Any experience with S&W Performance Center Gun-smithing services?

[MERV5-5505]

Hello All-

I was considering sending one or more of my S&W revolvers into S&W for their Master Revolver Action Package & a matte glass-beading refinish, (on stainless.)

My question is two-fold:

1- Has anyone had experience with S&W's Performance Center's gun-smithing services, good or bad, (in particular the Master Action package. Any regrets or otherwise?

2- What is the quality of their factory glass-beading finish on stainless revolvers.

Thanks in advance for your time & opinions.

Be well & stay safe,

Mike

 

[Beemerguy53]

Hi, Mike...here's my take on this:

I own two Performance Center revolvers at this time, both of which I've had for 15 years.

The first is an F-Comp, which is the Model 66 with a 3" Power-Port barrel, Trijicon sights, and a bead-blasted finish. It's beautiful, with a nice even finish, which is a bit worn from years of shooting and handling and cleaning. (This gun is not a safe queen!)

My second PC revolver is a 640 Carry-Comp, a J-Frame chambered for .38 Spl.+P, with a Power-Port barrel. This revolver had a polished stainless finish, which I have maintained over the years with Simichrome polish.

I carried the 640 Carry Comp for several years, when I was working part-time in a job which qualified me for a concealed-carry permit here in the Peoples' Republic of Maryland. With that in mind, I sent the 640 back to S&W to have them install an XS Big Dot night sight, and to have the leading edge of the cylinder beveled.

When installing the sight, whoever tapped it in hit the edge of the sight dovetail and put a little ding in it. The sight is installed properly, but that ding is unsightly to me. When I sent it to S&W, I had thought the cylinder beveling would look like what I've seen on those beautiful older Smiths, or on the modern 629s, but whoever did it just broke the corner of the cylinder's leading edge, and didn't really do that evenly around the cylinder. In this case, with both the sight installation and the cylinder beveling, I could have done as good or better a job as S&W did using my own punches and my Dremel, and saved myself some money.

For my money, the next time I need any gunsmithing done on my S&Ws, I think I will use a reputable local 'smith.

 

[500 Magnum Nut]

Send them in. The PC does very good work.

 

[gasaman]

I purchased a used M29-4 about a year ago. I sent it to S&W for the Master Revolver Action Job and a High Gloss Re-blueing. I'm very happy w/ both aspects of their work on my 29, here it is w/ a set of Jerry Miculek grips.

 

[CCV]

The PC made a new cylinder for my 28-2. I then had them perform a Master Action job and a complete refinish.

Outstanding work.

 

[RickB]

I had a Master Action Job performed on my Thunder Ranch 22, and within a few hundred rounds, the cylinder stop is pecking between chambers, and a burr is being raised on the edge of the cylinder notches. I'm also getting about 10% misfires with some ammo. I'm assuming they'll fix it, but the gun has now gone back twice, and there's not even 2000 rounds through it.

 

[HenrySCTN]

I had them do the Master Action Job on a 22-4. The work and the turn around time was very good. The only problem I had was that it would only set off Federal ammo or reloads with Federal primers reliabily. My father in law has it now and with his reloads (using Fed primers) he hasn't had any problems that I know of. He compares the trigger pull to a 25-2 that was worked over by Andy Cannon twenty years ago.