After special ordering A 686+ vent rib, I went to pick it up, and it had a canted barrel. You would figure when you special order a Performance Center revolver at that price, the QC should be a lot better. I did not take delivery, but showed it to the gun store employee and he agreed it was way way off. Calling the customer service department I checked the website hours and they were still open. I stayed on hold for 38 minutes, witnessed by the store manager. I'm calling customer service first thing in the morning. This is a new model with a new barrel. It looks like a return of the problem they had a few years ago. I read they straightend that Q C problem. I expect more from a P C gun. Anybody else have this problem with a new 11760?

One of the guys I shoot ICORE with has the standard PC 686 11759 and he said it came with a badly canted barrel and he had to send it back to get it fixed.
For their story that the PC hand fits and polished their firearms I am hearing a lot of bad stories about quality.
How difficult is it to put a barrel on straight at the factory?

You did the right thing by not accepting delivery.

S&W is supposed to be as top notch as anything out there.

Especially a Performance Center Revolver. The barrel should be straight, and the gun should be perfect. End of story.

If the store ordered it for you, they will help you get it right.

Best of luck to you getting a new one that is correct.

That should be one of the easy things to get right. I can set them perfect every time in a minute or less. There is no reason for all these guns coming out of the factory like that.

I would not accept a revolver with a canted barrel and certainly not on one that is supposed to be the work of a company's custom shop.

I'll check on it a week and report back. Too bad everything else on it checked out, and I was really looking forward to shooting it

I made some vise jaws for the mill vise to hold the barrel vertical. When the frame is tightened on the barrel, it's a simple matter to square the grip frame with the mill table. Then they are spot on every time. Also easy to correct one that's off. Put the frame wrench on, stick it in the vise, square the grip frame. It takes 10 or 15 minutes, most of which is setup time. The actual adjusting is maybe 1 minute.

Talked to S & W cvs today and they told me 3 to 4 weeks PC guns get no faster service. Ugh

I'm just curious but if you ordered a gun, but did not accept delivery meaning that you didn't fill out the 4473 then why call S&W customer service for a gun that you don't own? You don't own it until you fill out the 4473 and do the background check. I feel that since you didn't accept it then the shop needs to return it in exchange for another one.

Checked with S&W customer service today and they told me the revolver had been repaired. The barrel had been straightened and they also replaced the front sight retaining pin. Also something with the yoke. They said it was sent to the shipping department, but did not know when it would ship, as I guess they ship in batches. I would think S&W is a large enough company that they ship stuff every day. Oh well, I'm probably just anxious. I will report back the quality of the repair when I see it.

Okay, I understand that we have rules on this site with regards to "bashing" the current state of product coming from S&W even when so well earned and I intend to follow these rules.

However at the same time, can we please agree that the PERFORMANCE CENTER does not exist any longer and has not for quite some time now?

Yes, the "PC" and the classy PC logo are still in use, but this is marketing and is no manner of "custom shop" or "hand crafted" and hasn't been in a long time.

These are production guns with varied extra options, visual *cough* "enhancements" and higher price tags.

A PC ported Shield should have been absolutely everyone's simple blatant indicator that the Performance Center is long since dead.

RIP, Smith & Wesson Performance Center. Lightning in a bottle... gone too soon, never to return. Continued use of the name and logo is a travesty of justice.

Received my S & W 686 plus 5" vent rib back from the factory. Barrel nicely aligned . Happy camper. Turnaround time less than quoted. They can do them right. Obviously Q C just missed it. It was test fired through all 7 cylinder positions as evidenced by a slight burn ring around every cylinder mouth. Looking forward to shooting it.

Kind of a strange story on how you waited for repairs on a gun you never took possession of and how SW dealt directly with you and not the gun shop, but if you are happy, enjoy.