"Hmmm...let's see now...would I rather have FORGED STEEL PARTS that were finish-machined by human hands on real machine tools "
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Human hands, that get tired, have an off day, have a fight with the wife, etc. - in short, they are human.

Like everyone else, I like pretty, hand-finished parts, but I can rarely afford to pay for them anymore. Would I rather have a precision part that works well, or a part rushed through production as fast as possible by humans? No contest.

I have another thread somewhere about a recent show that had a segment on making the .500 magnum. Computers check each frame after it's machined, and if there's a discrepancy of 1/1000 of an inch, they "tell" the milling machine to change bits - and it does so without human help. Really very impressive. If I could afford to have all my guns made by hand one at a time by one person or a small shop, I would, but I can't. I'm gald S&W makes it affordable to buy their products, which I love. This process also makes it possible for them to stay in business.