First gun purchase ever. Did I go wrong?

[DaveCota]

Now I am not an expert in firearm terms so please don't mind my improper use or terminology in my post.


My wife and I purchased our first firearms ever within the last month and we decided to go with Smith and Wesson as we didn't mind spending a little more to get an American made product with a good reputation. She was so very excited to have her first gun. We made our purchase from Gander Mountain. We decided to get the service plan they offer as it sounded like a good deal but maybe wasn't. Anyways, both of our pistols we had to bring to Gander Mountain on the weekend due to problems. My SD9 VE has a defective slide lock that will not properly lock the slide. Basically, if I manually lock the slide all I have to do is tap the gun and it returns to battery. If I load a mag in it will instantly unlock itself as soon as it is inserted. While not a terrible problem it still was quite annoying. My MP 22 Compact came in the box and was missing the piece on the rear sight that has the 2 dots on it and the screw that would have attached it as well. This was partially my fault for not checking the gun before taking it home but my wife picked it up as it was her gun to use and she was too excited to wait. We took it to the range to fire and I noticed my wife having a hard time and saw that the rear sights had no actual sight to use.

So both guns now within a month of ownership are now not working. I take these to Gander Mountain for their service and they told me both have to be sent out to S&W for repairs. I was told specifically by multiple Gander Employees it would take at least 3 weeks for S&W to repair it and possibly up to 8 weeks due to shipping times.

So that is 2 months that we have no more home protection as this was the whole point of buying these firearms. 2 months of range fees I have already paid for that I now have no firearm to use.

Being as this is our first firearm purchase or experience we are both very disappointed in this entire situation. I really hope this is just bad luck on our part as S&W has such a great reputation as a company.

Sorry for such a rant.


Anyways, I contacted customer service about this problem and told them exactly what I said above and I basically got a generic response two days later stating sorry for your trouble. We don't have the guns yet (thanks to slow Gander Mountain). We will get to it when we can. It usually takes about 3 weeks. That was it.


So my question and purpose for even being here is I wanted to get some feedback from people who have experience with S&W and tell me is this normal to have these kind of Quality Control issues with new firearms and such a cookie cutter customer service response?


I feel like part of the problem is also mine in allowing Gander Mountain to be the middle man rather than contacting the company directly but I will know better next time.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I always suggest having someone else shoot your gun before even considering calling S&W, especially someone who has never owned a gun prior. Some very basic training is also in order, although a friend who already owns guns can put you on the right track . . .

 

[DocB]

Unfortunately I am not in a position to apologize for Smith & Wesson's poor quality control. During the Great Recession many companies laid off their quality control people first. I do not know if this was the case with Smith & Wesson. Your problems seem to be small ones and I hope they will be corrected quickly and to your satisfaction. Be assured you are not the only new gun buyer experiencing problems. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

 

[DaveCota]

I always suggest having someone else shoot your gun before even considering calling S&W, especially someone who has never owned a gun prior. Some very basic training is also in order, although a friend who already owns guns can put you on the right track . . .

Yes sir. We both attended a pistol safety class and at the time I had the SD9VE with me and that was when the teacher showed me the slide problem as I didn't know that that was abnormal and thought maybe it was just supposed to act that way. It was the next day we noticed the problem with the sights on the MP 22 Compact when we took it to the range.

 

[DaveCota]

Unfortunately I am not in a position to apologize for Smith & Wesson's poor quality control. During the Great Recession many companies laid off their quality control people first. I do not know if this was the case with Smith & Wesson. Your problems seem to be small ones and I hope they will be corrected quickly and to your satisfaction. Be assured you are not the only new gun buyer experiencing problems. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

Thanks DocB, thats good to be informed at least.

 

[Rpg]

New S&W guns have a great warantee for the first owner.

The money you gave for a Gander guarantee is a waste. You bought nothing worth having.

Too bad S&W gun buyers frequently need the warrantee: many need to go back to the factory to fix things that should have been caught before the gun left the factory.

 

[ou1954]

I don't know Gander Mountain but find it hard to believe any honorable dealer wouldn't simply replace defective merchandise. Further, they were not straightforward if they sold you a service contract on something that had a free factory lifetime warranty. I can say that, based on your experience, I will never know Gander Mountain.

As far as range time is concerned, surely they will negotiate the range time cost or duration, based on your situation. If I were in your situation and couldn't receive some consideration I would find another range. Since you have commented on Gander Mountain you might as well publish the name of the range if you are not satisfied . . . one way to help others on this forum.

 

[Spendon]

Over the decades I have found S&W QC to be inconsistent overall. I think I've purchased probably 8-10 new Semi autos and revolvers. Of those I've had to return 2 to the factory. One was a .40 M&P the other a 642. The M&P had a weak magazine catch spring that had to be replaced. The 642 was much more serious where S&W had to replace the frame (basically the S/N portion of the gun).

I like to buy the used S&W's, in large part, because these possible problems have already been addressed.

By the way a new M686+ and a new M67 I bought are absolutely perfect!

That's the reason for me describing S&W QC of late being inconsistent.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Howdy from South Carolina, and welcome to the forum.

When I started this hobby not long ago, I was also surprised at the high percentage of failures in design and manufacture of new firearms I purchased. One weapon was irreparable from day one. One weapon required two trips to customer service. Three have parts that are prone to failure or have failed. One arrived requiring additional gunsmithing work to tweak the design and make it usable.

Back-up firearm choices for the inevitable times when failures occur, help to dampen the disappointment. Meanwhile, due-diligence before the purchase might point you towards models with more thoroughly dependable service histories.

Good luck.

 

[Arik]

The slide going forward on mag insertion is not uncommon and happens to just about every single auto ever made

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Jboutfishn]

I have purchased an M&P 9MM, a M&P 40C, and a 9MM Shield. All have function with issue. S&W did send me a new RSA for the Shield because I forced the reassembly on the Shield, bending it. My Fault.

I also purchased an M&P 15 and an M&P 15-22. Both have functioned without issue.

Point being, many make it out S&W without problems, we only hear about the bad ones.

 

[DaveCota]

Thanks all for the replies. I had no idea that it was that common to have a problem with a new firearm. I guess I will just have to have patience and wait my turn. Any yes to the comment about a service warranty on a firearm that is already lifetime warrantied... not sure why they sold that to me.. twice!.. but I was dumb enough to pay for it so my fault.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

As with a lot of products, the further you go up the price range, the less frequent the problems. It should not be that way, but it is. The SD9's were largely mass produced in record time to supply the Afghan and Iraqi military and police. I think they are good guns, not to be a jerk; but they perform better with a little experience. A good number of new shooters that I have trained bought these as their first guns and could not get them to rack or fire when they worked flawlessly and accurately for me. Maybe not your situation. The MP-22 looks like somebody in the distribution system wanted a part. All of my handguns are S&W and I have enjoyed shooting them all, I hope this experience does not eternally embitter you to S&W. I never had to return any of them. It may seem counter-intuitive to you at this point, but I suspect that you would enjoy owning a S&W revolver. Also Gander Mountain does not have a reputation for knowledgeable staff. Smith & Wesson has a lifetime guarantee on their products. Eventually S&W will make it right, though you should not have trouble with a new gun. A Gander Mountain warranty is a joke as you learned. We all learn the hard way. Ask a gun savvy friend or at least post here before you buy or sell until you are confident, many of us are getting old and thinking about meeting St. Peter , so we may not know the answers, but we do not lie. Welcome and best regards,

 

[bigwheelzip]

Any yes to the comment about a service warranty on a firearm that is already lifetime warrantied... not sure why they sold that to me.. twice!.. but I was dumb enough to pay for it so my fault.

Read your extended warranty and find where it states the length of the cooling-off period, where you can change your mind and cancel for a full refund.

 

[kpoesq369]

It could just be wear on the slide stop. If the original owner depressed the slide stop to release the slide every time, the corner could be rounded. Try a replacement stop. They used to teach hitting the stop as a release lever years ago, but changed to pullinv the slide back and just letting it go forward by itself when stops started wearing out.

 

[THEMULE]

Dave,
First off, I truely want to THANK YOU and your wife for buying an American Made product. Nobody is going to help Americans except fellow Americans.
I apologize for not being able to give you advice regarding your issues with S&W.
I too had an issue similar to yours with Ruger a few years back. I wanted an American made over and under double barrel shotgun, non were to be found. Then Ruger came out with the Red Label line (again) and I jumped all over it. It took them 3 shot guns to get it right. No joke. The first one, was replaced. The second, was replaced. The third..... I had had enough. Called them, told them I want an Anerican made blah, blah, blah, blah..... They offered my money back. I said, " I don't want my money back, I want an American made blah, blah, blah...."
That was a Monday afternoon. I instantly recieved a next day air shipping label (via email). So now, we are into Tuesday. That Friday evening, my American made over and under double barrel shotgun was in the safe.
Moral of my story is..... Give it to em with both barrels. We don't manufacture things like we used to. No pride in our work. It's sad.
My wife and I use a Remington 870 20 gauge for home protection. They are like hammers.... You can't hurt them. Keep your Smiths for range time. At 2am, in a dead sleep.... I don't think you can beat a shotgun. If you and the Mrs. insist on a hand gun, look at revolvers. There's no "thinking" involved. Just pull the trigger. I learned that lesson across the the pond with a semi auto I wasn't familiar with.
Best of luck to you and yours. Please don't let this experience ruin you for firearms. Nowadays we (law abiding gun owners) need all the help we can get.
Bob

 

[ou1954]

Dave,
First off, I truely want to THANK YOU and your wife for buying an American Made product. Nobody is going to help Americans except fellow Americans.
I apologize for not being able to give you advice regarding your issues with S&W.

<snip>

I too had an issue similar to yours with Ruger a few years back. I wanted an American made over and under double barrel shotgun, non were to be found. Best of luck to you and yours. Please don't let this experience ruin you for firearms. Nowadays we (law abiding gun owners) need all the help we can get.
Bob

Slightly off topic - Bob, in my youth I had an American made over and under, forgot the brand but we didn't have many imported guns in the 40's-50's. I had a .22/410. Nostalgia.

 

[hoc9sw]

In a sort of defense of Gander Mtn, they do offer a service, which is to front the packing / shipping and offer a cleaning. In the event that the manufacturer can't / won't make something right, they take liability to cover it. Probably less valuable for S&W handguns, but it worked for me when having to send back a Remington 870 for which the box was insufficient for packing. And the guy spent an hour with me showing me how to strip and clean it beyond any level I had ever tried.

So the value may vary. I got my $30 worth in that situation.

But for handguns, other shops have done the same pack & ship as a courtesy. It may or may not be "wasted" money. Time will tell.

Back to the guns. Some will tell you that "auto-forwarding" is a desired feature. It is not for me, coming from a 1911 life, where that is something for competition folks, not us simple guys. I wound up selling a pistol because between two factory smiths (not an S&W product) I got opposing opinions about "auto-forwarding" being the correct behavior.

As to the rear sight blade on the .22 Compact, they fall out. Lots of comments here about that. I own one, and have not had the problem, but I do pay attention to it.

In either case, a three week turnaround would not be bad service.

 

[S&W Rover]

No you did not go wrong. But all I can offer at this point is some encouragement, until you get things straightened out. The SD9VE is a fine pistol, and you will like it when it runs correctly. S&W has a good reputation for making things right through their customer service. As you gain experience with the pistol, you will be able to fix the little things yourself.

 

[fdw]

My slide releases on my FS M&P 9 when the mag is loaded, no problem. I like that it does this.