Ever have a S&W you hated?

[hannstv]

Mine was a model 59. The DA pull was so bad I can't think of a good description. It and I could not hit anything. Didn't keep it a full day, traded it for a new Browning Hi-Power, plus a lot of cash, which is still new in the box 30 years later. Really needed another 9mm.

 

[A10]

Another vote for a 59. It shot hardball just fine, but any hollow point jammed it up. The grip angle was wrong for me also, so I traded it for a 9mm Beretta, and traded that one off for something else. I don't have any 9's right now, guess I should just out of principle. Maybe a nice 39....

 

[Smith357]

Just one, as as with many of the others in this thread it was a bottom feeder. It was a 22s Target, it would not feed anything reliably, ate recoil buffers like they were candy, pretty darn inaccurate, and felt like a brick in the hand.

 

[mac2]

was always something fiddly and unappealing about any .22 for me; preferred airguns to be honest.

 

[moosedog]

I guess I have been very lucky and never experienced an S&W that I hated or even had serious problems with.
Of course I have not bought a new S&W since the late 1980s.

Knock on wood.

 

[Snapping Twig]

I've had two, both were 686's. First one was a LH 2.5" I bought new. It had a dead cylinder, by this I mean that every so often that one cylinder would not fire. You'd never know when, but it was constant enough to make me aware and thankful when a full 6 shots worked - kind of like a scratch on a record you like - you get used to the scratch spot.

Traded it off with full disclosure to a gunsmith.

The other was a 4" 686-2 that shot LOW. No matter what I did, it shot low with my ammo. I even replaced the rear sight blade with S&W's tallest blade and it was almost acceptable, but when a 4" 586-1 appeared at the local candy store, I sold it and bought the better 586. The finish of the 686 was best described as rough. Tool marks, sharp edges, unfinished rough edges on the forcing come - not the best foot forward IMO.

Add to this, the barrel was clocked when I got it and I sent it to S&W on my dime for that and to get it to shoot to POA. S&W did neither correctly and it still shot low and had a clocked (just not as bad) barrel.

It got sold.

The 586 shoots perfectly with my ammo using the 6 O'Clock hold I favor. Feels better when shooting too, but I can't pin down why that would be. I use the same Hogue grip I swapped over from the 686.

 

[Kavinsky]

80's K22 that never fired all of its cartridges in one take, about 3 or 4 of them never fired, sent back to smith and wesson in MA twice for this problem and once to a "master" gunsmith and neither of them could fix the ****ing thing.

dumped at kittery trading post with full disclosure a number of years ago and replaced with a 50's beat to hell k22 thats always worked with all shots and under all conditions.

for my dad it would be that 686 that put him off of smith and wesson for damn near 30 years that locked up on the first 6 shots of fresh factory ammo at a gun range in 82 - 83' when the gun first came out, kind of funny that it turned out to be that model too, I've always hated the 686 since I first saw it and didnt know why.

little wonder now and thank god he didnt find that out the hardway either!


and Joni_Lynn what was wrong with the 27? did it just not fit you?

 

[Double-O-Dave]

Just two - a Model 6904 9mm that always shot low and gave washtub sized groups - this despite two trips back to the factory; and a Sigma 40F. I still have the Sigma, and it's a fine gun, my problem is that I paid too much for it when they first came out, and I "had to have one". I'll never get my money back on it, but it is the softest shooting .40 that I own. I traded the 6904 off years ago on a Model 625 after full disclosure at my local gun store. By the way, on the second trip back to the factory, S&W Customer Service indicated they replaced the barrel and that the pistol was within normal specifications. Their repairs didn't really improve things, and I've been reluctant to try the 69 series since then.

Regards,

Dave

 

[PA Reb]

I had a 27 that I couldn't wait to get rid of.

!

 

[michael thornton]

had a no dash 686 4 inch shot very bad with any ammo i used in it, traded it for a 21/2 686 that shot great!

 

[medxam]

I agree with Rule3 that my Model 317 Airweight, 3" is the worst. Like Rule3, I just had to have it and paid a lot of good money for it. I do love this revolver. It is the perfect jacket pocket piece. It just shoots like hell! The trigger is awful and the accuracy (probably because of the trigger pull) is just as bad. I would like to get it fixed and be able to use it. I am not in the mood to take a bath on it until I try.

Does any member have any suggestions. I have seen many complaints on this revolver over the years. Is there anyone out there that has done something to theirs to make it a favorite piece to just carry around in a jacket pocket and expect it to shoot reasonably well?

Many thanks,

 

[Thuer]

I do own a Schofield second model. I love this revolver becouse she looks great. But she shoots like a whet newspaper. I can't hit anything with it. I do own a model double action model 1881 to. Same story.
They are in my collection becouse I love they are old Smith and Wesson revolvers. Would I depent my lfe on it? Heck Now. On that way they let me down. Do I let them go? What do you think?

What that about real good stuff, I get my New Model 3. Now that is an Revolver with A big R for revolver. Accurate, trusworthy and loveley.
With enough ammo I will survive.

 

[Dueeast]

A model 22A that I thought was a piece of junk. (cheap). Got rid of it and bought a Ruger MK III

 

[M29since14]

The only "bad" S&W I can recall was a 6-inch Model 66 that would not keep 6 rounds on a 14x14" piece of cardboard at 15-yards. Luckily, the seller was a gentleman and allowed me to return the gun, even though I told him I had fired it and what I found wrong with it.

It was actually an intriguing gun. I sort of wish I had it back because it was a perfect example of a gun that wouldn't shoot, in spite of the fact that careful examination revealed nothing wrong with it. I even asked a very well known pistolsmith for ideas of what might be wrong with the gun. Everything checked out and all measurements taken were within expectations, but the gun would not shoot with any .357s I put in it. A great curiosity.

I think the OPs Model 41 likely needed its barrel properly fitted. Most 41s from that era seemed to group fairly well but I remember being told by someone at S&W that even though they sell Model 41 barrels as an accessory, not all barrels will shoot well on all guns. A little tweaking usually solves the problem.

 

[phs3194]

None that I really hated. I have had two J-frame snubbies that I sold because they just didn't fit my hand.

 

[dinooch]

None that I really hated. I have had two J-frame snubbies that I sold because they just didn't fit my hand.

None that I really hated either but two I got rid of. A Sigma .380 with that awful zinc slide and a Model 457 .45acp that I didn't like the trigger and resulting poor accuracy. The Sig P245 I replaced it with is far superior.

 

[sps282]

Starting to develope a dislike for S&W .380 body guard recently purchased just doesn't seem very accurate...but it could be me...not really sold on .380 although many think it's adequate!

 

[Revolver-time]

Two S&Ws I just don't like. The first was a Escort. I never could get a full mag. thru it. Jam-Jam-Jam-***. The other is my 19-3, for completely the opposite reason. It is tight and just too nice to shoot. I will end up trading it off. I can't afford a gun I don't use.

 

[Rule 303]

Model 645 that the "Off/On" Switch on the right side of the slide kept falling off after four to six round. Tried everything to get it to stay on, nothing worked. Traded it off.

Rule 303

 

[S. Hammer]

Two. Both department issue guns. A 669. Went from carrying my privately owned six inch 66 which I shot master with, to a 3 1/2" aluminum framed auto with the ergonomics of a two by four. Hated it as I could barely qualify with it. Then got issued a DAO Model 4046. NIB, with a trigger pull of around 30 lbs. Again, hated it and barely qualified with it. Back to shooting master again with a Gen 4 Glock 35.