S&W would never take that attitude "every time a customer has problem", but they sure will take that attitude with a customer they perceived to have irrational expectations and cannot be pleased.
Crooked (canted) shrouded barrels, had one fixed by Smith? I have a 340
- Thread starter Mister_Smith
- Start date
S&W would never take that attitude "every time a customer has problem", but they sure will take that attitude with a customer they perceived to have irrational expectations and cannot be pleased.
frankieb01
Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2015
- Messages
- 86
- Reaction score
- 317
I would take photos clearly showing the issue(s) and email them to S&W with a short and clear description of them. I recently picked up a 686 and found the forcing cone looked like it had been cut by an angry drunken 1 toothed beaver and had a flaw in the rifling. Took photos, emailed S&W Customer Service on a Sunday night, by 9:30am Monday morning they had sent me an email to send it back and a prepaid shipping label. That is some pretty impressive response time. Hoping to have it back in another week or so. The only other company I have seen with Customer Service that responsive was Springfield. I had a Springer 1911 Loaded Target that the barrel fit was a bit sloppy, no other issues. They had me send it in, it had a carbon steel 2 piece barrel....it returned with a perfectly fit match grade stainless barrel, a thick well fit stainless barrel bushing, they adjusted the ejector, fit and installed a new extractor, the gun was 4 years old and had adjustable tritium sights that still were fairly bright but they put on brand new fresh sights, they also refit and lapped the slide to the frame and worked the trigger over. Turns out they sent my 1911 over to their custom shop and they went over it with a fine tooth comb, talk about some amazing customer service and going above and beyond.
Last edited:
Ashlander
Member
I have one 360J (a light little scandium frame monster). It is perfect -- but I would not buy another one -- ever. One's enough. It's for concealed carry. It hurts when I shoot even just plain Jane .38 Special. I have plenty of other revolvers -- all steel. None of mine are canted (thank goodness), but I have seen that in the stores.
Edmo
US Veteran
My experience with current production revolvers hasn't been stellar either.
My 640 Pro Series has made the trip back to the mothership twice for several issues to include a canted barrel. After two trips back the barrel is almost straight! It is a shooter and a carry gun (carried it yesterday) and point of aim and impact are now fairly close, just not perfectly straight.
I'm also a fan of S&W revolvers and own a small collection of shooters. In the last few years I've added a BG38, two 642-1s, and the 640 Pro. Three of those four had to go back to S&W for repairs and two of the three had to go back a second time.
I keep wondering if I'm just unlucky or is there a bigger problem. I'm past the point of "you just got a bad one". Logic would say otherwise.
Based on these experiences my latest revolver purchase was a Ruger.
Edmo
My 640 Pro Series has made the trip back to the mothership twice for several issues to include a canted barrel. After two trips back the barrel is almost straight! It is a shooter and a carry gun (carried it yesterday) and point of aim and impact are now fairly close, just not perfectly straight.
I'm also a fan of S&W revolvers and own a small collection of shooters. In the last few years I've added a BG38, two 642-1s, and the 640 Pro. Three of those four had to go back to S&W for repairs and two of the three had to go back a second time.
I keep wondering if I'm just unlucky or is there a bigger problem. I'm past the point of "you just got a bad one". Logic would say otherwise.
Based on these experiences my latest revolver purchase was a Ruger.
Edmo
MJFlores
Member
Sadly, this issue keeps popping up regardless of model number. I have a thread on here from last year, a brand new 629 was shooting a foot to the left even with the rear site cranked all the way to the right. It ate up my whole summer, but after sending it back twice it's perfect now. It shoots so nicely, and I went through so much trouble getting it to this point that I'll never sell it. It does make you think twice about wanting to buy a brand new S&W again however. Nice guns for sure, but what a hassle it can be if you get one that shouldn't have left their factory. They will eventually fix it...I had to get very demanding upon the 2nd return and I doubt it would have been fixed had I not been. Mine clearly got extra attention that second time in. There are also some excellent smiths across out country that specialize fixing S&W revolvers with canted, crooked barrels, out of spec frames, cones, poor triggers, misaligned sites, etc. So for me, it worked out but that was a lot of effort, phone calls, wasted ammo, shipping, driving to the package place to sign for the gun, etc. I would gladly pay a little extra to just buy a new S&W take it home, and start enjoying it.
This will be my second time I've had to go through this. The first was a Thompson rifle and I insisted on a full refund. They refunded but I was out
all my time and expense to sight in and become proficient with the rifle. I guess I'm naive. I want to trust someone like S&W but to
allow such an obvious defect to pass QC is shocking. Maybe my expectations are simply unrealistic in this day & time. I do want a 340PD and yet I don't want this one if repairs mangle it up or leave doubt as to it being good as new and thouroughly inspected.
all my time and expense to sight in and become proficient with the rifle. I guess I'm naive. I want to trust someone like S&W but to
allow such an obvious defect to pass QC is shocking. Maybe my expectations are simply unrealistic in this day & time. I do want a 340PD and yet I don't want this one if repairs mangle it up or leave doubt as to it being good as new and thouroughly inspected.
Information in this thread is one of the reasons I hunt for the older Smith revolvers. I do have a couple of newer ones, but fortunate enough that they function like they are suppose to, without problems.
I have 3 Smith&Wesson and they are flawless, then again I bought them in the 70's
Edmo
US Veteran
I've got 4 good ones... The newest is a 629 Mountain Gun purchased in 1999 and the oldest is a tie between a model 19 and a model 60 from the early '80s. There is also a late '80s 686 with a butter smooth action.
Maybe I should stick to older guns...
Edmo
Well, I spoke with S&W and I must praise their customer service. They emailed a shipping label for FedEx - 2 day delivery no less. I boxed it
up and it's on its journey to MA. I requested a new replacement revolver and asked that it be inspected closely to ensure it's properly assembled and test-fired to ensure POA matches POI. Guys, I'm not an expert on guns but I don't want a new chevy that immediately has to have a engine overhaul. I don't think I'm being unreasonable to request a NEW revolver. I'll let
you know how they respond.
up and it's on its journey to MA. I requested a new replacement revolver and asked that it be inspected closely to ensure it's properly assembled and test-fired to ensure POA matches POI. Guys, I'm not an expert on guns but I don't want a new chevy that immediately has to have a engine overhaul. I don't think I'm being unreasonable to request a NEW revolver. I'll let
you know how they respond.
Thanks for the replies. I'm sitting here looking at a calender and wondering if they will take pitty on a guy that just lost his puppy. Pathetic, it's a dang little revolver and i'm counting days to see when they will respond. Need to get a life or go buy another gun to pass the time.
Don't they know it's all about me, me, me!!!
Don't they know it's all about me, me, me!!!
My wife and i went to the local gun range/store and practiced a bit. She's preparing for the CHL class and doing quite well. Afterwards we stepped into the store to peek at all the pretty guns. I couldn't resist asking the guy behind the counter to let me handle a new 340PD that i spotted in the display case. To my surprise, the barrel shroud was canted! It wasn't quite as bad as mine but still plainly obvious. I very politely pointed this out to the salesman and briefly explained that mine was at the factory for the same defect. He acknowledged it was in fact canted and yet placed it back in the case and asked if there was anything else he could help me with. I let it go and we browsed a bit and left.
Actually proud of myself for not throwing my dentures at the guy. Not his fault that someone is going to buy a gun that shoots to the right of POA.
Actually proud of myself for not throwing my dentures at the guy. Not his fault that someone is going to buy a gun that shoots to the right of POA.
REM 3200
US Veteran
S&W repaired and shipped my 340PD back yesterday, one week after receiving it. They said the barrel cant was
fixed and it was test fired. Due to arrive home on Monday. If it is repaired and not nicked or damaged, I'll be one happy camper. One week service is astounding.
fixed and it was test fired. Due to arrive home on Monday. If it is repaired and not nicked or damaged, I'll be one happy camper. One week service is astounding.
