442 Canted Barrel?

[cirkuit]

I just picked up a 442 this week. At the range I noticed I was always hitting left. I never had this problem with a Taurus 605 snubbie I owned, and I'm spot on accurate with my GP100 in double action, so I'm not sure if it's the shooter or the gun. Attached is a photo of the front sight. Does it look canted? I'm not sure if this is normal and whether a slight misalignment like this would affect accuracy. I was typicaly about .5" - 1" left at 7 yards, even when from a bench rest. I don't want to go through all the effort of sending it out to Smith and Wesson if they are just going to tell me it's within spec and return it to me.

 

[Nacho Man]

Looks like your fs is slightly to the right.
Probably explains why ur hitting to the left

 

[APS]

Just verify that you are not jerking the trigger with some dry fire. Once that's verified then shoot it at 25yds, put some bigger grips on if you have them. When I had to send my 642 and 340 M&P in for clocked barrels they seemed to accept the 8" off @25yds as reason for them to fix it. I also told them I had it verified by the guy that wins all the local PPC matches. He also shot it and got the same results as me.

 

[cirkuit]

Just verify that you are not jerking the trigger with some dry fire. Once that's verified then shoot it at 25yds, put some bigger grips on if you have them. When I had to send my 642 and 340 M&P in for clocked barrels they seemed to accept the 8" off @25yds as reason for them to fix it. I also told them I had it verified by the guy that wins all the local PPC matches. He also shot it and got the same results as me.

I wondered that at first as well, so I shot it from a bench rest and shot 50 rounds at various distances. I had the same result; everything was left of center. Historically I've been more accurate with snub noses than even some of my auto loaders, so I started to think it was the gun on in this case (although this by far has the heaviest trigger of any J frame I've used). I only could shoot point of aim at ~4-5 yards, but that's likely too close to notice sights being off. My concern is that if I send it into S&W they'll tell me it's within spec and send it back without perfect alignment. I don't want to waste the time if that's going to be the result.

 

[Joe4d]

send it back, QC wont get better till we make warranty work more expensive than decent QC, even if they do nothing those fedex labels aint free

 

[Coaltminer]

442 Canted Barrel

Yes, it looks like it is slightly right where it meets the frame. I'd send it back, not quite center, not tightened enough? Don't do it yourself. I had a 4" 10 that shot 6" left at 20 yds. Filed front sight on the right to center it. Have had several 10's and they all shot center, including the 10-5, 2".

 

[Protocall_Design]

The front sight is a bit to the right, which would cause it to shoot left. The factory may say it is in spec., but turning the barrel to center the sight would fix the problem.

 

[Arquebus357]

That's not just a little off, it's way off. Just line the gutter up with the sight. I'd send it back . There's no way that is in spec.

Good luck

 

[Kframerbluvr]

This is inexcusable for a revolver intended for a defense firearm. Send it back.
I have a '75 Colt DS with the same issue. Golf ball size groups at seven yards but POI is three inches to the left.
My '13 442-2 is dead on at seven yards with bullet weights from 130-158 grains. Very pleased and it is the gun I carry off duty when a belt gun is not an option.

 

[mmn]

That's not just a little off, it's way off. Just line the gutter up with the sight. I'd send it back . There's no way that is in spec.

Good luck

This ^. If you look at the gutter and the serrated rail they are way out of alignment. Plus the front site looks misaligned to the barrel.

 

[Coaltminer]

This is inexcusable for a revolver intended for a defense firearm. Send it back.
I have a '75 Colt DS with the same issue. Golf ball size groups at seven yards but POI is three inches to the left.
My '13 442-2 is dead on at seven yards with bullet weights from 130-158 grains. Very pleased and it is the gun I carry off duty when a belt gun is not an option.

I had a Cobra from the mid-seventies, same issue, left but also high with 158 gr. I tightened the barrel, moving front sight a tad left, switched to 110 gr. bullets, dead on. Laser sighted at the factory, as advertised? I don't think so!

 

[S&WsRsweet]

Ok this is probabaly going to get me kickedoff the forum or something but years ago I was sort of a gun nerd and hung out with the fella that did all the work on the local police revolvers and did their reloads for range practice . The guys would sometimes have a gun that the sights needed " adjusting " a little left or right . These were fixed sighted revolvers . So all he did was had a big lead block he would lay a piece of leather over it and just take that gun and whop it on that lead block a couple of times until he got it shooting straight or straight to the officers eyes at least .Im not trying to say you should do this but I have done it to a couple of fixed sighted revolvers and it works fine for me your results may vary .I have a 638-3 that shoots straight as an arrow so they are putting out some good guns also sorry you are having a problem but the fix is easy and worse case you can send it to S&W anyway.

 

[armorer951]

I bought a 442-1 Pro Series two+ years ago that has a similar cant. It's been back to the factory twice and it's still canted. I finally gave up trying to get them to remedy the error. They don't consider it out of spec, and apparently, some degree of cant (or "can't") is now acceptable.

Put this on your quality inspection checklist if you are considering purchasing a new one.

 

[gnystrom]

The barrel needs to be tightened a bit. Contact S&W ask if you can send e-mail them your picture and work from there. If they tell you it looks OK to them, I would find a gunsmith that will take the few minutes required to tighten it the 1/16" it looks like it needs. Back and forth to S&W will drive you nuts. Sorry about your hassle. I've been there.

 

[Hithev]

Provided that the camera lens and the gun are properly aligned, it actually seems that the front sight is not centered.
The red lines drawn on the original shot might help judging

 

[GeoJelly]

I just checked my 442 no-lock, which I bought used, and sure enough it is canted a little bit. That said, it has CT laser grips on it so the canted barrel is no problemo. That said 2, I would have no probs if it were shooting up to an inch left at seven yards, that's still close to center-of-mass on the typical scum bag...

 

[mmn]

I just checked my 442 no-lock, which I bought used, and sure enough it is canted a little bit. That said, it has CT laser grips on it so the canted barrel is no problemo. That said 2, I would have no probs if it were shooting up to an inch left at seven yards, that's still close to center-of-mass on the typical scum bag...

That's kinda where I'm at too. At the distance this thing will ever get used, accurate sighting isn't going to be an issue...!

 

[turbo38gn]

That's kinda where I'm at too. At the distance this thing will ever get used, accurate sighting isn't going to be an issue...!

Exactly, not to mention, it's not a target gun, it's a SD gun... if ever used it would be within 15-20ft at the furthest.. and to be honest.. I don't think there would even be time to "aim through the sights" .. I always practice double tap, point and shoot at the range.. cause I expect that to be the case should the need arise to protect myself.

 

[Fchewy]

What if you want to target shoot at any distance? hitting anything at distance is hard enough with a J frame, If they are going to put a sight on a revolver they ought to be able to put it on straight....they make guns and if they can't do it right just leave it off, used to be a time when American Made meant something now China probably put's out better quality.

 

[turbo38gn]

What if you want to target shoot at any distance? hitting anything at distance is hard enough with a J frame, If they are going to put a sight on a revolver they ought to be able to put it on straight....they make guns and if they can't do it right just leave it off, used to be a time when American Made meant something now China probably put's out better quality.

I'm not saying it is ok, just pointing out what the gun was designed for ...