Funny that you should post this thread now. I just bought one of these this week and have been meaning to submit a post about it.
I love mine. Something about the balance. It is the only .357 magnum I own that I truly enjoy shooting with full power loads. There is just something about an N frame. I will say, however; that I was not aware that my gun is able to use moon clips until I read your post. I have been shooting mine without moon clips and it works just fine.



Here's a look at the crown on my gun:



It isn't cosmetically 'perfect', but the gun shoots well and it at least looks like it wasn't buggered. I consider this totally acceptable.
I can understand your concern about your crown. Even if it shoots well, you bought an expensive gun and cosmetics are important even if you can't point to a functional issue resulting from it. If it bugs you (it would bug me), I'd contact S&W and ask for them to fix it. You don't need to feel apologetic about it. They should send you a call tag and correct it at no cost to you. That's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it!