New 442-2 with "Crooked" Barrel?

[-db-]

Here's a photo of mine showing the same gap. If I hold the gun up to light, it's more apparent but you can see the top of an obvious gap in the photo:

Looking closely at it in person, it looks to me like that area of the barrel, the rear face of the top rib, may be slightly angled away from the frame, perhaps by design. Or maybe it's the upper front face of the frame that tapers slightly away from the barrel.

As for the cylinder gap, you can measure it with feeler guages. If you don't have those handy, try to take a good look at the gap holding the gun up to some light to see if the cylinder face and the face of the cone are at least parallel.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

I purchased a new 500 several years ago and when I go home I noticed the rear sight was out of alignment. Took it back to the dealer and he tried to adjust it...no luck. He took the gun and sent it back directly to S&W. Had it back from S&W completely fixed in 4 days.

Your dealer should be handling this problem.

 

[bgrafsr]

If it were me, I would have asked for the Customer Service persons supervisor, and gave him an earful about the reps attitude.

Secondly, I would not deal with that FFL dealer again either, after giving him an earful about his responsibilities..

 

[Robinett_11B]

Here's a photo of mine showing the same gap. If I hold the gun up to light, it's more apparent but you can see the top of an obvious gap in the photo:

Looking closely at it in person, it looks to me like that area of the barrel, the rear face of the top rib, may be slightly angled away from the frame, perhaps by design. Or maybe it's the upper front face of the frame that tapers slightly away from the barrel.

As for the cylinder gap, you can measure it with feeler guages. If you don't have those handy, try to take a good look at the gap holding the gun up to some light to see if the cylinder face and the face of the cone are at least parallel.

Thanks for the pic, -db-. I do see your barrel also "sloping" down too. Although I can't really tell if it's as much as mine. And about the rib tapering from the frame or vice versa, it may be made like that...for fitting purposes or something else, but I know the 642 I saw it compared to most definitely had no gap whatsoever and the barrel was obviously straighter.

 

[Robinett_11B]

If it were me, I would have asked for the Customer Service persons supervisor, and gave him an earful about the reps attitude.

Secondly, I would not deal with that FFL dealer again either, after giving him an earful about his responsibilities..

I'm not trying to cause a bunch of friction when it comes to getting my gun taken care of. I know that guy is just a rep not a tech and sits at a phone all day, and he ~shouldn't~ of been condescending like he was, but like I got "one of those guns" I just chalk it up to getting "one of those reps". I'm reserving my judgement on S&W CS til I can see what they'll do about my barrel. As for the local dealer, they have always had the best prices in a 50 mi radius and have never really given me any problems. They said they'd mail it to smith or I could...I'm weighing whether I should or they should. I'm thinking having them involved might just make the process longer, since there really ins't anything on their shoulders here. They plainly state, as most shops do, that all sales on firearms and ammo are final. They said I could let their smith see what he could do, but I feel better going with the warranty on this one. Thank you for your input, any and all is appreciated!

 

[Robinett_11B]

Oh, and when S&W emails the shipping label...would I just put the gun back in the blue box, then put that in a cardboard box, then mail it? Or would S&W actually send you a box too? Excuse my igonrance. I did read the intructions, I just couldn't really seem to come up with a definite conclusion.

 

[Robinett_11B]

I purchased a new 500 several years ago and when I go home I noticed the rear sight was out of alignment. Took it back to the dealer and he tried to adjust it...no luck. He took the gun and sent it back directly to S&W. Had it back from S&W completely fixed in 4 days.

Your dealer should be handling this problem.

So, it would be better to have the dealer send the gun back to S&W instead of me? I've heard conflicting statements on this. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to see this resolved. It seems like I'd be more able to check on the status of my 442 if I had sent it in...but maybe not? Thanks for the advice...

 

[-db-]

Robinett, here's a cropped close-up shot of the barrel/frame gap on your gun from one of your photos. The vertical line I added shows that the rear face of the top of the barrel is indeed angled away from the front face of the frame. Whether this is by design or not will have to be addressed by S&W. If you see a similar angle with the cylinder gap, you can conclude that the barrel is indeed bent down within the frame somehow.

 

[Jason68]

There is no "sloping"

Robinett & guys, I too have a new production 442 (no-IL) that I bought a bit over a year ago. I have no gap, and I agree that may, or may not be an issue. As far as the "sloping down" that is perfectly normal - the top of the frame and the top of the barrel do not align, nor do the bottoms. The real alignment, whenever you are looking at machinery, is centerline of bore or shaft. The barrel bore & cylinder, and the ejector rod (shaft) are exactly where they should be on my gun, and I suspect they are on yours, too. If there is an error, then it is probably that the barrel was not pressed into the frame all the way. The gun may still function and fire normally. Keep us posted.
Edit - well, now db has me thinking that your barrel was pressed in crooked, we'll wait for the word from the factory, I guess...

 

[Robinett_11B]

Damn

Robinett, here's a cropped close-up shot of the barrel/frame gap on your gun from one of your photos. The vertical line I added shows that the rear face of the top of the barrel is indeed angled away from the front face of the frame. Whether this is by design or not will have to be addressed by S&W.

I wish I would of thought to crop and make a more graphic representation like that when I emailed S&W! I saved that pic though. Thanks for putting that together, -db-.

 

[Iggy]

Definitely have S&W do it. Dealer sending it back may be cheaper and safer.
I think? S&W will call you before they do anything with your gun. That should give you a chance to express your desires about a gun without a lock.

 

[Robinett_11B]

Robinett & guys, I too have a new production 442 (no-IL) that I bought a bit over a year ago. I have no gap, and I agree that may, or may not be an issue. As far as the "sloping down" that is perfectly normal - the top of the frame and the top of the barrel do not align, nor do the bottoms. The real alignment, whenever you are looking at machinery, is centerline of bore or shaft. The barrel bore & cylinder, and the ejector rod (shaft) are exactly where they should be on my gun, and I suspect they are on yours, too. If there is an error, then it is probably that the barrel was not pressed into the frame all the way. The gun may still function and fire normally. Keep us posted.
Edit - well, now db has me thinking that your barrel was pressed in crooked, we'll wait for the word from the factory, I guess...

Thanks, Jason68. I think I can understand what you would be saying about a barrel that is normal and within soecs that still may ~appear~ to be off but, like you edited to add, it looks pretty well off center. I wish I had anouther x42 to compare it to in the the photos, the side-by-side comparison really make it obvious. If there's any other photos I can take to help you guys out in helping me, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks for all your help -Rob

 

[Robinett_11B]

Definitely have S&W do it. Dealer sending it back may be cheaper and safer.
I think? S&W will call you before they do anything with your gun. That should give you a chance to express your desires about a gun without a lock.

Thanks, Iggy. That was one of the things I was trying to get out of the service rep. I had asked whether or not I'd be informed of what action was going to be taken about the barrel issue before anything was done and he kept telling me about how it had a lifetime warranty and it'd be fine and not to worry....without really answering me. But they do let you know what they're going to do before they do it? And what do you think the chances of the replacing the gun are? Just based on the photos?

 

[Florida J Frame]

I have a new no-lock 642 in front of me and there is no gap and the barrel is aligned with the frame. It does NOT slope up or down. The forcing cone also aligns with the cylinder and the gap is consistent all the way around. Maybe I just got lucky but this is the way every other Smith I've owned has been as well.

 

[snuf]

If it was mine it would go back to the factory.
Here's more pics you're not going to like.

 

[Robinett_11B]

If it was mine it would go back to the factory.
Here's more pics you're not going to like.

Thanks for the pics, snuf! I don't like that my gun's definitely not up to the same specs as yours, but I do appreciate having something better to compare my gun to. I'll probably be sending it back. I got a shipping label from them, do I just put it back in the blue box and put that into a cardboard box then send it? I read the intructions they sent, but I couldn't come up with any good conlusions. Thanks, everyone...

 

[roar]

I have a 442 that has a straight barrel and no gap of that sort. I would send it back as well.

Also, I have had the barrel in my 442 replaced once due to the original having a sloppy barrel crown. I have never heard of the Airweight frames having a problem when it comes to barrel replacement, and as I said S&W went ahead and replaced the barrel with a new one no problem.

 

[Robinett_11B]

I have a 442 that has a straight barrel and no gap of that sort. I would send it back as well.

Also, I have had the barrel in my 442 replaced once due to the original having a sloppy barrel crown. I have never heard of the Airweight frames having a problem when it comes to barrel replacement, and as I said S&W went ahead and replaced the barrel with a new one no problem.

Thanks, roar. That's a little reassuring. Although I've heard barrel replacement can be tricky or tough on these Airweights. How many rounds have you had through your 442 since you got the new barrel? Do you trust it 100%?

 

[AKsRule]

Your 442 has a one piece barrel that is screwed directly into a threaded frame.

As long as the barrel shank fits in the hole correctly that
"gap " you see is nothing but a cosmetic flaw due to sloppy
machining on the flat that meets the frame.

It may look crappy and you can probably return the gun for another , but it is nothing that will affect function.

 

[jeffrey]

Hi Robinett,

Yes, just put the gun back into its plastic box and put that box into a cardboard box and send it back.

Over the years I have dealt with many real gentlemen in CS at S&W, and only one real jerk. In my experience, the odds of getting a helpful CS guy at S&W are far greater than with any other manufacturer or service provider that I deal with. (Just try to get a Kahr fixed!) Recently, I sent back my 20-year-old 640 no-dash with a frame problem and they are replacing it with a new gun. But it took some time for them to decide to do it and I didn't get any immediate satisfaction on any of my many phone calls.

I hope that they make it right for you.

Jeffrey