Poor Quaity with NEW Model 27 Classic

Good Evening S&W Friends - I am seeking your opinion regarding a “NEW” S&W Model 27 Classic (4”) I recently purchased (I have not yet taken possession of this firearm).

I briefly inspected the revolver at my FFL, and was very disappointed with the quality of this piece and internal packaging. The blued finish was marred in several areas, particularly on the left side of the barrel near the muzzle. There was a significant cylinder marking, and the S&W protective paper wrap was torn and barely covered the revolver (with small torn pieces of the wrap within the case).

I would never expect to open the S&W blue case to find these quality issues with what was confirmed to be a NEW firearm received directly from the factory. The seller has been very responsive, and has provided a return label for me to ship it back with full refund.

I have included a few photos, and am interested to know your thoughts; what you would do; and if you have had similar experience with what was to be a NEW S&W. Many Thanks.

Lot 'o dry firing to get that turnline. Maybe unfired, but not "new".

The seller you purchased it from said it’s new? Did he buy it new and didn’t shoot it? It appears the gun was handled. Can’t blame this on s&w quality. It’s second hand used.
I purchased what the first owner called new and it was new unshot. Not a mark on the revolver, for $699/m29-10/6.5”. I stole it from a dealer trade in.

If you got it cheap, sounds like it was maybe a deal, send it back if your not happy. If you keep it gets some fritz polish and lightly polish the barrel.

Do you have the serial number (prefix)? The blue hinged plastic box has not been standard for a few years and the gun may be several years old, which if so may also explain the cycling/handling marks.

murphydog said:

Do you have the serial number (prefix)? The blue hinged plastic box has not been standard for a few years and the gun may be several years old, which if so may also explain the cycling/handling marks.

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Or it was in a LGS in the case where it was handled. My new m24/44 special the plastic box was covered with dust it was there for so long.

Shouldn’t bash s&w for quality when it’s on the first owners problem.

It appears your revolver was a display model for some other gun store. My factory new 2018 Model 27 had only a faint turn line. The blueing was fine to my inexperienced eyes at the time. The paper was only a bit ripped-up around the rear-sight and the front-sight.

I have seen much much worse straight from the factory, depends what you paid for it. That turnline is nothing if the action is good and solid. I would definitely keep it if the price was right.

I have found the QUALITY of the newer 27s to be quite exceptional. I think the nickel may be some of the finest to have come out of the factory. I like that the factory chose to keep using the 4 screw frame configuration that began back with the Heritage series

As to the blue, it is not what it used to be. We have the EPA to thank for taking that old blue process away from us. Unfortunately since that time some of the blue is great and some is not

Most all of what you are taking issue with is how the firearm was handled between the time it was boxed and the time you received it.

I do not see any of that as a "Quality" issue

If the firearm in question was intended to be a safe Queen, I would absolutely not take delivery of the firearm.

If you are planning this as a shooter, I would be much more concerned about the mechanical condition of the firearm. As a shooter it is going to acquire marks and blemishes along the way

As to the age of your firearm, the Date of Manufacture is on the end label of the box. Depending on age it may be the old 4 digit SPEC ORD number from the last several decades or if it is newer, it is now plainly shown as a date.

Thanks for all your responses. The s/n is: DNK5169. Any idea of its age?

The condition of that gun is not the factory’s fault. Either negotiate a better price or send it back. What this suppose to be an order from a distributor or just a stock gun from a gun shop? Show us a pic of the box label.

Skip54 said:

Thanks for all your responses. The s/n is: DNK5169. Any idea of its age?

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DNExxxx were being shipped in September and October this year (2020). I would think DNKxxxx would be very recent, very likely within the past month.

Marks on a new gun?

To me it looks like the wear on the front of the bbl is from holster wear. Im wondering it it was carried prior to its sale. As
somebody previously stated if it is a safe queen I would not be happy, if it is to be used and shot then take it to the range.

If it is going to be a shooter , then I would accept it if mechanically it felt right . I don't get caught up in the cosmetics as all mine are shooters and I have bought several new over the years . Regards Paul

ken158 said:

The condition of that gun is not the factory’s fault. Either negotiate a better price or send it back. What this suppose to be an order from a distributor or just a stock gun from a gun shop? Show us a pic of the box label.

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Thanks. The seller is a retailer - however, indicates they recently received this item directly from S&W. Claims it was never on display or handled in their possession. Photo of box label per your request.

The label shows a date of 12-4-20 so that's a newly shipped gun.

Someone dry-fired it a fair amount to make the turn-ring.

Looks to me to have had a rough time in shipping for whatever reason. At this time of year shippers are loaded up and IMO get very careless. I am a shooter so the cosmetic issues would not bother me a lot as in just a few days the turn line would be there to stay and it would surely be riding in a holster and getting a lot me blue wear soon. If the mechanics are OK I would keep it but the seller and I would have a discussion. The revolvers has definitely been handled a lot regardless of what he says.

Wouldn't surprise me if the store
owner was unaware of the gun's
condition. I suspect an employee
or two played with the gun before
it was finally sold.

I’d send it back and search for a “real classic” and find a 27-2 or earlier revolver!

Send it back for a full refund .
I can tell from the tone of your letter you will never be happy with all the "flaws" and "lack of quality" issues .... Just Send It Back , I don't think you will ever be satisfied with any other decision .
Gary

The turn line is a factory feature. Discussed on this forum many times over the years, but some folks are new and others need a refresher.

If the revolver is properly assembled with correctly fitting parts and function-checked as it is supposed to be through the process, the revolver will leave the factory with a turn line.

Depending on fit -- which can vary slightly even in the age of CNC and MIM -- the turn line will be greater or lesser. But it will be there and the presence of it on a new firearm does not necessarily indicate anything untoward happened at or after the factory.

Suggest a forum search: there's a delightful official letter from S&W to a concerned customer explaining the turn line as part of the design...written in the 1930s. The design hasn't substantially changed since.

If you're looking at a new S&W revolver and it truly has zero turn line (look closely, sometimes they're very faint, especially on stainless), suspect an undisclosed refinish or a poorly fit cylinder stop.

This can be confusing to some folk because the Colt design does allow, when very specifically fit and tuned, for the action to work without producing a turn line. This is not the case with S&W.

As to the front end of the barrel, perhaps it's the pic or my screen, but looking closely I see only faintly some uneven bluing -- not uncommon, now or in the old days. I'm not seeing anything that clearly appears to be marring or damage, but nothing replaces having the piece in hand for inspection.

See colt_saa's excellent post on what to expect of factory bluing these days. It is what it is. If you decide to hold on to the revolver, don't use Flitz or any other abrasive to try to improve the finish; you might get a little shine, it might diminish the most superficial of marks, but it will do these things by removing some of the bluing, is not likely to produce the results you want and might take you in the opposite direction. On stainless it can help, not really on blue.

All that said, provided the revolver in question passes mechanical inspection, I don't see an actual problem here. The torn wax paper can mean anything, but likeliest is it got snagged on the revolver and shoved around in transit; I don't think the condition of the wax paper matters, or is de facto indicative of anything, but to each their own.

OP, obviously it's up to you and you need to feel right about your purchase, but nothing presented thus far says to me this is a problem gun.