The good news:
I'm the owner of a brand new 617-6 that was made in Feb 2012 according to the test firing. It's my first Smith and my first revolver, and has joined all my automatics. It's a beautiful gun and I like shooting it.

The bad news:
The lettering on the frame just below the cylinder that says "MADE IN USA / SMITH & WESSON" etc is blurry because it has been double-stamped (see photo). I'm not too happy about this - it's a bit like finding a deep scratch on your new toy. I did not notice this when I picked it up at my FFL, and even when I finally did notice it later I first thought it was just my eyes not focusing, but unfortunately it is real.

Has anyone else had this kind of thing happen? Any suggestions as to whether S&W would "fix" this under warranty?

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I have never seen that before - makes me wonder if it could add "collect-ability" to your gun like with errors on currency?
I hate to say it, but I kinda like it and if it was mine I would leave it.

I have a M66-1 that has double stamping like that. It doesn't bother me because it's a great carry revolver.
S&W may do something about it, since it's new. Might as well ask.
But if not, I'd just shoot the heck out of it.
Jim

Yes, they will replace the frame.

Woody has a point. A double-stamp coin can be worth a lot to collectors. Heck, I bet S&W would love to have that one back. If it shoots well, I wouldn't think twice about it. But each to his own.

Have you ever seen a double die 1955 penny? If you had one to sell, it would buy many M617 Smiths. Personally, I like it very much. Big Larry

C'mon guys, guns aren't pennies, double stamps, quite common in all places on a gun, add nothing to collectibilty, in fact it may detract.

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Dick

I would hold onto that one due to the double stamp. What if you send it back and get a replacement and it had canted barrel or worse.

If you need something unusual to add to your collection, this could be the one. If it's a shooter and you think when the double stamp is seen by others it might make the gun look shody and this bothers you, I guess you'll be wanting to "fix" it. It's your call and your gun, I'd shoot it, enjoy it and see how I felt about the stamp six months from now. Post it up on the boards, maybe someone will make you a high dollar gotta have it offer.

If it shot tight groups ,I would keep it.If not ,back it goes.

I couldn't live with that.Send it back.Maybe "factory seconds" work in the coin or stamp world,not in the gun world.

IMO it is a defect and it would bother me.

While it is possable someone out there collects factory mistake guns ,
IMO The only person that thinks these factory mistakes are worth a premium is a dealer that has one for sale.

When you think about it ,
If mistamps really added value to a gun the factory would start stamping mistakes on purpose and selling them at a premium or as a special order.....
Hello S&W, I would like to order a Model 617 but stamp it Model 19.........Nuff said?

To your circumstance,
If I bought that gun new and didnt notice it till I got home..
I would either bring it back to the dealer to change it out or I would be on the phone with the manufacturer having them make it right.

Problem is I dont think they can fix that mistake without buffing it off first and that might bother you as well,

A new frame will involve a new serial number and paperwork through an FFL which they may or may not cover ,
Either way you will have to spend time on the phone with customer service.

If it bothers you and you want it replaced I suggest you do it now or regret not doing it later.

All this is my opinion ,
Its your gun and your decision.

They can stamp the new frame with the same number, right? I thought they put the serial number on last, since that's done according to month and unit etc.

Oh, btw, I also agree - it's a defect, and guns are not coins. It makes me wonder about what else they did wrong that day to that gun.

Nope.. frame gets destroyed and you get a new serial number.

The way I heard it was that they used to keep unserialed frames for replacements until the ATF told them it was illegal.
Supposedly they destroyed alot of unserialed old frames too.

I could be wrong but I suspect they will tell you that you will get a new gun with a different serial number and that gun will be parted out and the frame destroyed.

I was just sure my 'puter calendar, desk calendar and room calendar were wrong - so i got up and went in the other room to check that calendar - and they all say the same thing March 9. Hmmm, I thought it must be April 1.

BTW, engine49guy, tried to give you a double-like, but system won't allow - so i'll give you a double thumbs up.

IF anyone collects Smith and Wesson mistakes, they are going to be very busy and very broke. Do you think anyone in Springfield, MA reads these forums? It might get in the way to the trips to the bank.

Make them do it right. We are the only quality control S&W employs and we pay ourselves thru higher prices. Return shipping via FedEx is cheaper than in house QC or doing the job right the first time.

I'm calling bluff.....Photoshop!!!!! I just looked at it very close in PS. A few things looks off from shadows and highlights.

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God Bless Our Troops.

In my younger days I worked at one of the major firearms retailers on the east coast. I don't know if you all remember Edelman's or Nationwide Sports. We had a customer come back mad as a hornet with a Model 10 with every marking on the revolver double struck. My boss could only do right for the customer and traded him a nice clean Model 10. After the customer walked out a happy man, my boss picked up the phone and sold the gun to an advance collector for four times the retail. So everybody was happy.

Personally I would want a new gun that did not have manufacturing defects as obvious as this. I'm becoming convinced that manufacturers now figure that if it isn't something that could result in a lawsuit, "ship it" is the rule. They will hope that nobody complains, but will replace it if they do.
Can you imagine the fallout that would result if you posted this photo with a note saying that they refused to replace it? Their reputation would be damaged, and they know it.
But if you feel that it is a 'rare' gun because of this, then by all means keep it.

I would ask two questions: (1) Is the gun smooth and accurate? If not, send it back. If so, at least consider keeping it, because the replacement you get may not shoot as well. (2) Does the double stamp bother you to the point where you have to rationalize keeping it? If so, send it back, because you'll eventually wish you had. If not, base your decision on the answer to question #1.

looks as though they have moved every inspection dept. employee to the production line to meet the new demand on handguns.

Has anyone seen a full time inspector at any stage of the manufacturing process?or are the line workers supposed to catch problems?
I'm thinking that guns go from work station to work station,get a quick test fire,then straight into a box.
I've been buying new Smiths since 1998.Too many have had to go back for an obvious reason.Sure,they're happy to address the problem,but is it that cost effective to ship guns and have them bounce back?

Send it back,double stamp adds no value in my opinion.Local shop had a mis marked 686,same mis mark.Tried to sell it with no takers.Be advised they will probably send a new gun and ser.#,you will have to go through the transfer process again.

By accepting the gun the way it is you are sending a message to Smith & Wesson that it is ok to produce workmanship of lesser quality and the customer’s wont mind.
I remember the sickening feeling I had when my new 617-6 arrived with a canted barrel. Had to get my local gunsmith to centre it straight away
I wouldn’t accept the double stamp but thats just me.
Campfire

You may wish to get that one factory lettered-if that was from the factory rather than aftermarket it could be quite valuable

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Forum consigliere

There will never be a high-dollar market in defective Smith and Wessons. From reading the posts on this forum, there are WAY too many defective Smiths to consider them remotely rare! lol!

BTW, I must just be lucky because all mine look great. If that were my revolver, I would send it back.

If a double stamp adds collector value why doesn't S&W just double stamp a bunch of them and sell them at a premium?

It's your revolver and your choice. I bought a new Ruger GP100 a year ago, and the serial number stamp on it runs uphill, but otherwise, the revolver was perfect. I kept it.

However, when and if I sell it, I don't think it will add value, if anything it will probably detract from it. Please let us know what you decide to do.

I would be very pleased to have such a oddity.

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<><

Problem solved.

Your not the only one, I would send it back. These stories are getting far too common.

I don't mean to be a jerk, but is your picture a Photoshop? The second stamp does not have the same lighting characteristics as the first stamp, and seems to be a layer superimposed over the real roll mark. If I Photoshopped a "double stamp" and didn't carefully combine the lighting and shadows of the two, it would look exactly like that.

???

It looks like a double stamp to me, I have never seen one on a firearm but I have on a wrench, and the wrench will look photo shopped when you are holding it in your hand.

I probably shouldn't be replying right now cause I'm a little grumpy...First let me say if you don't like it sent it back! You won't find anyone on this forum (a Smith & Wesson enthusiasts forum at that) that will pay you extra for that mess up. If they do, take the money pocket the extra and buy another new one.

Second and this is the grumpiness coming out...I have missed a gouge running down the rifling inside the barrel of a new Smith (who would have thought you'd have to bring a bore light when picking up a brand new gun) but, to miss that billboard of a mess up...really?

I have a brand new M60 with the same roll marks running slightly up hill. I've seen pics here from another member with a new M60 with the same problem.

[IMG][/IMG]

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NRA Benefactor

I'm in the photochop camp as well, it just looks off.....

If you found yours in a gun shop,and a perfect one sitting next to it,would there be any question which one you would buy?

THIS!! I agree 100%...I do PS retouches for a living and that one is highly suspect...shadows, highlights and the areas where the roll actually intersect..DO NOT intersect as if it would being double stamped. I'm still calling bluff!!!

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God Bless Our Troops.

You look close enough, the one set of stamps actually seems to hover over the other instead of superimposed in the metal.

However, it may be real. The OP's first ever post from six days ago mentions the double strike. I'd still send it back. I've never heard of a collector spending extra fro a cosmetic defect.

Like I said, I'm not trying to be a jerk or call anyone a liar. Just curious.

If it really is a double stamp, I would send it back to get it fixed. It's not like an incorrect roll mark, or omitted roll mark, that might be cool to a collector 30 years from now. It's a manufacturing defect and QC travesty that S&W will fix if the OP chooses.

I'm the OP, so thought I would follow up after thinking this over for a while. I really appreciated all of the helpful comments and opinions that were offered (but read on).

In the end, while I would prefer that it were cosmetically perfect, I didn't want to go through all the hassle of sending it back, so this is the advice that I decided to take:
Since my original post, I have been out with it twice so far and have run a full 525 box of Federal Champion through it. Mechanical functionality was perfect and accuracy was excellent (limited mostly by myself), so it's a keeper.

In fact, I didn't even notice the double-stamp at all while I was enjoying my shooting sessions with it!

Amidst the useful advice offered here were also a few posts from people who claimed my original picture must have been a fake created by Photoshop. To them I say:

1. It's sad that your first impulse was to make an accusation of fraud, especially when I was not selling anything or seeking anything but advice from people who know about S&W guns, not photo manipulation.

2. I took a few more photos in different light. In them it is very easy to see how the 2nd stamp has slightly deformed the metal of the first stamp in places.

In any case, it's a shooter and I'm keeping it. Bang!

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I would at least contact S&W and see if they offer a remedy. Not a gun, a friend of mine bought a set of Goodyear tires. After discovering a few months after the purchase the size was incorrectly stamped 13 instead of 15 inch. Goodyear gave him a non-expiring $100.00 off coupon on his next Goodyear tire purchase. The Goodyear factory rep told him the tire dealer knowingly bought the tires as seconds but failed to advise the end purchaser or pass the savings on.

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Dave

I would have sent it back, but it's not my gun. Good luck with it.

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Sure you did

Lets face it the S&W of today is not the same as the S&W's of the past.

IF that revolver shoots good and is accurate I would live with the double stamp.

You might send it back and get one with perfect frame stamping, and it might shoot so bad you could not commit suicide in a phone booth with it...

I would have found another group of people that wouldn't welcome me to a forum by insinuating that I'm a liar!

Seriously folks, the guy asked if he should seek reparations. He didn't come here trolling or trying to sell a fraudulant piece.

Last time I checked, this was not the FBI photo lab forum.

Uh oh! This font doesn't match the beginning of this post. Maybe I'm lying about thinking some of you need to chill out and skip a few episodes of CSI.

To the OP, welcome to the forum. Thank you for supporting Smith & Wesson.

Thanks for sharing your decision with us. I can understand completely. I hope you have many years of enjoyment with your revolver.