I just bought this 9 mm revolver and I am very disappointed with the accuracy or lack thereof. Fifty shots from sand bags at 25 yards bring a 10 inch pattern. Five shot groups are 5-6 inches. I would be disappointed if this were a Glock. Does S&W have a known problem with these guns?

Welcome to the forum.

No personal experience with the 986, but here's a recent thread.

Your opinion on Performance Center 986

Good luck getting it resolved.

I have had one for awhile. I had a similar experience when I first got it. I couldn't believe how awful it grouped.
I sent it back twice. The first time they rebuilt it, almost all new parts except the frame and grips. It came back better but still not acceptable. I called and agreed to send it in again and they smoothed up the trigger/action considerably. They also told me to shoot 147 grain bullets. I think that is the key? I can accept the group size with that configuration. 124 and 115 grains still do not perform well.
Good luck!

When i first got mine- it grouped bad, but that was expected. It had an extremely heavy trigger! So half the time , i was yanking the gun all over the place.

I read you sandbagged yours? Lemme ask you. Have you grouped well on previous guns doing that? Just trying to eliminate operator's error. What i mean to say is even putting it on bags and shooting , if you dont know what you're doing, may not fetch expected results.

Mine needed some work. Had to do the trigger "twice". Put a red dot on it to confirm. Then, took it off. Now, im adjusting the loads, but, im using 115g's. Seems to be fairly accurate.

Remember that its lite too, because of the titanium cylinder. A heavier gun will absorb and steady the gun for follow up shots. A lighter one will make you work harder at it.

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I have Walther ppq Q5 Match that I can shoot under 2 inch groups at 25 yards. Yes, I can shoot well

I shot a 50 shot group at 25 yards from sandbags. The group measured 11 inches!

Then it may be the gun.

Im sure that Walther has a good trigger. Sometimes its the trigger, sometimes maybe even the rifling or the crown.

I may also have jumped the "gun". Did you say you had a PC? Not a Pro 986? The PC is a 2.5" barrel? My Pro is a 5". And im not familiar with the PC.

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The gun is sold by the PC. It is a 5 inch barrel. The trigger is fantastic!

Here is my pattern. Notice that I said pattern and not group!

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If you feel that you've exhausted all attempts to group well- you should call customer service. They'll send you a FedEx tag.

I would also make sure it isnt the ammo you're using. To not needlessly send it in. But, 10" is pretty bad. And i dont think the ammo will help much.

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Shotgun pattern!

That isnt good. Yes. You should probobly call customer service. They'll fix it.

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Here are 5 shot groups with Remington-Peters and Blazer Brass. Not target ammo but a Glock with Tula or Wolf would shoot better groups!

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I think I found my problem. See the roughly semicircular defect in the rifling?

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Whats this? Can you get a close-up?

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That is just powder residue. Look at the defect in the rifling

The picture is a hair fuzzy on my end. Can't see exactly but the rifling seems ok

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Also this is ecr rifling and never looks like conventional cut rifling from other brands.

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I'm not one to bash S&W. Love them as a whole. Still, I'm not sure you'll get satisfaction on a "accuracy "issue. I sent in my 929 a few years ago with the same problem. Could't get better than 6" at 12 yds off sandbags with ANY ammo. It looked to me like a rough forcing cone. Sent it in ( with a detailed description of the issue), waited 30 days and got it back with a note that said something like Test Fired within spec- Returned to customer. (i.e. They never even looked at it.)

Now my new 986 (unfired) is back for a timing issue. ( Timing on all 7 holes is retarded.) It's been nearly a month and am hoping for a return soon.
At this point, my "want" of a 9mm revolver has been diminished and opinion on PC/Pro series guns is on it's way too. Hopefully S&W CS helps me forget their lack of initial QA this time.

__________________
Dave

I did the crown on my 929 and dropped a 38/357 crowning tool in the barrel. Although there's a difference of .355-.357, it did leave me a little baffled.

Some pics. I polished it after but didnt take pics.

Heard some forum members have had luck running larger bullets. I havent had the time to get back to it.



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[QUOTE=Lou_the_welder;139600200]I did the crown on my 929 and dropped a 38/357 crowning tool in the barrel. Although there's a difference of .355-.357, it did leave me a little baffled.


Heard some forum members have had luck running larger bullets. I havent had the time to get back to it.


You might be on to something. As I recall, my best groups came with 130 gr (.356) 38 super bullets. I didn't think much of it at the time as those bullets run best in more than a few of my 9mm bottom feeders as well.

__________________
Dave

Just made these the other day....

Bayou bullets .356 for the 986. Going to shoot this week.



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A friend of mine and very skilled wheel gun shooter got one and the only way it would shoot well was with the 147 grain bullets. I suspect they are rifled the same twist rate as a 38 so they would tend to shoot heavier bullets better.
My interest would be so I can shoot cheap 115 grain ammo I don't have to worry about reloading so this would be a deal breaker for me.

I was finally able to get a good pic of the defect in the rifling! I agree with MajorD. It look like metal is chipping away from the rifling

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Ok. That looks different.

You have to call customer service. This is not normal. I see the problem.

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