Is this a canted barrel? M69

[magnumfreak]

I have tons of S&W revolvers and none look like the pic. Is this a canted barrel? Its been shot about 50 rounds and didnt notice it when brand new although I cant confirm it wasnt this way from NIB.

 

[629shooter]

In that photo it sure does look like the shroud/sleeve is. Remember, that is a two piece barrel. When using your sights, does the front sight seem "canted" to the right? Did you have to move the rear sight left when sighting it in?

 

[magnumfreak]

In that photo it sure does look like the shroud/sleeve is. Remember, that is a two piece barrel. When using your sights, does the front sight seem "canted" to the right? Did you have to move the rear sight left when sighting it in?

Gun shot dead center(3-5") bullseye from 10-20ft. Doesnt seem canted but any other sws with two piece barrel do not have this slight offset. I have only shot this one about 50 times, bought two one was for my dad but he didnt want it so i sold off the second one after shooting it about 100 rounds. Didnt notice if that barrel was the same but that one also shot great out I of box no rear sight adjustments, planned to do that woth more longer distance shooting and before i did after first full clean i saw the imperfection.

 

[jaymoore]

If it shoots well "as is", don't mess with success!

 

[629shooter]

Gun shot dead center(3-5") bullseye from 10-20ft. Doesnt seem canted but any other sws with two piece barrel do not have this slight offset. I have only shot this one about 50 times, bought two one was for my dad but he didnt want it so i sold off the second one after shooting it about 100 rounds. Didnt notice if that barrel was the same but that one also shot great out I of box no rear sight adjustments, planned to do that woth more longer distance shooting and before i did after first full clean i saw the imperfection.

I know those "imperfections" really **** people off. Myself included. But, I have to agree with jaymoore. Since it works I wouldn't fix it either. But, it's not my revolver.

 

[jaymoore]

BTW, I don't think the shroud can move rotationally much, if at all, if it's located similar to the TRR-8 shroud:

I wouldn't use the cosmetic serrations as functional alignment indicators. Unless someone can state that is indeed what S&W uses...

 

[Yorkie Man]

It's not canted the grooves on the top strap are not centered, mine is just like that one. I contacted S&W and they told me it was OK. It would seem to me that you could mill those grooves with more precision than that.

 

[wolverine]

Morning magnumfreak;

My latest 69 (late 14 build) looks similar in the rib match up.
I really can't see any blatant barrel cant (by looking at front sight)
but it must be off a little as I have the rear sight moved
right-of-center to compensate for something being machined
crooked or matched up incorrectly.

My last few Smiths have had very poor quality control so this
seems to be Smith's norm lately (at least in the ones I have
handled or looked at).

Have you looked at the crown on yours? My 69 had big pieces
of flash around the muzzle crown (very poor machining control
& it seems no quality check before shoving it out the door).

Also look to see if your hammer is rubbing the L/H side of the
hammer opening in the frame (mine was rubbing pretty bad).

 

[Cal44]

I got a new M60 last year that was clocked a little more than your M69. I sent it back to the factory and they "adjusted" it and it came back aligned perfectly. Of course, that was a one piece, non-pinned barrel so perhaps the fix was simpler.

 

[sailor723]

Threads like this convince me even more that buying "vintage" S&W is the way to go. Maybe they had their fair share of issues when fresh from the factory back then as well but at least most will have been fixed by now.

I can't imagine how annoyed I'd be after spending something like 1k+ on a new gun only to have obvious QC issues.

I'm in a small city in Canada so a, most of what I buy is online (so not seen or handled first) and b, returning a gun to Smith (or a distributor who would then return to Smith) would be a major PITA

 

[shocker]

Mine is centered by eyeball inspection, if it's off it's not more than 1/2 a groove.
Would put myself in the function first category. If a gun shoots, I don't nitpick the cosmetics to the Nth degree. If I wanted perfect, I'd fork over the $ for a Korth (not going to happen).

 

[wolverine]

Morning sailor723;

Yes, I agree, "buying "vintage" S&W" is the way to go
but that doesn't work if a person wants a model 69 (5)
shot .44 mag.

My new 69 is pretty poor in regards to quality, fit, & finish
but I really wanted a smaller frame 5 shot .44 mag so was
delegated to accepting what they are pushing on the public
now or not owning one.

I looked a 4 different model 69's & picked the best one & it
is about a 2 on a 1-10 scale.

As of late I am pretty well convinced that I am going to have
to send any new S&W revolver back to Smith for some sort of
warranty repair so I just buy the best I can find locally then
shoot it for a while, then send it back to smith for warranty
work (some have to go back more than once though).

 

[Cal44]

In addition to the M60 I sent back to have the barrel adjusted, I have another gun with a slightly clocked barrel. About half of one of those grooves on the M69.

I decided it wasn't a problem as the clocking was so slight.

That gun is a 40 year old pinned barrel M18.

I think with new guns if there is a problem that bothers you, send it back. Bean counters are in control of most companies and costs will be cut right down to the minimum level customers will accept.

In other words, if we, as customers don't complain about product quality issues, we will get low quality products.

 

[Hopper]

I have a fairly new M66 Combat. My top strap is aligned similar to the OP's original picture (mildly underclocked), but much more slight, it's very close to being aligned with the grooves. Not perfect, but very close. The front sight also appears to be well-centered and vertical when I look at it from the front. I also noticed some flashing on the front of the barrel. Again, not bad, but not perfect.

OTOH, today I'm highly anticipating getting my brand-new model 640-3 back from Smith for an overclocked barrel. Really anxious to get it back to see if Smith got it lined up correctly. If they did, even though I wasn't terribly happy sending in a new gun because of this, S&W will be back in my good graces.

 

[2K7]

Pinned barrel guns were usually aligned properly and are still my favorites. That being said, all guns that are not pinned get a closer review by me before purchase. Alignment of the barrel like that on the OP's post is a dealbreaker for me. I simply will not spend my money on quality control like that nor will I participate in the process of returning the firearm to reinstate it to condition it should've been in at manufacture.

The only way to convince manufactures to correct these problems is to stop purchasing their product. Theme of the day appears to be quantity not quality, something I won't be a part of.

 

[nipperdog]

My 69 looks OK to me

 

[ralphtt]

Also look to see if your hammer is rubbing the L/H side of the
hammer opening in the frame (mine was rubbing pretty bad).

Is this a potentially serious problem? I bought a new Performance Center 627 only yesterday and have fired about 40 rounds so far. In cleaning the revolver last night I noticed some rub marks on the L/H side of the hammer. Not very attractive, but functionally I wonder if it will really make any difference?

That said, it seems that S&W should get their act together. No excuse for this maladjustment on a Performance Center revolver!

 

[wolverine]

Is this a potentially serious problem? I bought a new Performance Center 627 only yesterday and have fired about 40 rounds so far. In cleaning the revolver last night I noticed some rub marks on the L/H side of the hammer. Not very attractive, but functionally I wonder if it will really make any difference?

That said, it seems that S&W should get their act together. No excuse for this maladjustment on a Performance Center revolver!

Afternoon Ralph

No, not a big problem, just annoying & shows the S&W workmanship of the assembly= (piss poor).

Eventually it will leave lasting marks in the frame & a shinny mark on the hammer side.

The only time I have had issues with the hammer rub is when lowering the trigger pull weights.

When the double action pull gets down in the sweet range then any friction in the hammer fall can lead to light primer strikes.

Good new is; it usually just takes a .002" or .003" hammer shim to move it right enough to not be an issue.

It just shouldn't be there on an $800.00+ gun don't ya think?

 

[wolverine]

My 69 looks OK to me

Afternoon nipperdog

Still looks like something not centered correctly if the rear sight blade needs to be that far right.

 

[ralphtt]

Good new is; it usually just takes a .002" or .003" hammer shim to move it right enough to not be an issue.

It just shouldn't be there on an $800.00+ gun don't ya think?

I totally agree that it shouldn't be there . . . but doubt that most folks (probably including me) will take the time & trouble to return the revolver for adjustment. So . . . S&W gets away with another PP job of final tuning . . . and on a Performance Center revolver . . . totally not acceptable.

What do we do to get their attention?