627-5 performance center full of burrs

[Jnw19811]

I just purchased my second performance center model and it's full of burrs. Has anyone ever had this problem? I sent Smith and Wesson some pics and an email.

 

[qrachel]

Difficult to accept when it's a PC piece or any other high caliber revolver for that matter, but S&W will stand behind it. How does it shoot? Keep us informed.

R

 

[warf73]

I also just bought a new 627 with great disappointment, in QC from S&W.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/364956-received-new-627-a.html
Take a look at post #4, this is my first Smith and Wesson firearm ever and I'm woundering if I made a mistake by not buying another GP100.

I did send S&W an email with my concerns with the pics you see, nothing yet but there auto responce did say it could take up to 5 busness days to get a reply.

 

[wolverine]

Morning Jnw19811;

I was likewise disappointed in a new 686-6 I just bought. The barrel & exterior of mine looked pretty decent (why I bought it). But inside, the machining was 6th grade shop class at best.

It also had lots of burrs on the extractor ratchet & when those burrs wore away with some usage one cylinder quit carrying up & locking properly at slow hammer cock.

It's back at Smith for repair right now.

Looks like Smith must have their machining process pushed to the max plus a little to keep up with current demand.

 

[Jnw19811]

Still no reply

No reply yet from Smith and Wesson... Frustrating to spend that much money on a revolver and be this disappointed.. When they say things like "performance center" and make stamens like "Performance Center guns originate from standard designs or are created from the ground up. From hand-cutting and fitting to fine tuning for precision, these firearms are top performers. Products from the Performance Center are the ultimate expression of old-world craftsmanship blended with modern technology. " you just expect more from and Wesson.

 

[Zelig]

Sorry to hear that. I bought my 627-5 Performance Center last year and it was fine. It was made before all the demand peaked.

Good luck. S&W will stand by your purchase but it shouldn't have happened.

 

[Nick B]

Doesn't surprise me after watching the You Tube video of the PC actually building them .Workers seemed to be in a big hurry and to me looked like they were just slapping them together .

 

[ken158]

When I went to the armorer's school in the 80's, the fitters were paid per gun and if an inspector/shooter found a problem it went back to the fitter for repair. This is why some new guns are not been fired, some fired every other cylinder and some all cylinders. A fitter's reputation depended on how many of his "rack" of ten guns got passed without shooting or were shot and passed or were shot and failed. Hence the second go around all cylinders were fired. Now it appears that maybe union rules have them on an hourly wage and production precludes perfection...

 

[KLYDE]

This is just not right. How can management allow guns with these obvious flaws go out the door? People are spending big money on these guns and expecting an acceptable product. We understand that the bottom line is $$$$. Don't they realize that letting defective guns out the door will ultimately tarnish reputation and sales and the profit will suffer.

 

[michaelnel]

I only own one PC revolver, a .44 magnum Stealth Hunter purchased new just a couple months ago.

I don't think these things are massaged by S&W's best gunsmiths, and if they are, they need to find some better ones. The internal action parts on mine were rough and had obviously not been worked by a competent gunsmith. My buddy and I followed Jerry Miculek's video and used a Power Customs stoning jig and fine & very fine stones, and my Stealth Hunter now has the finest trigger I have ever felt in a revolver.

I think the PC guns are basically different designs (the majority of which I find to be hideous looking), but from my observed sample of one, they sure don't do anything special to the internals or QA.

 

[Stainz]

My pair of early re-released PC627-5 UDRs were perfect save the ill-fitting little OEM grips and one slightly offset from center front sight. S&W replaced the grips - one actually fit properly, allowing me to decide I didn't really like it's hand fit, so I replaced them anyway. I 'eye-balled' the front sight with a brass drift and 4 oz ball pein hammer - it was one click off at 20yd! Great triggers - slick action - certainly better than my 4" 627 Pro was out of the box (Now it is the standard - slicked by me and time - resprung with light Wolff springs. The UDRs were left original as to hammer springs as they might be home/car defenders.).

I became accustomed to 'rough' machine-work on my Rugers, assuming them to always being delivered as 'works in progress'. I discovered S&W 9/02 - and they have all been delivered in fine shape - unlike my Rugers. I divested myself of all of my Ruger revolvers, save one - my SS 'Old Army' BP revolver, in favor of my new passion - S&W. Most of my S&W's were made '02 or later - and from my experience the OP's example 'slipped through' - it isn't characteristic of S&W's regular production, much less that of the PC Shop. Send it back!!

Stainz

 

[Bearbait in NM]

My recent purchase of a new 625-8 (pc 45 acp) had a horrendous burr around the outside edge of the barrel forcing cone. It looks like it was cut and squared with a cutter, and someone failed to remove the burr. It was an easy fix for me. It tended to put me in the camp who think PC revolvers are mostly cosmetic and design differences, more than individual craftmanship.

The only other thing I found to be a headscratcher was the strain screw. It was backed out some. When I checked and reseated it I did not make note of how much of a turn. My SS gun will shoot this screw loose even when torqued down. If they are losening this screw to give the false sense of an action job, I can only imagine how many calls they get to return revolvers for light strikes. Or how many folks post on forums or search for this answer.

And I do love this gun, and am having a lot of fun with it.

Craig

 

[CScott]

I got my 627 Pro about a year and a half ago. This may have been built pre-shortages, I don't know, but it was very good right out of the box, excellent trigger DA and SA, and very accurate. Naturally, I took it apart anyway and tinkered with it but it really needed nothing. It goes just about everywhere with me now. I did notice the mainspring screw got loose after a few hundred rounds so I am watching that.
I am not sure if the PC guns have anything to offer for the extra money.
Scott

 

[Buckfish]

I was a machinist for 32 years, working on small & big jobs , there is absolutely NO excuse for any burrs anywhere on any gun. It is a sign of sloppy workmanship & in today's world of cnc machinery it should never happen. I recently bought a 627 & have found 2 burrs & a buger, very disappointing. Bought a Springfield xdm made in Croatia & it was perfect. Where the heck is our craftsmanship ???

 

[Jnw19811]

Either someone felt this was good enough or no one looked at the gun gun at all before it left the performance center. Either way it's unacceptable. I received a generic response after a few days of waiting asking for more technical info and saying they would put me in another 5 day cycle of waiting for an rma to return it. Jus winder what I'm going to get for for the trouble? Will they just dust off whatever I complain about and send it back like I should be grateful or will they actually take they time to go go through this firearm and make it right. Only time will tell.. I have a lot more firearms to buy in my lifetime and I planned on a lot of them being Smith and Wessons. I hope that doesn't change

 

[jaymoore]

Ach, PC guns have had their share of faults since the '90s. Never have seen one with any internal tuning, either. One of my first PC revolvers, a 627 V-8, had a compensator which showed individual tooth marks in the rearmost slot which appeared to have been caused by the cutter fracturing! (This was LONG before I had a digital camera and was probably around 1997 or so.) I sold it to a friend who used it for a while at Steel Challenge matches. Worked fine, but has since been retired, I think.

One reason I still insist on "inspect before buying"! I turn my nose up at way more S&Ws, old and new, than I actually squander money upon. Have seen all sorts of hideousness from the factory fairly regularly on 1970 and newer vintage revolvers. But when they get it right, it's hard to beat!

 

[Jnw19811]

I would have loved to inspect it before I bought it but unfortunately finding this model locally let alone any wheel guns at the moment seems next to impossible. None of my local shops could get one they all laughed when I called around so I ordered it from a shop out of state. I wish I could have inspected it better and I also wish the shop would have returned it to Smith and not sold it. Was new from a authorized Smith dealer.

 

[michaelnel]

My recent purchase of a new 625-8 (pc 45 acp) had a horrendous burr around the outside edge of the barrel forcing cone. It looks like it was cut and squared with a cutter, and someone failed to remove the burr.

My 629-6 Stealth Hunter had the exact same issue, in fact it still does. It also has many other issues that a $1600+ gun shouldn't have.

The cylinder to barrel gap is a loose .008". That's quite a bit bigger than it oughta be on a hand-fitted revolver, and it emits HUGE flash out the sides when shooting full power .44 magnum loads.

The "trigger stop" is a joke. It is not adjustable, it is simply a roll pin that allows considerable rearward movement after the trigger breaks. I guess it's adjustable in that you could file it down so it would be even more useless, but normally trigger stops are supposed to limit the rearward travel of the trigger, and this one doesn't do that correctly. The one on my Les Baer 1911 is an adjustable one (allen screw) that allows me to adjust it so there is no detectable rearward movement of the trigger after the trigger break. That's how it should be.

The back side of the cylinder release has edges so sharp that it has gouged the side of the frame from movement. If they had de-burred it or at least knocked off the edges, it wouldn't have damaged the frame.

The machining of the chambers in the cylinder is rough, like they were cut with a worn out cutter.

It has that "drift adjustable" front sight in a dovetail, but with an adjustable rear sight, who needs a drift adjustable front one? And when I asked S&W if they have alternative front sights for it or if they know who does, the answer was that they don't, and they referred me to HiViz who also doesn't have anything that fits it.

This is all pretty crappy for a revolver with MSRP of $1619. I really enjoy the gun now, (after we did a trigger job on it), but if I had known then what I know now, I would not have bought it, and I will not be fooled by S&W marketing again.

 

[flundertaker]

Yep. This is why the for sale section is full of late production guns. also why the demand and prices for classics have gone thru the roof. I have 2 PC guns a 629-5 and TRR8 both are pre insanity and run very well. The quality of the 629-5 is superior to the later TRR8 however.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk

 

[Bearbait in NM]

My 629-6 Stealth Hunter had the exact same issue, in fact it still does. It also has many other issues that a $1600+ gun shouldn't have.

The cylinder to barrel gap is a loose .008".........

The "trigger stop" is a joke....

.

My gap is 0.007, but it is even on both sides on all chambers, and given that S&W will go 11, I was happy. I also have no endshake, so 7 will work for a long while, I hope.

Yup, the trigger stop is kinda useless. Not obvious in DA mode, it was driving me crazy in SA. I glued and press fitted in a solid pin inside the factory roll pin, and dressed it down to perfect, for SA. I was afraid I would wreck the trigger trying to remove the roll pin. Plus the solid inner pin now means no gaping roll pin hole to possibly collect crud or debris that could block the trigger ;^) The mim hollow back trigger would never be correct with a through screw like a 1911 trigger, so I felt the roll pin was reasonable, just marginally executed.

Craig