Lipseys 432UC , Going back :(

[Well Armed]

The lesson I learned the hard way is to wait for a new product to age a bit. Some have issues from being rushed to market chasing the almighty profit dollar.

It's not "really" a new product though and S&W has been doing there for centuries now.

The dimensions and semantics for J-frames already exist. The same thing with the internals, hammer, cylinder, cylinder release, grips, etc.... S&W offered a .32 H&R j-frame before in the past as well. It's not like a new to market semiautos or a complete redesign of their revolver. The model 66 and 69 Combat Magnums had some redesigns when they were released a few years back, so you'd have a point in their case, but the 432uc is really more of the same exact thing S&W has been doing, so they should have gotten it right.

 

[Well Armed]

Other than a trigger job, grips, everything is basically a polished up J frame that's been in production for decades. Smith has made 32 H&R before. I'm hoping just a out of spec part, and or human error.

You bear me too it as I was typing my response. I agree with you.

 

[lawandorder]

The United States will probably never return to the era of quality products , quality control and pride in products.

True for pretty much all things produced in this county in today's world ,not just firearms.

Sad. Want quality , buy stuff from times gone by.

 

[TAROMAN]

Maybe S&W executives were trained at same school as Boeing's..

 

[H Richard]

I purchased this 432PD in Aug 16. It was a new gun in a late edition when they were made. Still have it and have had no issues with it. It normally sits in my desk drawer, 2 ft from where I am currently sitting. I did sell off the 431PD (with the hammer) a couple years ago.

 

[Magnum_PI]

Sorry to hear that. I hope they promptly fix it for you.

Nothing like buying a new ANYTHING (but especially a gun) only to find out it don't work.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

You get what you pay for. <sarcasm>

It's about getting units out and profit over all. Shareholders need to make more money and management needs their bonuses and promotions at our expense.

The workforce of 2024 is slackers if you compare them to the workers of 1964 or even 1984. JMHO

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I purchased this 432PD in Aug 16. It was a new gun in a late edition when they were made. Still have it and have had no issues with it. It normally sits in my desk drawer, 2 ft from where I am currently sitting. I did sell off the 431PD (with the hammer) a couple years ago.

You should have kept the one with the hammer. One day as an arthritic Senior Citizen you may not be able to pull a trigger Double Action but you could manage Single Action. YMMV.

 

[Walter Rego]

These kinds of issues are not new, although I suppose they are a lot more common in recent years considering the number of reports of unacceptable defects we see on gun forums.

Back in 1974 I bought a brand new Remington 1100 12 gauge shotgun. I was friendly with the salesman in the store and he let me go through several in their stockroom and pick out the one with the nicest wood. I took the gun out to a local shooting area to give it a try. Click. No bang. Tried several times. The firing pin was barely denting the primers on factory shells. I took it back for an exchange. Good thing I tried it as dove season was only a week away and I was planning to go out of town for the opening weekend. It could have been a disaster had I not tested it first.

 

[Bullet Bob]

We hear about problems more often with today's information technology. In the Spring 2024 S&WCA Journal, there's an excellent article about a first year (1935) Registered Magnum returned almost right away by a Texas FBI agent for timing problems. Without diligent research by the author of the article we'd never know about this case. Today any problem reaches thousands right away; people with a problem tend to post on more than one forum.

 

[Well Armed]

We hear about problems more often with today's information technology. In the Spring 2024 S&WCA Journal, there's an excellent article about a first year (1935) Registered Magnum returned almost right away by a Texas FBI agent for timing problems. Without diligent research by the author of the article we'd never know about this case. Today any problem reaches thousands right away; people with a problem tend to post on more than one forum.

Exactly... just 30 or so years ago, none of us would have heard about or known about the OP's issues or any of the other hundreds of issues archived on this forum, YouTube, social media, and the internet. Now if one person had a problem, hundreds to hundreds of thousands hear about it.

Then there's the fact that S&W only manufactured a small percentage of revolvers and semiautos compared to today. If they only manufactured 75 thousand handguns annually in the 60s-80s and had a 2% return rate, that's only 1,500 returns that most will never hear about. S&W currently manufacturers between 1.6 million to over 2 million annually. If S&W only has a 1% return rate annually (which would be fantastic), that would be as many as a whopping 20 thousands returns each and every year that would be posted about ad nauseam online and discussed in detail!

 

[Shoebox1.1]

You get what you pay for. <sarcasm>

It's about getting units out and profit over all. Shareholders need to make more money and management needs their bonuses and promotions at our expense.

Are my bosses running that show too?? WTH? Today's world is all about profits, greed,profits, money, and profits. "How much do you need Mr Bossman?"

"Just a lil more….."

 

[stansdds]

I don't suppose you looked for burn rings around at least a few of the chambers before firing? I cannot imagine how that one managed to pass a factory test firing unless it wasn't tested.

 

[Well Armed]

Are my bosses running that show too?? WTH? Today's world is all about profits, greed,profits, money, and profits. "How much do you need Mr Bossman?"

"Just a lil more….."

What I also don't like is that they're cheapening their products to increase production time and profit too. I'll agree that some of the methods (pinned barrel, the finish, etc) in the past was better than today.

 

[Erich]

My goodness: thank you for sharing the sad story with us - here's hoping it has a happy ending, and soon. (My experiences with S&W Customer Service - albeit some years out of date - lead me to believe you will be quite happy, very soon.) Best of luck - I'll look for your update.

 

[Thooey]

The lesson I learned the hard way is to wait for a new product to age a bit. Some have issues from being rushed to market chasing the almighty profit dollar.

Unfortunately it's not just new models. I just got back from the range to try out my brand new 617 and the cylinder won't rotate with shells of any brand in it. I couldn't get one shot off. They couldn't have test fired it because they wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger. Off it goes to Smith. Not what I would expect for such an expensive 22!

 

[Nightowl]

I really, really like pre model 27s built in the early 1950s. They are usually spot on as far as the action is concerned, with early carry up and smooth follow through. However, I have bought two stinkers from that era that have been time consuming and somewhat difficult to make operational enough for me to shoot. Neither one should have left the factory, nor are they examples of the mainstream factory production. Neither one had been fired much since they left the factory some 70 years ago.
It just goes to show that there can be production lapses in every era.

 

[Mountain Man]

I don't suppose you looked for burn rings around at least a few of the chambers before firing? I cannot imagine how that one managed to pass a factory test firing unless it wasn't tested.

No I didn't check. It was very clean, the 12 rounds i managed to fire did leave some powder and grime that was definitely from me. So I'd hedge it wasn't fired, but could be wrong.

 

[otis24]

They used to shoot a full cylinder through before shipment but maybe they see the price of ammo these days so no shooting test....?????

I took my 940 to the gunsmith to have the chambers polished/honed due to sticky ejection. I sent 6 moon clips for test firing. When he called to tell me my revolver was ready, I asked if he had test fired it. His reply was "yeah, I fired all of your ammo. That thing was so much darned fun!". I laughed and told him that I was glad he enjoyed it. When I picked it up a couple of the other workers commented that "that's a neat little revolver ". 59 years old and this 940 is probably my best purchase yet!

 

[V-Eight]

I know the feeling...last year purchased the new FPC, went to the range, no bueno. I will say this though, Smith responded quickly to my return and had it back to me within three weeks so not too bad. It is kind of mind boggling that the one thing the gun is supposed to do it wouldn't...I can understand something loose or missing but no bang...come on.