This morning I picked up what I thought to be a very good condition used 617-6 from a major nation-wide chain of sporting goods stores. When I viewed the gun, it was with all of its original accessories, case, and paperwork, and despite being fairly dirty, appeared to be in great shape, so I picked it up.
My usual first step with a new preowned firearm is to clean it, especially rimfire guns, before taking them to the range, and I was glad I did just that. After applying bore cleaner, I ran a bore snake through the barrel, then peered inside to inspect my work, and there it was, a large and pronounced bulge ring about 2" from the muzzle end of the barrel. At that point, I packed the gun back up, got back in the car and returned to the store, to hopefully get my money back.
It just so happens that the store had a S&W promotional event happening, and thus S&W had 2 sales reps on site today. Rather than take the gun in return, or take steps to initiate a repair process, they dragged the more senior of the two reps into the office to inspect the gun.
This is where things get weird: The rep takes a bore light, proceeds to look down the barrel, and tell me there is nothing wrong, and that I don't know what I am talking about. Now, I have seen bulged barrels on center fire guns before, sadly more than I would like to over the past few years, and I can tell you for sure that I know a bulge when I see one. After several minutes of back and fourth, the rep offers that maybe something is wrong, definitely not a bulged barrel (after all, apparently 14 years as a S&W sales rep makes him an expert gunsmith), and that I should not return the gun to the store, instead ship it up to S&W for repair, and get this, "free of charge" under waranty, including shipping. Oh, and did I mention they could turn it around in a couple weeks as well? I argued the point that S&W will not repair damage caused by bad ammo, or misuse free of charge, and again was told that I don't know that it's not a defect, and they will take care of it no matter what. So, seeing as I like the 617 otherwise, and I still have 9 more days on my store function garentee, I decided that I will give the S&W customer service route a try. We shall see what they say when i request the generous service offered by the sales rep I spoke to. Granted, I don't expect much other than to pay out the nose for repair, probably eclipsing the gap between the savings buying a used gun vs buying a brand new one from someone else (this particular chain store does not sell the 617, only the 17-9). I know that this issue is not S&W's fault at all, so to really expect this to be covered under warranty would be crazy. Where I do take issue is the fact that S&W's sales rep got involved at all in this matter, as he is not a gunsmith, not an employee of the store or corporation, and spent majority of the time trying to dissuade me from making the return, and to leave the store without so much as putting the onus on the store to stand behind their product, have them get it fixed.
Furthermore, since I retained the gun in the interim, I dropped by another of my favorite LGSs and asked them what they saw in the barrel: 4 separate staff looked over the gun, all with varying years (some with decades) of experience in firearms training and smithing, and each confirmed my original analysis of a bulged barrel. One even went so far as to point out that in the right light, the bulge could be seen externally, and though very faint, you could almost feel it when running you fingers down the sides of the barrel.
Anyway, to say I am disappointed is an understatement. First thing Monday morning in will be calling S&W to discuss my options. Failing to get anywhere, or rather anywhere inexpensively, I may have to escalate my complaint to the corporate level with the store chain. They are not the brightest bunch, frequently losing paperwork, leading to angry letters from the state, or marking Smythons, Smolts, and Colt Troopers with Python barrels as Colt Pythons, and appending a $2000+ price tag.
On another note, my LGS buddies claims the gun is safe to shoot, but will suffer performance-wise. I am kinda curious how it does as is, not that I intend to leave it that way, but do you all agree with this analysis? Also, and more importantly, how could a 22LR round have enough enough energy behind it to bulge a barrel of this thickness? As I said above, I have seen other bulged barrels in center fire guns, but not quite as pronounced as this barrel's bulge. Maybe it just looks more pronounced to me because of the smaller bore diameter? Could there actually be a metallurgy defect in the gun leading to an exacerbation of the damage?
Finally, shame on the dishonest individual who sold this gun damaged, and dirty to hide the fact. You are the type of person that should not own firearms if you cannot own up to your mistakes and live with them.
Thanks for reading my rant, and if I can, I will try to take a couple pictures and post them later. 22 barrels I find to be very difficult to get good, clear bore shots.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
My usual first step with a new preowned firearm is to clean it, especially rimfire guns, before taking them to the range, and I was glad I did just that. After applying bore cleaner, I ran a bore snake through the barrel, then peered inside to inspect my work, and there it was, a large and pronounced bulge ring about 2" from the muzzle end of the barrel. At that point, I packed the gun back up, got back in the car and returned to the store, to hopefully get my money back.
It just so happens that the store had a S&W promotional event happening, and thus S&W had 2 sales reps on site today. Rather than take the gun in return, or take steps to initiate a repair process, they dragged the more senior of the two reps into the office to inspect the gun.
This is where things get weird: The rep takes a bore light, proceeds to look down the barrel, and tell me there is nothing wrong, and that I don't know what I am talking about. Now, I have seen bulged barrels on center fire guns before, sadly more than I would like to over the past few years, and I can tell you for sure that I know a bulge when I see one. After several minutes of back and fourth, the rep offers that maybe something is wrong, definitely not a bulged barrel (after all, apparently 14 years as a S&W sales rep makes him an expert gunsmith), and that I should not return the gun to the store, instead ship it up to S&W for repair, and get this, "free of charge" under waranty, including shipping. Oh, and did I mention they could turn it around in a couple weeks as well? I argued the point that S&W will not repair damage caused by bad ammo, or misuse free of charge, and again was told that I don't know that it's not a defect, and they will take care of it no matter what. So, seeing as I like the 617 otherwise, and I still have 9 more days on my store function garentee, I decided that I will give the S&W customer service route a try. We shall see what they say when i request the generous service offered by the sales rep I spoke to. Granted, I don't expect much other than to pay out the nose for repair, probably eclipsing the gap between the savings buying a used gun vs buying a brand new one from someone else (this particular chain store does not sell the 617, only the 17-9). I know that this issue is not S&W's fault at all, so to really expect this to be covered under warranty would be crazy. Where I do take issue is the fact that S&W's sales rep got involved at all in this matter, as he is not a gunsmith, not an employee of the store or corporation, and spent majority of the time trying to dissuade me from making the return, and to leave the store without so much as putting the onus on the store to stand behind their product, have them get it fixed.
Furthermore, since I retained the gun in the interim, I dropped by another of my favorite LGSs and asked them what they saw in the barrel: 4 separate staff looked over the gun, all with varying years (some with decades) of experience in firearms training and smithing, and each confirmed my original analysis of a bulged barrel. One even went so far as to point out that in the right light, the bulge could be seen externally, and though very faint, you could almost feel it when running you fingers down the sides of the barrel.
Anyway, to say I am disappointed is an understatement. First thing Monday morning in will be calling S&W to discuss my options. Failing to get anywhere, or rather anywhere inexpensively, I may have to escalate my complaint to the corporate level with the store chain. They are not the brightest bunch, frequently losing paperwork, leading to angry letters from the state, or marking Smythons, Smolts, and Colt Troopers with Python barrels as Colt Pythons, and appending a $2000+ price tag.
On another note, my LGS buddies claims the gun is safe to shoot, but will suffer performance-wise. I am kinda curious how it does as is, not that I intend to leave it that way, but do you all agree with this analysis? Also, and more importantly, how could a 22LR round have enough enough energy behind it to bulge a barrel of this thickness? As I said above, I have seen other bulged barrels in center fire guns, but not quite as pronounced as this barrel's bulge. Maybe it just looks more pronounced to me because of the smaller bore diameter? Could there actually be a metallurgy defect in the gun leading to an exacerbation of the damage?
Finally, shame on the dishonest individual who sold this gun damaged, and dirty to hide the fact. You are the type of person that should not own firearms if you cannot own up to your mistakes and live with them.
Thanks for reading my rant, and if I can, I will try to take a couple pictures and post them later. 22 barrels I find to be very difficult to get good, clear bore shots.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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