New M&P shield barell looks worn

I don't understand what's happening at S&W. I have a 2 1/2 year-old 40c, a 2 year-old Shield 9, and 6 month-old Shield .45, and all of them came with perfectly finished unmarked barrels. If the current crop of Shield 9 barrels all look like yours, S&W needs to go back to what they were doing in the past to prevent wear marks during test firing. Would it seriously erode their profits to properly lubricate the barrels beforehand? No. What will seriously erode their profits will be permanently turning off customers by selling them beaten-up looking new guns.

I'm gonna give them a call about this, especially after seeing two handguns and seeing the same thing on both... if the other two were in perfect condition I diffidently would of concluded that someone swapped barrels at academy... but seeing that they all have the same wear, seems like S&W just doesn't give a chit.
 
Like a lot of electronics companies I think it's time that gunmakers place some type of tamper seal on the case or box. Then once you open it it becomes yours and your responsibility for any issue after that.
 
Like a lot of electronics companies I think it's time that gunmakers place some type of tamper seal on the case or box. Then once you open it it becomes yours and your responsibility for any issue after that.
Most new gun pistol boxes, it seems, have large gummed labels that overlap both halves of the box.
 
I'm gonna give them a call about this, especially after seeing two handguns and seeing the same thing on both... if the other two were in perfect condition I diffidently would of concluded that someone swapped barrels at academy... but seeing that they all have the same wear, seems like S&W just doesn't give a chit.
You may be correct, however, now that the big gun and ammo boom has died down after the last elections, to me it looks like S&W is trying to do everything they can to reduce the costs of production and lower the retail price of the Shields. I think I saw where they are selling for around $250.00 new, after rebates and offers. That's getting close to the price point of Hi Points. Kahr did that a long time ago, when they brought out their CM version pistols as an alternate (and less expensive) choice for the PM versions. The difference was that Kahr did it openly; the only difference being one less magazine, polymer sights, less polished slide, standard cut rifled barrel as opposed to polygonal rifled barrel, etc.
 
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Maybe for other brands but NOT S&W. Trust me I've purchased 2 in the past 30 days.
I trust you. I don't own any newer S&W handguns. It would probably be a good idea for them to put a gummed label on their boxes, although based on the OP's observations, it doesn't look as though any parts were switched out. Without a gummed label, there still would remain the possibility of tampering and doubt, however.
 
If the others you looked at also showed that kind of wear then maybe it's just with their 9mm's. I bought 2 new Shield 45's this year. Both looked just as you would expect, like new. I now have just over 900 rounds through mine and you can't tell it's ever been fired. Not a mark on the hood and barely anything at all on the barrel itself. With 900 rounds it still looks better than the one on your new 9mm. Seems weird to me.
 
Sig uses a blue zip tie on their cases when they ship out to dealers. Only one of three of my Sig's still had it on there. I feel most LGS's must open and check boxes.
 
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Sig uses a blue zip tie on there cases when they ship out to dealers. Only one of three of my Sig's still had it on there. I feel most LGS's must open and check boxes.
Yeah, they probably actually verify that the serial number on the gun is what they are putting in their books, when they receive it. Looks like box security is probably not going to do anything from when the gun shop gets it until it is sold. I suppose that individual gun shops could put a sticker on the box, sealing it after serial number verification, but that's probably not going to happen and if it did, there would probably have to be an extra charge added to the sale price.
 
Don't FFLs have to log all new guns into their bound books within a certain amount of time after they arrive at the FFL location? I know when I buy a gun online and it's delivered through my LGS they open the box and take the SSN off the gun itself, NOT the label on the box. I would assume they do the same thing when their own inventory arrives - in part because any ATF audit is going to check the number in the bound book against the one on the gun and not the one on the box, and discrepancies can bring very bad consequences.

If this is the practice, any "sealed box" that comes from the factory is going to be opened by the dealer long before you come in to buy the gun, and a seal won't provide any additional "protection" to the consumer.

[Third comment to the same effect. Man, you gotta be quick with this crowd. :D ]
 
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I own Sigs also and there was never any zip tie on the case. Same for my Glock's, H&K's, Beretta's and Walther's. Maybe it's your dealer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Most new gun pistol boxes, it seems, have large gummed labels that overlap both halves of the box.

Good in theory. Impractical in the real world. I have recently sold quite a few Shields. A couple customers wanted to see several new ones and try triggers, etc. If I (or any dealer) were to refuse the customer that option, the sale is in jeopardy, and rightfully so. "Caveat Emptor" is at work here. ("...the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made...")

Origin
 
If sealed my FFL waits until I get there to inspect it with me. That's what he said he did with my Sig that came with the zip tie on it. But my other two firearms were not sealed in any way prior to him receiving them. He told me it's more common to see any seal left on from the manufacturer when it's coming from high volume retailers. He said your smaller inventory shops will almost always open it up and verify contents and serial number. He didn't get into any detail as far as it being a requirement for anything. I wonder if they have a certain amount of time to verify contents and serial numbers for any issues before they are just **** out of luck? Either way my 229 was sealed and had the zip tie with a manufacturing date of Nov 2016. So it sat sealed for a while. My Legion I got very at a small local shop and it was an SAO 9mm and they only received one so they admitted they opened it up to check it out. But they only had it 3 days before I called to inquire about one and I went up and bought it that day. My P320 was also purchased online from a large retailer and was not sealed. So who knows what protocol actually is. I just know it was comforting for me seeing my 229 was sealed. None of my S&W's were ever purchased sealed that I remember and I have had quite a few over the years but most of those we're all purchased locally except one which was the other I picked up at my FFL from a large retailer with no seal.
 
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Mine has over 7000 rounds through it, and it doesn't look like that. Mine has wear, but it isn't scratched like that. That looks like scratches from poor handling to me.

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Not again! After four years this problem is still cropping up in new S&Ws. Your photos are depressing. Here's what I had to say in 2017 in Post #20, above:

I don't understand what's happening at S&W. I have a 2 1/2 year-old 40c, a 2 year-old Shield 9, and 6 month-old Shield .45, and all of them came with perfectly finished unmarked barrels. If the current crop of Shield 9 barrels all look like yours, S&W needs to go back to what they were doing in the past to prevent wear marks during test firing. Would it seriously erode their profits to properly lubricate the barrels beforehand? No. What will seriously erode their profits will be permanently turning off customers by selling them beaten-up looking new guns.

The good news is that these blemishes are unlikely to affect performance, but it is understandable why you'd be upset when you opened up your new M&P and found what you did. Fuss (politely, of course) at customer service again if you have any performance problems with that barrel. You have nothing to lose. By way of comparison, the photo below is the barrel from my M&P 40c after 13,000 rounds.

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Not again! After four years this problem is still cropping up in new S&Ws. Your photos are depressing. Here's what I had to say in 2017 in Post #20, above:



The good news is that these blemishes are unlikely to affect performance, but it is understandable why you'd be upset when you opened up your new M&P and found what you did. Fuss (politely, of course) at customer service again if you have any performance problems with that barrel. You have nothing to lose. By way of comparison, the photo below is the barrel from my M&P 40c after 13,000 rounds.

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Most of it came off after cleaning it with gun solvent.
But what was left is what you can see in the pics , the barrel ramp and ring marks around the barrel hood area. The frame rail pics I posted what do you think ?
I always field strip and clean a gun when I buy one even when new.
 
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