M41 Performance Centre, QC issues ?

[BJ343]

leinster, i'm also an aussie and have the same taste in pistols, and own a P226X5L1 and a M41

 

[leinster lad]

Hey BJ343, you have good taste in pistols my friend
I have the P226X5L1 in 9mm and the M41 Performance Centre.
Both are sensational guns and shoot way way better than me !

Currently exploring the prototyping of an adapter plate that replaces the rear sight on the X5, to mount a little red dot ( Buriss FF 3 )

Anyways, for all of you who have been wondering about my M41 barrel saga......

I just got it back this morning !!!
and it is looking fine

New barrel, new bolt and extractor, and they have cleaned up the daggy machining on the slide really well.
No work report, so I really do not know what they found to be wrong / faulty.
Cannot fault their gun-smithing. top notch.
However..... they really do need to improve on their customer service / communication skills....
and with the ease of email etc these days, there really is no excuse.

Off to the range tomorrow.
Hopefully the new barrel shoots straight.

I'll let you all know !!

 

[Barrie]

WE all have our fingers crossed for you and hope you have a really Nice Day to-morrow with your 41. If it shoots as good as it looks then I suspect you will be a Happy man for sure. Always nice to see a Happy ending. Merry Christmas also Mate from Canada as well.

 

[andyo5]

Odd, but there appears to be a line running down the center of the breech block, along the top. That implies it was cast to net shape, perhaps as a MIM part with no further machining on that surface. The recessed areas shown in your photo would correspond to areas of incomplete fill if this were the case. Can you verify whether the surface is not flat in that area?

 

[Barrie]

That barrel and block assembly are back at a shop in Australia somewhere I believe as they have repaired his gun with new parts. I doubt he has access to them anymore.

 

[leinster lad]

So listeners.... the saga continues......

Went to the range and fitted my Burris FF3 onto the rail.
better sight it in before the comp right ?

So I set up a target table and sand bag on one of the practice ranges.

Loaded 3 rounds into a magazine and inserted.

Got settled and lined up the dot on the 10 ring.

Gently pressed the slide release lever to chamber the first round..........

Well, the round did not even get into the chamber ! *** ???

Cleared the pistol and had a look.
Looks like the tip of the projectile is getting caught on the top of the feed ramp..... hmmm......

Cleared the pistol and removed the barrel for better look.......

I believe the pictures below tell the whole story.

To,say that I am disappointed would be the understatement of the year.

What the actual flock ???
This is a BRAND NEW BARREL , a top of the line Performance Centre version as well.

Looks like it never made it to the machining / finishing department. Maybe they were in a hurry to ship it out to me ?









I waited 13 months to get this replacement barrel to the Aussie distributor.
I waited 3 weeks for them to "repair" it
I waited 3 more weeks while the found time to "test fire" it.

It then turned up at my gun shop without any word from them that it was on its way.

There is NO WAY that they even attempted to test fire, as it will not chamber a round.

I am lost for words...........................

 

[leinster lad]

Sure, I could just polish out the roughness and nip off that little lip at the top of the ramp, where it becomes the chamber.
Heck, I could even pay a local gun smith to do it....

I really do not know.

What I DO know is that I will contact S&W for a please explain.

At the moment, I am quite angry........

 

[Barrie]

I am sorry to hear that now this has happened to you as well. That barrel could not have ever been anywhere's near the Quality control dept at all. Someones head should roll over this ridiculous mistake. This is very POOR Business dealings for sure.

 

[andyo5]

I don't blame you for being angry. I would be livid.
Can you email the S&W factory customer service department?

Send a Message

 

[leinster lad]

andyo5 ...Drafting an email as we speak. I have their international managers direct email address....
I am hesitant to really give them a serve though, as I do not want a negative outcome.
But you are right Barrie, it looks like it never even got to the QC dept ( or the finishing shop ! )
The Aussie dealer ( who fitted the new barrel ) really should have known better...

looks like I should have brought a Pardini....

Anyone with a M41 , can you please look at the feed ramp and tell me if it is factory polished, or just finished nice and smooth ???

 

[leinster lad]

Odd, but there appears to be a line running down the center of the breech block, along the top. That implies it was cast to net shape, perhaps as a MIM part with no further machining on that surface. The recessed areas shown in your photo would correspond to areas of incomplete fill if this were the case. Can you verify whether the surface is not flat in that area?

Hey @andyo5,
yep, it does look like a cast mark. I do not have it now to check further.
And yes, those dimples / divots etc were where metal was actually missing.
Something that would not happen on a machined piece of rolled steel, unless it was a particularly crappy piece of steel.

The new bolt does not have this line in it, looks and feels like a nice solid piece of steel.

Funny, because it almost looks like the barrel is cast as well.
Its un-machined surfaces look like an old 350 chevy engine block !!!

Actually, upon closer inspection it maybe a surface finish that they do, like glass bead blasting or some such.
Does not excuse the fact that the breech face and feed ramp on the barrel should have been machined and polished.

 

[leinster lad]

Not sure what this crud is around the rear sight dove tail. Almost looks like rust ?
Got a brush to it and got most of it off.

Could it be some sort of rosin or loctite compound to secure the rear sight ???

 

[leinster lad]

And this is how the bullet tries to load into the
chamber, and the damage done to the projectile.

 

[Tom S.]

Here's a picture of the barrel from my PC. Looks much like yours and functions fine:

Sorry I couldn't get a better angle but with a scope on, this is the best I can do.

 

[Tom S.]

Here's a pic of non-PC barrel, but a S&W barrel none the less:

As you can see, the barrel still has the step, but there is a slight chamfer on the leading edge on both of the barrels that is missing on yours. Hope that helps!

 

[Barrie]

I just checked both of mine, 41 and a 46 and they are polished on the face of the feed ramp. I would not hesitate to let the Big shots know about this problem as the factory is not going to get any better unless folks Scream like heck There is no excuse for this at all with what this product costs and the time delay is also extremely POOR SERVICE also. I personally would ask for the Pres of the Company and give him a earful. He can speed things up and have the job done correctly for you which he should do.

 

[Tom S.]

I personally would ask for the Pres of the Company and give him a earful. He can speed things up and have the job done correctly for you which he should do.

Good luck with that. Besides the time difference and the cost of calling from Oz, presidents have secretaries who intercept such calls with "Sorry, he's busy" or "Sorry, he's at lunch" or any of a dozen other excuses. It is extremely rare for a president of a major company to respond in person to phone calls.

 

[Barrie]

A Good Pres of any Company will listen to any and all calls wether good or bad. Its the true way of knowing whats really going on within his company. If he's worth anything at all in his job then he should take this ph call for sure. I spent 7 years working in a big office for a major corp as the big guys chauffer. A Good leader wants to know what is going on as its his job to be on top of all problems like this especially when they take so long to resolve. This is something the stock holders should demand.

 

[wproct]

I have been following this thread for a while, and I just got my model 41 out to take a closer look at it. Mine is a 2007, and not a PC model. Of course mine is a matte finish model, but the barrel on my pistol does look significantly different that the one that you are showing. By the way, your photos are very good and make it very easy for you to tell your story to S&W. Whatever standard Smith & Wesson has set for their handguns, the fit and finish of the model 41 should be at the higher end of that standard, and I think your photos speak volumes as to why you would feel that you have been short changed. I will continue to follow your thread to see how S&W addresses your issues.

 

[Tom S.]

A Good Pres of any Company will listen to any and all calls wether good or bad. Its the true way of knowing whats really going on within his company. If he's worth anything at all in his job then he should take this ph call for sure. I spent 7 years working in a big office for a major corp as the big guys chauffer. A Good leader wants to know what is going on as its his job to be on top of all problems like this especially when they take so long to resolve. This is something the stock holders should demand.

We all know how we'd like things to be, but I'm telling you how they are.