quality repairs. Why does there appear to be such a disconnect at S&W?

Yea, they do. It's a 3" and I've seen several of them for sale on the various auction sites.

Dave

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RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

Dave is correct.......they do make them and I purchased mine a month or so ago. I guess it's not a normal item but they make them for agencies that require .38 special I assume. I paid a premium which may or may not be a smart thing but it's the gun I wanted (I love 3" barrels). I NEVER NEVER NEVER shoot .357 mag.....arthritis, degenerative disc disease, carpal tunnel......you name it, just pathetic

If I can get the models I want in .38 special only, that's what I try to do but occasionally a model comes along that is .357 mag and I just have to buy it (the 3-5-7 in 3" for example). I found a couple of Ruger GP100s in .38 special only awhile back also.

Not limited to just J frames, there's been a few 686's posted with canted barrels.

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Sure you did

I bought a NIB 317 about six months ago and didn't realize till I got home that the barrel was canted. Back it went to get the barrel fixed and the cylinder replaced because it spit lead like crazy due to the cylinder face not even. Oh and it shot incredibly high. Got it fixed and then shot it to make sure it didn't spit lead anymore. Then down the road she went at a $150 loss.

Not sure about J frames, the wifes Model 60 was fine. I did recently buy a 617 that does have a canted barrel. not bad, shots fine only noticeable if one REALLY looks at it, but it does bother me. $700+ new pistol. I am going to send it back and see what S&W will do.

Are you sure you didn't swipe my post from a couple of years ago. I had pretty much the same experience...and mine went down the road, too.

"Are J frames also plagued with canted barrels"

No. For every one "canted barrel" J frame, there are 1000's of perfectly good ones.

I'm wondering how many of these "canted barrel" J frames don't shoot right? If the gun shoots right, then I say get over it. It's a tool, not a work of art.

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Centennial Every Day

Yes, I had to send my purchased new 63-5 3" back to S&W for a canted barrel, and it still came back slightly off. Shoots OK, so I let it be. Can't believe I missed it on the in store inspection, must have been the lighting, because it was really obvious and bad.

I bought a new M60 last month that had a canted barrel (didn't notice it until I got it home).

I decided after spending $700 for a brand new gun, I wanted it to be right.

Called S&W, they sent me a FEDEX shipping label, and the gun went back yesterday.

S&W needs to get it's QA act together, and one way to encourage that is to send guns with problems back for warranty repairs.

So I respectfully disagree with the "get over it" approach -- at least when we are talking about brand new guns.

Dave

I've looked at many differant S&W's and models, and I would say that more than half of them have either a canted barrel, or a bad barrel / crown.

Sad thing is it is almost 100% when it comes to a special or PC model thats hard to find locally (all these guys around here carry are the $400 J frames, 686, and 629).

I agree that plagued is too strong a word. There are a few, and there always have been. Now that the internet allows everyone in the world a forum to complain, it seems much worse than it is in real life due to the fact that the happy people rarely post to say their barrel is not canted.

So you didn't even shoot it before sending it back? How do you know is wasn't right?

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Centennial Every Day

I bought a used mid 2000's vintage mod 37 a few years back that turned out to have a (slightly) canted barrel. ( Slight enough so that I never noticed until my first range visit.) S&W happily made arrangements for return and repaired free of charge. No gripes here.

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Dave