Ziggy2525
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I had posted about the initial stages of this previously in a different thread. Now that it's final, I wanted to create a separate thread for informational purposes (and probably a bit of a rant).
I had an issue with my four year old 642 (I purchased it new). The hammer pin broke, so I sent it back to S&W for service. Based on my ammo purchases, it had 100 rounds of +P (Remington/Speer) and a couple thousands rounds of standard pressure FMJ through it. Half the FMJ was a mix of Federal and Winchester. Half was Armscore.
They evaluated the pistol and said the yoke bolt was worn out and the hammer pin was broken. The pistol was considered non-repairable. They determined those items were considered normal wear and tear, not material defects, and not covered by the lifetime service repair policy. They also told me they consider any foreign ammo, including Armscore, the same as reloads, not as factory ammo. I don't think I'd seen that about foreign ammo in their manual, but I could easily missed it.
When I asked how a pistol rated for continuous +P service could be worn out at 2,000 rounds of standard pressure ammo, the supervisor's response (over the phone) was their pistols can worn out with a single round of standard pressure ammo. I escalated, but they came back and said no. They'd sell me a new pistol at a small discount or I can have the old pistol back.
In the past I've gotten really great service from S&W under the service repair policy. This seems out of character. I wanted to post because I see others posting about how great the S&W Service Repair Policy is. I'm wondering if S&W is changing how they administer that policy.
I had an issue with my four year old 642 (I purchased it new). The hammer pin broke, so I sent it back to S&W for service. Based on my ammo purchases, it had 100 rounds of +P (Remington/Speer) and a couple thousands rounds of standard pressure FMJ through it. Half the FMJ was a mix of Federal and Winchester. Half was Armscore.
They evaluated the pistol and said the yoke bolt was worn out and the hammer pin was broken. The pistol was considered non-repairable. They determined those items were considered normal wear and tear, not material defects, and not covered by the lifetime service repair policy. They also told me they consider any foreign ammo, including Armscore, the same as reloads, not as factory ammo. I don't think I'd seen that about foreign ammo in their manual, but I could easily missed it.
When I asked how a pistol rated for continuous +P service could be worn out at 2,000 rounds of standard pressure ammo, the supervisor's response (over the phone) was their pistols can worn out with a single round of standard pressure ammo. I escalated, but they came back and said no. They'd sell me a new pistol at a small discount or I can have the old pistol back.
In the past I've gotten really great service from S&W under the service repair policy. This seems out of character. I wanted to post because I see others posting about how great the S&W Service Repair Policy is. I'm wondering if S&W is changing how they administer that policy.
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