Quality, in my opinion. I had a new one that caused me a little extra Valium intake. That was one. Beautiful M27-9, 4”, very nice blue, and wood. We’re friends now! Other new ones include a no lock 442 Airweight .38 spl., Jframe bodyguard.38 spl. lightweight, an EZ380 pistol, and I think I’m forgetting one. My 629-6 was 2 or 3 years old when I got it, but it’s fine. The three lightweight guns were for my 3 girls. I shot the snot out of them to make sure zero issues. So, one out of four is not a very good percentage, but what I’m saying is we see many reports of issues with a new purchase. I’m not kissing rings, but if I see one I like, a few bad apples won’t stop me. I’ve seen guys with multiple bad ones, so I understand. But, I still believe they put out a good product.
I hope someone may agree. S&W, Colt, Rugers all put out a good product most of the time.
Jeff T…..please don’t beat me too much!

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There's a Monster on the loose

Colt's QC has definitely improved. Ruger's QC, fit and finish has steadily improved as well (except for their lousy trigger).

S&W's QC has never been worse IMHO! Their repair department is and has been overwhelmed for many years with guns that should have never left the factory in the condition they were shipped in! They are famous for having to send in a gun multiple times for the same complaint or defect. Mostly I blame the CEO and COO as "mud" flows only downward. They set the tone and they have not set a very good one!

I KNOW we are on the S&W Forum. I KNOW we are all S&W aficionado's. I KNOW we ALL wish it wasn't really this bad - but being nice because we are S&W Guy's and Gal's will not fix the problems they have - and BTW they caused!

I SINCERELY HOPE that the move to TN helps them find better employees, develop a better attitude, better ethics and morals and that in turn gets us a better product. I WISH I did not have to state this (I truly do not enjoy doing it either) but hiding our heads in the sand doesn't help.

In all fairness, humans tend to complain about issues far more often than they will give praise for something that is good. That being said, S&W's quality has been on the decline, especially during and after the panicdemic. Would I refuse to buy a new S&W? If I could give it a thorough examination and function check and everything was good, I'd still buy it. I would not buy one without performing a thorough check.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Absolutely! I read all these posts about QC at Smith & Wesson and on the one hand, it makes me shake my head. There's way too many, right? Well, not so fast. Contrast against the factory's output and I think you'll see that they pretty well keep on top of it. I give them credit for how they handle most complaints - they don't make excuses, they just try to make it right. Are there exceptions? Of course. When that happens, then we need to step up and hold their feet to the fire until we're satisfied with our firearms.
Am I a "fan" of S&W? Damn right I am. I'm not ashamed to say that I would trust any of the ones in my gaggle o' guns for self defense for me or my family, period!

Over a decade ago, I purchased a 27-9 and a 36-10 from the “Classic” series. Both revolvers have seen heavy range use over that time with no problems whatsoever. But all the horror stories with QC issues on new Smith revolvers have given me pause on making any additional new acquisitions. Hard to have a sense how the numbers really breakout between products that are ptoblem free vs. those that have issues.

It is my understanding that the all-metal revolvers will still be made in Springfield, MA. Is that not true?