New 686 rough crown

[cehollier]

Last week I bought a 686 at our local Cabella's and upon inspection the barrel crown looks rough. As if it was never machined from the casting. This cannot be the norm for Smith and Wesson. Anyone else have this problem? What is S&W's policy to correct this?

Thanks,

Charles

 

[Bruce51]

picture

It would be great if you could post a picture of the crown.
Did you fire the gun before you noticed the crown?
If Smith & Wesson did not crown the muzzle properly they will make it right.
More information would help. This could just be lead flash from firing.

Bruce

 

[cehollier]

It would be great if you could post a picture of the crown.
Did you fire the gun before you noticed the crown?
If Smith & Wesson did not crown the muzzle properly they will make it right.
More information would help. This could just be lead flash from firing.

Bruce

Thanks for the reply Bruce. My digital camera doesn't take very good close ups so my pictures would be of no use. No, I did not notice prior to purchase. I'm going to wipe it with a lead cloth and see if it improves.

Edit - I cleaned the crown well with a Birchwood/Casey lead rag. It confirmed my origional findings. The bevel around the crown isn't consistant in depth/angle. It's not worth sending it back. But a clean crown would be nice. Especially for a revolver in this price range.

 

[earlycuyler]

I just picked my new 686 up yesterday and I too noticed how subtle the crowning is. I'm used to ruger crowns I suppose. It looks like the cut just enough to break the edge, which is fine by me if it shoots well.

 

[pctech]

Rough barrel crowns seem to be the norm on new S&W revolvers. It's a shame.

Pics of a 625JM I no longer own.

 

[Bruce51]

QC not what it used to be

As you can see from the photo my 686 no dash does not have much of a crown treatment as compared to a 50 year old model 19.
The picture says it all.

Bruce

 

[cehollier]

Guys, thanks for the pictures. They pretty much sum up what I'm seeing and reporting. I guess they have a Chimp with a dremmel tool to crown the barrels now. I bought a 686 because I need a revolver to round out my collection. Did an internet search on reviews and bought it. No regrets. It shoots just fine.

Regards,

Charles

 

[ckduallie]

My 686-5 has a very nice finish almost satin like. I can't get over the quality of this gun and it shoots great very accurate.