Made In The USA?

[Airborne423]

Can any one out there tell me if all the parts on a S&W Pistol and or Revolver are entirely made in the United States.
Example: The Model 442 and the Model 37, Model 317, are all the Parts and the Metal too made in the U.S.?
Are any of the Parts including the Metal, made in China or Taiwan? If any of the Parts or the Metal came from these two Countries, when did S&W start having these Parts made there?

Need to know,
Bob

 

[Ghost Magnum]

Can any one out there tell me if all the parts on a S&W Pistol and or Revolver are entirely made in the United States.
Example: The Model 442 and the Model 37, Model 317, are all the Parts and the Metal too made in the U.S.?
Are any of the Parts including the Metal, made in China or Taiwan? If any of the Parts or the Metal came from these two Countries, when did S&W start having these Parts made there?

Need to know,
Bob

There is a article somewhere on the web when the author went on a tour through the factory.

 

[glenwolde]

I don't think it's legal to import weapons parts from China.

52,000 Chinese gun parts seized by US Customs agents | Fox News

 

[505Gibbs]

I would say that UNLESS someone from inside S&W's procurement department chimes in that its tough to say where their small internal parts are sourced!
I'd doubt they'd just volunteer the info.

 

[gr7070]

I'm an engineer and am involved in metals and also the federal laws: Buy America.

Unless S&W prominently advertises their guns or a model are made in America, you can rest assured they're not. And I'm not aware of them marketing this.

Metal parts made in America are far, far more expensive. As alluded to above, without federal laws requiring American made metals it's unlikely to happen.

Additionally, "made" in America can have many definitions, especially with regard to metals: melted and manufactured, machined, assembled, etc.? Some of these are legally defined, as well.

With S&W I think the best you can be assured of is it's an "American company". And they're the best option available in so many of the variations they offer.

 

[s&wchad]

I'm an engineer...

Unless S&W prominently advertises their guns or a model are made in America, you can rest assured they're not. And I'm not aware of them marketing this.

Metal parts made in America are far, far more expensive. As alluded to above, without federal laws requiring American made metals it's unlikely to happen.

That's how I earned my living too.

In the past, a few S&W products were "branded" and produced by foreign manufacturers. The model A & B bolt action rifles were made by Husquvarna. The 1500 series rifles were made by Howa and I believe the semi-auto and pumps shotguns were imported from Japan. The recent SxS Elite Gold was manufactured in Turkey. All of these prior models were clearly marked with the country of origin.

I'm not aware of any current production S&W rifle or handgun that's imported. Every S&W that I own, right down to a M&P 15-22P, is clearly marked "Made in USA". I know the factory forges their own component parts and produce their own barrels. The article I've read from Herb Berlin (S&W Project Manager) leads me to believe that they do their own metal injection molding. In 2014, S&W purchased Deep River Plastics (Connecticut) so they could control the supply and quality of their polymer frames. I have no idea where their springs and screws come from, but I'd bet dollars to donuts they don't come from China or Taiwan.

I'm sure that raw materials like scandium and titanium are sourced from other countries. I don't know who supplies their steel and aluminum alloys and they protect the actual make-up as a trade secret. This shouldn't surprise or concern anyone. Even 70 years ago, the Goncalo Alves for stocks was imported. Some items simply aren't available from domestic manufacturers.

As far as manufacturers go, you can't get much more American the Smith & Wesson.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c0NpoU0kTuU[/ame]

 

[gr7070]

As far as manufacturers go, you can't get much more American the Smith & Wesson.

Excellent post S&W Chad! You do a much better job of clarifying just how Made in America S&Ws likely are than I did!

Granted some of my skepticism still remains with regard to actual metals sourcing, but as for American fabrication, etc. I should revise my above post.

 

[Airborne423]

One reason I am asking about "Made In America" S&W had to replace the broken firing pin on my model 317. This .22 caliber revolver was purchased new, and had been fired just a few times. My thinking was that the firing pin was made in a Country like China, where there is very little quality control! Well, I thank you all for your feed back.

 

[s&wchad]

One reason I am asking about "Made In America" S&W had to replace the broken firing pin on my model 317. This .22 caliber revolver was purchased new, and had been fired just a few times. My thinking was that the firing pin was made in a Country like China, where there is very little quality control! Well, I thank you all for your feed back.

I've had a 317 and a 317–1 for years. The 317-1 went back because of sever endshake after more than 6000 rounds. It was used as a loaner gun when I taught CPL classes. I practice DA shooting with the 317 and carry it out west for snakes.

I've never had an issue with a firing pin on either gun and suspect the issue has nothing to do with "quality control".
FYI- According to S&W, these should NEVER be dry-fired because it can damage the firing pin. It's in the owners manual and is also in their FAQ's on their website:

.22 caliber revolvers such as models 17, 43, 63, 317 and 617 also should not be dry fired.

Q: Why can't I dry fire my .22 pistol or revolver?

A: Dry firing a S&W .22 pistol or revolver will cause damage to the firing pin.

Link: FAQs | Smith & Wesson

 

[gr7070]

This is simply wondering about the origins of a broken firing pin? Replace it; move on

 

[S&W Rover]

There are a lot of reasons why "Made in America" is important -- most of them having to do with our well-being.

S&W exported 22,440 pistols and 16,230 revolvers in 2017 (according to the annual ATF report) which is a good thing but a small dent in our annual trade imbalance of almost a Trillion dollars. In many cases, those aren't our friends we are buying junk from.

So I'm all about "Buy American" when I can, and all for keeping our manufacturing capabilities here. Or bringing them back.

 

[sheppard]

S&W M&P 22, made in Germany.

 

[Narragansett]

"""" I have no idea where their springs and screws come from, but I'd bet dollars to donuts they don't come from China or Taiwan."""

I have no idea where they get their screws, but I bet springs come from Connecticut. I do not know if it has faded recently, but CT was the spring capitol of the country

 

[s&wchad]

S&W M&P 22, made in Germany.

I know the frames (possible other parts) were made by Walther in 2012 (and so marked), but S&W purchased Deep River Plastics in 2014 so they could control frame production (as stated earlier).
According to S&W's web site, the M&P22 and M&P22 Compact are currently made in the USA.

M&P(R)22 Compact Dark Earth Finish | Smith & Wesson

 

[bearman49709]

I know the frames (possible other parts) were made by Walther in 2012 (and so marked), but S&W purchased Deep River Plastics in 2014 so they could control frame production (as stated earlier).
According to S&W's web site, the M&P22 and M&P22 Compact are currently made in the USA.

M&P(R)22 Compact Dark Earth Finish | Smith & Wesson

M&P 22's were made by Walther for the first 1-3 years then S&W and Walther parted ways and S&W started making them here.
My owner's manual states warranty for the first year by Walther after that lifetime warranty by S&W.

 

[wheelgun28]

I think the main supplier for metal was Carpenter Technologies, maybe just stainless and exotics.

You can find a small series of Carpenter Technologies 629s they made thirty years ago.

Today metals are on a global market, many time there only one source for a specific type. They also bounce around to and from different countries for geopolitical reasons. As long as it has its certifications it usually good to go, you get what you pay for.

 

[Jeppo]

M&P 22's were made by Walther for the first 1-3 years then S&W and Walther parted ways and S&W started making them here.
My owner's manual states warranty for the first year by Walther after that lifetime warranty by S&W.

When I bought mine, there was little question.

 

[jimc00]

If you search U tube for Parmatech, there is a video that is about 9years old about MIM in the medical field. In that video, they show a trigger and what looks like a 2" J frame 38. Cal barrel that was made by the MIM process. That company is in CA and RI.

 

[Dave686]

I don't own an M&P 22 handgun because I didn't think they were made here, or even made by S&W. So that has changed?

Bob, as far as your firing pin goes it could be that its not a question of where it's made, but a question of how it's made. I don't know if your firing pin in MIM but S&W does uses some MIM parts. MIM gun parts parts were junk the day they came out of the molding machining no matter what country they came from.

 

[wrangler5]

< snip > MIM gun parts parts were junk the day they came out of the molding machining no matter what country they came from.

This post http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...lanation.html?highlight=mim+parts+temperature from a S&W engineer has always seemed to me to make a pretty good case for the decision to use MIM for certain parts.

If their "best shooters," which I assume includes Jerry Miculek, can't tell the difference between guns using traditional forged parts and MIM parts, and the engineers have decided the durability of MIM is no worse than the tradtionally-made parts, I for one have no rational basis for objecting to them.