About to purchase 640 Pro, QC issues worry me

[mtgianni]

From a friend who purchased one the third return to the factory has not yet been the charm.

 

[stainspoop321]

From a friend who purchased one the third return to the factory has not yet been the charm.

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s his issue(s)?

 

[stansdds]

Hi everyone. Long time lurker and first time posting! May I ask what benefits the 640 offers over a smaller lighter 442/642 jframe? I know the 640 has better sights and can shoot .357 but realistically it’s heavier and most will only carry and shoot with 38+P.

One thing that no one has yet to mention is that the aluminum J-frames can crack in the cutout for the crane, along the bottom of the barrel shank area. Steel frames do not have a reputation for cracking.

 

[slabside2]

What you want is a pre 1996 640-1 no MIM parts. There were some transition guns made where they did a mix of both in early 1996. You can usually tell by the forged trigger and the older style cylinder latch.

 

[chase45]

Buy a new one

Worst case scenario is you have to send it back for them to fix for free

I bought a 640 pro earlier this year. Looked it up and down for issues.

Didnt notice until a day later that a tool must have broke when they bored the cylinders. Sent it back and they fixed it at zero cost to me

Shoots good and carries great. Highly recommend that one

 

[Lucnic]

I looked long and hard at the 640 Pro. Really wanted one but bought a regular 640 instead. Just couldn’t justify the price. Plugged it, Wilson Combat spring kit, Uncle Mike’s boot grip, painted front sight orange. Absolutely love it.

 

[stainspoop321]

Just ordered, will keep everyone updated

 

[white cloud]

I bought a 640 Pro a few years ago. It had to go back because of cylinder gap and yoke issues. It's a pretty nice revolver now. It's crazy how much these cost these days and using these as EDC guns makes little sense to me because they might wind up in the evidence locker.

Given where we are nowadays, I decided to do some serious thinking about my EDC gun and switched to a Shield Plus. I love revolvers but for me there was just too many advantages with the Shield. I got two of them for about the same price as another 640 Pro. The Shield has great sights, a decent trigger, good night sights and is more compact than the Pro if I use the 10 round magazine. I carry a 15 round magazine as a reload. I also find the Shield a lot easier to shoot well than the Pro. Further more, the Shield was ready without plugs, new grips, springs. I just took it out of the box, cleaned it and shot it a bunch.

 

[stainspoop321]

Are you boys in for a treat or what

I got to Sportsman’s to pick up the revolver and upon inspection, immediately rejected the transfer.

Rust, y’all. Rust in the frame, rust in the bottom strap, entire inside of frame looked dirty and completely unfinished. If it’s not rust, I don’t know what the hell it could be. S&W logo under cylinder latch looked crude, like the black was shadowy/bleeding. Small spot rings on barrel, etc. I didn’t do much more of an inspection but obvious uneven tooling marks in 3 of 5 chambers (no, these chambers were not dirty from test firing. Shiny metal uneven tool marks in cylinders)

Only other thing I noticed was the cylinder release itself was a bit rough to actuate on each cylinder, not smooth whatsoever. Could be a break in-thing


I snapped a few pics but I was honestly in such disbelief this came new from factory, I just took a few bad pics and returned it lol. Just to note, these pictures do it justice. It looks worse in person.

So there’s my experience with a new 640 Pro. I appreciate everyone’s advice. In the meantime, I’ll continue to be on the hunt for a 640, Pro or not. Have some 640 listings I’m watching on gunbroker, may order another 640 Pro, I’m really not sure at this point.

Anyways, y’all take care, shout with any questions

 

[stainspoop321]

Figured out how to post pics

 

[MetalMan]

Wow...very sorry to hear about this experience.

The condition of the "new" firearm shown in those photos looks a darn sight worse than my 640-1 Pro and mine has been carried daily for the past 3 years.

This is the second posting/thread about a "new" S&W stainless revolver being delivered to a customer with evident rust present.

https://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-r.../730655-rust-new-sw-432uc.html?highlight=rust

Very sad state of affairs...

 

[mj2008]

Disgraceful that they let that leave the factory. Impossible they didnt see this. If you still want a .357 Id look at Colt or Ruger

 

[pasound]

That is indeed a mess. Looks chemically stained. And your description of the cylinder and chambers, while not seen in the pics, tells me no one even looked at it during assembly, let alone during inspection.

 

[chief38]

I'd go vintage if the S&W brand is what you want. That would require a knowledgeable inspection prior to buying one because you will not get a warranty with a used vintage model. If you are not well versed on what to look at and check out, bring someone with you who is.

If I might suggest as another option..... the newly manufactured version Colt is making of the Detective Special is called the Colt Cobra. It does not have any internal lock and the quality of the ones I've seen are super excellent! BTW, the Colt is just a wee bit bigger (very slight) but holds 6 rounds. The QC out of Colt these days is very high and you would also get the warranty.

 

[stansdds]

I stand by what I said in post #10 above. Plenty of gently used, older J-frames available. S&W's quality control issues seem to be getting worse, not better.

 

[slabside2]

Don’t discount the Kimber K6S it’s all stainless steel six shot 357 Magnum. I know Kimber had issues and always did with their semi auto’s but I own one of these revolvers and it’s beautifully made beautiful trigger. It reminds me of one of the older colt Python’s..

 

[olympicmotors]

Don’t discount the Kimber K6S it’s all stainless steel six shot 357 Magnum. I know Kimber had issues and always did with their semi auto’s but I own one of these revolvers and it’s beautifully made beautiful trigger. It reminds me of one of the older colt Python’s..

I second this . I also own an early 640 pro ( which has been flawless by the way ) and still carry the Kimber instead . I think that 6th round might be very important some day .