hemiram
Member
And they wonder why I'm not interested in any new revolvers from S&W?
Huge S&W Warranty Repair Failure
- Thread starter SWFan27
- Start date
press-1-for-english
Member
Having starting shooting in 1968 at the age of 7, it saddens me to read a thread like this. Back then when you bought a S&W, any S&W, it worked. Period. My only S&W currently is a 1992 617 no dash. Works perfectly. Very accurate. All I could ask for from a revolver. I admit I own Rugers and a Colt. I believe S&W doesn't care about us wheel gun guys like they used too.
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2012
- Messages
- 4,619
- Reaction score
- 7,838
I never heard that one before. I'm pretty sure that these days 99.9% of S&W revolvers are purchased for sporting and/or self-defense purposes. Revolvers for combat use are obsolete and have been for decades.
Not to mention a 6" ten-shot .22 is hardly designed with combat in mind. If they are going to provide a single-action function they should make sure the revolver works properly with it.
Sorry to hear of your problems. I have a 617-6 that is outstandingly accurate and functions 100%. Just had it out yesterday and it is still shooting 1/2" groups at 12 yards with old Remington bulk ammo. It shoots most anything you can stuff in it.
With the red dot (and the new stocks) it goes to the range with me every time I go.
With the red dot (and the new stocks) it goes to the range with me every time I go.
This is nothing new. Back in the 80's a few of us officers ordered some S&W model 66's for duty. One came with a lopsided cylinder and another had the rear sight come off before it was even fired. I've also seen the barrel unscrew on a model 66. With all the recent complaints, it does sound like things at S&W may be actually worse now.
I still love Smith & Wesson and my other S&Ws work perfectly. I am hoping and praying that my 617 will be functioning perfectly when I get it back from S&Ws warranty department this time.
Smith & Wesson, just like other companies, has always had to deal with warranty issues even in the vintage glory days. I plan to get a new S&W Model 19 Classic series next. Here is a good video from a former Smith & Wesson trained armorer doing a review of the new 19 and discussing fifty something common problems he was trained to correct on the older vintage revolvers.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9l2ipiKf4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h9l2ipiKf4[/ame]
Autonomous
Member
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2017
- Messages
- 1,157
- Reaction score
- 1,795
We only have two tools to get the attention of the bean counters at S&W.
1) Send the guns back for every problem. Shipping is expensive.
2) Stop buying new S&W products. Sad to say that is my position. The last two new S&Ws I bought had to go back immediately.
1) Send the guns back for every problem. Shipping is expensive.
2) Stop buying new S&W products. Sad to say that is my position. The last two new S&Ws I bought had to go back immediately.
Last edited:
I am 61 and have shot my fair share of vintage Smith & Wessons. My dad has a bunch of them. I LOVE them, but some vintage ones had problems too. Smith & Wesson has always had a warranty department, but I do believe they had more pride in what they were letting leave the factory back in the day. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people just cashing a check these days. I will always be a Smith & Wesson fan, and I hope they are still around for generations to come. My other newer S&Ws are problem free and will last longer than I do. I have faith they will get my 617 working correctly this time.Kids.....
Last edited:
I long for the days where certain gun companies had official repair stations scattered across the US. I have all pre-lock S&W revolvers and can take care of most internal issues that may creep up.
I was just having fun with my comment, I meant no disrespect. My first duty gun was a Model 19. So I don't see them as "vintage". When I hear vintage I'm thinking a Smith & Wesson Model 3 or a Schofield. Maybe they are vintage, and I'm just showing my age.
These days anything without the lock is vintage to me.
Maybe they are vintage, and I'm just showing my age.
Last edited by a moderator:
My experience doesn't jibe with yours. Either a revolver is in time or out of time, period. As for revolvers functioning after being dropped in a muddy trench, I had a firearms/ self-defense instructor, Jesse Shaw, who was in a gunfight at night with drug smugglers. I heard his story first hand. He was in a sandy, dry area. He bailed out of his jeep after taking fire. After firing the few remaining rounds in his M-1 carbine, he drew his S&W model 19 from his holster. The revolver wouldn't function due to sand (that happens when you are crawling around looking for cover). He finally got the cylinder open and knocked out the sand, enough that he could continue returning fire.
Last edited:
I agree, and it is pretty easy thing to check the timing. That is why I am so bewildered as to why when Smith & Wesson just had it there for warranty work, they never checked the timing. That would be the first thing I would have checked on a revolver that was shaving lead at the forcing cone. They cut the forcing cone, but never bothered to check the timing.
Last edited:
Malysh
Member
You have my sympathy. I hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction.
To contrast, I sent an HK USP 40 cal slide back to HK last week to have the old sights removed and have tall suppressor night sights installed. The invoice they sent me today detailed the sights cost and installation, and said they inspected the slide for wear and/or defects (none found).
They received the slide yesterday and completed it today.
Ideally, this is the way it should be with all customer services.
To contrast, I sent an HK USP 40 cal slide back to HK last week to have the old sights removed and have tall suppressor night sights installed. The invoice they sent me today detailed the sights cost and installation, and said they inspected the slide for wear and/or defects (none found).
They received the slide yesterday and completed it today.
Ideally, this is the way it should be with all customer services.
I'm surprised the bean counters haven't found that it's cheaper to fix all readily identifiable problems the first time they have a gun in for warranty repairs, rather than only fix what the customer mentions, wait for the second call when one of the other problems is noticed, and pay for the 2-way shipping and whatever overhead costs are involved in another intake/return process at the factory.
Plus, they avoid this kind of thread showing up (and floating around eternally) on the internet with whatever bad taste that may leave in the mouths of prospective customers.
Plus, they avoid this kind of thread showing up (and floating around eternally) on the internet with whatever bad taste that may leave in the mouths of prospective customers.
The sad part is that I did say that the 617 was shaving lead at the forcing cone either due to a timing problem or a forcing cone issue when I first sent it into S&W. And when I got it back on 8/12 I was shocked to find that 2 of the 10 chambers required me to physically turn the cylinder to lock them into place when the hammer was fully locked back.
It is simple enough to check the timing on a revolver and no one bothered to do it at S&W when I sent it in even though I mentioned the timing. They did cut the forcing cone. Maybe a cylinder that functions 80% correctly is good enough for Smith & Wesson?
Information! ? !
Possibly people are "pointing" the repair person in a direction to finding the problem with too much information! Then the repair person looks no further.
I suggest sending the gun in with very vague problem descriptions, like, "shaving lead", "cylinder operating improperly", "gun not functioning in SA properly", or something in this manner and not being very descriptive! We are not gunsmiths, if we were we would not be sending the gun back to the manufacturer!
jcelect
Possibly people are "pointing" the repair person in a direction to finding the problem with too much information! Then the repair person looks no further.
I suggest sending the gun in with very vague problem descriptions, like, "shaving lead", "cylinder operating improperly", "gun not functioning in SA properly", or something in this manner and not being very descriptive! We are not gunsmiths, if we were we would not be sending the gun back to the manufacturer!
jcelect
Too much information is not possible when trouble shooting. If that's the problem it's a problem because of an unqualified gunsmith, not a problem with the customer.
Whenever I've turned over a S&W revolver to a real revolver pistolsmith in person, he went over every detail and used proper tools to check out the gun. This was all while I was watching. A real pistolsmith will check out every detail (even things not noted as problems) of function of a revolver before returning it.
