Is this normal? Barrel Shroud Loose...

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BigJDubs

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Hey guys I have a few hundred rounds through my S&W 327NG (scandium framed 2.5" 8 round 357mag snubby) now and I noticed something I didn't notice before. The shroud piece that covers the barrel past the frame is loose. Not by much, but enough to rattle somewhat. If I take two fingers and wiggle it, I can see the front sight move up and down ever so slightly and I can see a hair's worth of daylight show up between it and the crown of the barrel. It doesn't spin or twist, so I assume its keyed in there, but it rocks front to back/up and down.

Is this normal? Was it there when I bought it (new) and just didn't notice? Or is this something to be concerned about? It makes sense to me that it might be oversized to allow for thermal expansion of the stainless barrel, but I wonder why I didn't notice it before if it was there originally. I typically catch stuff like that right away...

Thanks for your time!
 
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No, it's not normal. The barrel must have loosened up and S&W doesn't make the key available to tighten it. It's also possible that the frame cracked (usually at the bottom). Fill out the info in this link and submit it and S&W will send you a prepaid shipping label.

Warranty Repair Shipping Form - Smith & Wesson

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Ugh. Lovely. This must have been a Friday evening or Monday morning build; the C&S sight fell off in my hand after only 8 rounds. I wonder what else...

Thanks for the link. I'll follow up tomorrow with S&W.
 
I just checked the gun out a little more and sure enough, the barrel is backing out. Its so loose in fact, that I can spin it with my fingers with little effort. I'm glad I'm fairly observant and asked; this gun is down right dangerous to fire at this point.
 
Smith and Wesson will take care of it for you for free. This is the exact reason why I will never own any scandium frame smith ever.

Eric
 
Thanks Eric. Any idea how long I can expect to be without my revolver?

Also, is this common on their alloy framed revolvers? This is my first S&W...
 
S&W typically owns up to manufacturing faults. People knock them for various reasons but if they own up to their mistakes and fix it for free I don't see why people hold it against them.
 
VaRecon said:
S&W typically owns up to manufacturing faults. People knock them for various reasons but if they own up to their mistakes and fix it for free I don't see why people hold it against them.
Click to expand...
Well I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I gotta say I'm not happy about this. Its unacceptable to me to have a barrel literally falling out a brand new gun. Had I not noticed and asked about it, this gun would have posed a serious danger to me and those around me. In my humble opinion, this kind of issue with a factory new out of the box gun simply cannot happen. Especially when it comes to non-end-user serviceable aspects of the build.

Hopefully Smith takes care of me and turns it around quickly. But I have to be honest and say this experience will weigh heavily on my mind when it comes time to buy my next gun.
 
S&W has not yet executed the 2-piece barrel design well enough to make me buy one. They really should have gotten tnfhe bugs out by now.
 
That is absolutely ridculous whats going on with your gun, that could have caused damage to someone. I would chew smith and wesson a new one and they would be sending me a new gun worth twice that, that is just unaccpetable to me. Smith and Wesson wonders why no ones wants their new junk, a prime example. Stay away from those scandium frame guns if I was you bigjdubs, have seen dozens and dozens of issues with those guns, they are ****.

Eric
 
VaRecon said:
S&W typically owns up to manufacturing faults. People knock them for various reasons but if they own up to their mistakes and fix it for free I don't see why people hold it against them.
Click to expand...

Because junk like this should not be leaving the factory period, end of story!!!

Eric
 
I tend to agree with you Eric. I saw this gun a while back, fell in love with the fit and feel and saved up for a really good long while before being able to purchase it. I know that's not Smith's problem and I probably should have heeded the warnings a bit more carefully, but still this whole scenario bums me out.

I called S&W this morning and got a rep on the phone. He wasn't very apologetic or concerned, and seemed to want me off the phone as soon as possible. I had questions and while he answered them, I definitely got the sense I was keeping him from a meeting or something.

I'm a grown man who's been through a few tough things in my life, so really on my 'big deal' scale this doesn't even register. But still, I would have hoped for maybe a courtesy reach around as I'm getting screwed, ya know?

We'll see. If they get me the tag as promised "in the next two business days" and if they can turn it around back to me in the "3 weeks" he promised, I guess I'll be good to go. I've still got to wonder however if I've seen the end of the problems with this gun. Dare to dream.
 
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For the life of me, I can't understand why S&W didn't simply copy the successful and accurate barrel/shroud/barrel nut design of the Dan Wesson revolvers when the decided on separate barrels and shrouds.

I own more Smiths than Dan Wessons, but I wouldn't give up the versatility of interchangeable barrels (or the accuracy) of the Dan Wesson design for anything.

Lou
 
Just a quick update: the gun shipped yesterday and is due to arrive at S&W tomorrow. The waiting begins...
 
Alex Hamilton wrote about this problem in American Handgunner. As the article criticizes the S&W two piece barrel, it didn't get alot of attention here.

You might want to Google it as IIRC, he mentioned another way to tighten that shroud without the proprietary tool that S&W refuses to sell.

Good luck! Regards 18DAI
 
Dang! That is loose!! I had a 4 inch 500 that the sleeve began to wobble but nothing like that! It took about 1800 rnds to loosen but Smith and Wesson fixed it no questions asked...... I dont think the 2 piece barrel system is so bad if you except the fact that you may or may not have to have the shroud tightened every so often. Just one of those things. It is what it is...........
 
Technical question: looking at the diagram above; is this a 'two-piece' barrel, or a 'three-piece' barrel?

It appears that the barrel is made of two interlocking cylindrical components with the shroud being the third component. Is it that the barrel is, indeed, two pieces - hence the term 'two-piece barrel' and there is just no reference to the shroud?
 
You know, a revolver that retails for 8 or 9 hundred dollars shouldn't fall apart.
Would a one piece barrel design be that cost prohibitive to make now?

I'm not posting a "they don't make 'em like they used to" response, just wondering how a two piece barrel showed up to start with.

Cheaper to make?
More accurate - when they work?
Lighter?


GF
 
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