Bought a new 929 in Nov. 2015. Took a while to find a good one but my gun range managed it. I liked it right out of the box. No canted barrel, smooth trigger pull and accurate. A joy to shoot. Fast forward to late March. During a range session, the compensator retaining screw came ever so slightly loose and allowed a bullet to take most of the compensator downrange.
My range boxed it up and sent it back to S&W. They received it April 4. 6 weeks later they send a estimate for the repair which they have deemed a non-warranty issue. This resulted in a very ''heated'' discussion between my gun range and S&W. Yesterday, I get word that S&W has grudgingly sent my 929 to the warranty department for repair. Estimated time for completion is unknown for right now.
Wow. I am a lttle confused by S&W's ''@#$% you'' attitude here, especially considering this is one of their heavily promoted performance center models. I also wonder how I would have fared without the help of the upstanding gun range that sold me the 929.
This is just so different from Ruger's customer service protocol, IN MY EXPERIENCE. I own 7 S&W revolvers and shoot them all. They are great guns. The 929 is the only new one. None of this will stop me from buying future products from S&W, but I have been on the fence about buying a new 617 or a Ruger Single Ten. This time I will go with Ruger.
I would like to get a few comments from forum members.

Generally, I would plead my own case for a warranty repair. A third party, with unknown communication skills and without skin in the game, might make a less clear and convincing spokesman.

It seems your experience is based on an information relay system, and that very system may bare some fault.

I sent my 629 V comp to the mothership on 5/10, same issue, i opened a service ticket, indicating that the comp came loose and was damaged, they referred me to the parts dept. I talked to a parts rep, he said compensator not in stock. He said that it may be fixed by warranty, he sent me a fedex label, it is supposed to be delivered to me tomorrow. 17 days, no mention of any charges to me.

__________________
Dave T

Hmmm, grass isn't necessarily greener, but the folks may be less stinky.

Ordered a Single 10, and thinking blue would be smoother/slicker than stainless ordered one from my lgs. Went to pick it up, action was rough & gritty; the cylinder got stuck while working the action the second time around the cylinder. Lgs sent it back, when returned action not much better, but cylinder didn't bind now. Told him no sale, ordered a stainless and it was better, but not perfect. They all seem a dice throw these days. I won't buy another new (any new, any mfg)without having it in my hands first.

Had to return a Ruger 327 for .015" cylinder gap, it came back tapered from .006 to .012 one edge of bbl to the other AND .005" end shake. They were polite on the phone, but .012" is in spec. to them.

I just sent my 629 and got it back 2 WEEKS LATER! FIXED PERFECTLY! I called them up a little over 2 weeks ago. My 629 had a canted barrel. The tech told me they setup the barrel to be canted just a bit. I told him i knew that, but this was off bad. Even the locking yoke wasn't fully locked. I even got a second opinion locally and he said if it was his and it was new to send it in. (Gunsmith)

S&W did a top notch job! They're excellent and will get most of all my buisness! The technical staff is great! Sent me a postage paid email tag thing that i printed out to send to FedEx. Didn't cost me anything!

Now. Back to you. I have a 929. If you left the screw loose and it flew off while shooting, who do you think should pay for it? Be fair.

Ive shot thousands of moonclipped rounds and have shot amazing groups with mine. Ive never had the comp fly off.

I also have a 929 and, as with ALL of my revolvers, check the screws before and after all range trips. I am with Lou on this one. You are the one who let the screw be loose, it should not be S&W who foots the bill on this one.

glad to hear that S&W customer service took care of your firearm problem.....

__________________
There's nowt so queer as folk

Well let's be honest here, checking to make sure the compensator screw remains tight is your responsibility as part of your standard checks on using the firearm. If (and it sounds like they are) S&W repairs/replaces the comp under warranty they are doing you a very nice favor as it was your negligence that caused the damage.

Generally this means that damage due to abuse, misuse or neglect is not covered.

It's great to hear that they're going out of their way to get your firearm back into service though.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but it is your responsibility to inspect all pins (if applicable) and check torque on all screws after each range session, preferably during a cleaning.

You should praise S&W for begrudgingly doing the service for free due to your inattention to maintenance.

No offense, but it's the truth. In my opinion, it's all on you.

I believe I would agree with this. I don't know when it was so many folks got the idea that screws should never loosen. It would seem to be that the entire reason for the existence of screws, nuts and bolts is to be removable. That being the case, in any application where a screw, nut or bolt is subjected to constant vibration, particularly where its tightness is crucial to the machine's safe and proper operation, the prudent user should take the time to periodically check said fasteners for tightness. Loosening up eventually is simply one aspect of the nature of the beast. I check screws on my guns regularly, and back in the days when I was enamored of big-single motorcycles I was a near fanatic about it -- an obsession which I believe more than once saved me from some very unfortunate prospective mishaps.

__________________
Pisgah

I paid $700 for a trailer from Lowes to tow my Kayaks. I towed it home, but before I took the Kayaks on their first trip, I took a peak under the trailer. The main bolts that hold the body of the trailer to the frame were loose, one was barely in and mostly held on by the paint they sprayed the trailer with. Ya gots ta be careful with screws and ANYTHING new.

Did you witness first hand the "heated" discussions between your range and S&W? I am confused as the why you would delegate this to your "range" when you are the owner?
And yes, you as the owner should check the tightness of the screws on occasion. It will give you an idea which ones are loosening and which ones should be checked on a regular basis.

__________________
Tennessee

I've been more disappointed with S&W quality control on some new models but never unhappy with their customer service. They happily answer all my silly questions on the phone and get my gun back to me pretty quickly. My experience w/Glock was different. I purchased their new (then) Model 42 and it had every kind of failure known to man. Glock CS people acted like their products did not malfunction and the problem must have been me. They ultimately made things right, but I did not appreciate their attitude.

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I have to say in my defense I do check the screws and such on all of my guns regularly and maintain them well. My gunsmith highly recommended checking this same screw on my 460 XVR before each shooting session and I do. Same for the 929, just habit. Doesn't change what happened though. I was just confused by the warranty denial. I let my gun range handle this for me because they offered to do so and they know how I am about my guns first hand.
You all do make some good points though and I am encouraged by your experiences with S&W's customer service. A whole lot of ''he said-she said'' went on no doubt. And S&W has agreed to warranty repair. This is where I need to educate myself, what does the lifetime warranty include and so on. I thank you all for your honest opinions, just another reason I like this forum.
As to Ruger vs. S&W aka Ford vs. Chevy, no way. Nobody has that kind of time.

Experience with my 929's is that they will both shoot all the screws loose. The worse being comp,rear sight and ejector rod.

Tom

Tightening screws is something you just do and check often.

Exciting update. My 929 was repaired under warranty and sent back to me a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, only the compensator was damaged. Took it to the range yesterday and put 200 rounds through it. It shoots just like it always has, smoothly and accurately. Still, I have to say that my first experience with Smith and Wesson's warranty repair service was interesting to say the least. Moving on now.

Your experience is exactly why I always purchase new guns from a local gun shop , they appreciate your business and will be the go between. The dealer always has more pull with the manufacturer than you or I do.
Gary

I don't understand what the confusion is. Smith & Wesson's lifetime warranty is for failures due to and/or defects in workmanship and materials. It does not cover everything no matter what is or in your case, isn't done to the gun.

Smith & Wesson has their fair share of quality issues with revolvers currently. Their warranty protection isn't one of them however and their first response to your problem was in compliance with their warranty policy.

Bruce

In some ways, that can be true but in reality, it is the distributor from which your dealer buys his guns that is S&W's actual customer. But the dealer can have influence upon that distributor if he is one of their more major players.

Having been in the automotive service industry at franchised dealerships all my working life, I can tell you first-hand how much more influence the customer has on a manufacturer than anyone else. Those companies don't want you to buy your next whatever from one of their dealers, they NEED you to. Accordingly, they often will break their own warranty policies if they think that goodwill gesture will buy them future business.

I've seen cases as extreme as an entire engine replaced under warranty at 35,000 miles when the original oil filter was still on it and the stuff in the crankcase was so solidified that it wouldn't flow from the drain plug. In keeping with the manufacturer's requirements for warranty consideration, I declined to cover the costly repair because the vehicle owner failed to maintain it but a manufacturer's customer service representative with whom the vehicle owner spoke called to advise me that she was overriding that decision even though it was obvious that the engine's oil was never changed.

Today, companies know it costs them more to replace a customer than to retain one so strange or unexpected things can happen.

Ed

This is why I check brake caliper bolts for torque every time I take my car for a drive. Wait. No I don't.

My step son recently bought a brand new in the box S&W 686+ 6", off a rest at 25 yards. I it shot 10" high and 6" to the left with the sights cranked all the way down and to the right. More than one of us shot it with the same results.
He took it back to the dealer where he bought it, they took it out back to the range, ran 14 rounds through it.
They came back inside apologized profusely and handed him a replacement on the spot. Have dealt with this gun shop for several years, customer service never a problem, great guys.
They will continue to get my business.

That is great service from your gun shop. As to S&W, I can't say too much. Often they have been a pain in the neck with me when I call but I can't say they have not been more than fair to me over the years.

I agree with others that your loose screw is not really a warranty issue. They are going the extra mile to take care of things.

+1

The dealer only has influence with the distributor he works with and not the factory. Even at the wholesale level, the dealer doesn't have that much leverage unless he is a major buyer, especially in this market.

Bruce