People who actually own late model S&W revolvers with the IL and MIM parts may be more satisfied with them than they would admit on this forum, but I seriously doubt that means that such guns are generally more popular than the forum members are letting on. Is it just me or don't most new gun purchases seem to come with an apology of sorts? I think that's pretty sad.
The pre-IL/MIM guns hearken back to a time that may not have been perfect, but was still marked by a greater dedication to quality and much less corner-cutting than is seen today – before the customer was co-opted as the final stage of quality assessment. The bluing was bluer and the triggers were smoother. And that means something to many – albeit not all – of us. As long as these older guns remain available and accessible on the secondary market, I see no reason to encourage S&W to continue making knock-offs of their own legendary designs by purchasing a new revolver. Newer should mean better, but in the case of S&W only the cost accounting is obviously new and improved. I want S&W to survive as a going concern and not go the way of Colt, but there is clearly something wrong when many users – not just collectors – are willing to pay as much or more for guns that are 25+ years old than for new versions of the same or similar guns. If you want to survive, profit, and grow as a company, trying to convince people to fork out hundreds of dollars for something they immediately feel the need to apologize for does not seem like the best long-term strategy. But I'm old-fashioned like that and maybe that sort of logic no longer applies today (although I doubt it).
If it were only a matter of the dreaded IL, most of us could see past it and accept that time marches on. But IL and MIM and hit-or-miss quality? MIM might be acceptable from the standpoint of functionality, and two piece barrels might be superior on paper. But such "improvements" first and foremost allow the manufacturer to reduce its dependence on old-fashioned craftsmanship in the manufacturing process, and that has implications for the resulting product as a whole. A high-quality product is more than merely the sum of its parts. Time may march on, but it's simply too much for us "gun snobs" young and old who demand quality in both function and aesthetics. If you covet or have one of the new "Classics" and are happy with it, more power to you. As for me: No thank you!
