This is my first post on the forum so please forgive the wall of text below.
I am hoping to get some input about a recent problem I had with Smith & Wesson customer service. Last August I purchased a performance center 500 Magnum new in box. Since it was getting close to the end of summer I did not have much range time with it and only put about 20 rounds through it. This spring I finally was able to get out to the range and spend some serious time with it. After a few sessions I began to notice that I could not properly sight the gun in as the front sight was drifting to the left. Also I noticed that the extractor center pin was protruding so far out that it was heavily denting the side of the recoil shield. Finally, although it may not seem significant to some, the role mark on the side of the frame had inconsistent depth from the factory. Above all my main concern was the poor accuracy.
I contacted the customer service department on May 8 and was promptly emailed a shipping return label. I sent my 500 in the very same day and checked that it was received on May 10. After a month I had not received any communication from the customer service department as to the prognosis or repair. I contacted the customer service on June 9th. I was informed by the customer service representative that both the frame and cylinder were being replaced and that the necessary parts to complete the repair were waiting to be sent to the Performance Center department. Additionally, I was also told that I would hear from someone within five days when the repairs are completed.
After almost 2 weeks I had still not heard from someone, I again contacted the customer service department on June 21st. I was informed that there was a slight delay due to the regulatory paperwork to put my original serial number on a new frame. Nonetheless, my handgun was now being transferred to the shipping department and it would be another 10 to 14 days before I received it. On June 26th I received two emails from FedEx that a package was in-transit to me and that it required an adult signature. No information was provided as to whom the package was from, nor did I receive any emails from S&W customer service that my handgun was shipped.
On June 28th I received a box from FedEx that contained my handgun, a piece of paper containing the shipping information, a piece of paper indicating that the handgun was test fired, and finally a repair order. The repair order specifies that my handgun was evaluated and that the forcing cone was cut, the extractor and extractor spring were replaced, and that the frame was repaired. No indication was made that the frame or the cylinder was replaced, nor was there any indication that the front sight was repaired even though it appears it was.
To my dismay when I looked over my handgun I noticed that several issues were not corrected and/or corrected poorly. First neither the frame nor the cylinder were replaced, or were replaced with used components as there is now a scratch along the face of the cylinder. Second, there are now gouge marks between the crane and the frame, and the role mark has the same inconsistent depth. Finally, the side of the recoil shield has been cut to remove the damage caused by the protruding center pin. This cut is very obvious and there are tooling marks from the repair.
I figured I would at least shoot it before I made any determination about sending it back to Smith & Wesson. While waiting for a month and a half for my handgun to be repaired I picked up several more boxes of factory ammunition, nine boxes in total. On two trips to the range I put about 80 rounds through my 500. Since I have been trying to dial in the accuracy all shots were from a rest at targets 50 yards away. The accuracy is less than stellar and less than I have seen on this and other online forums. As a comparison one of the times I met with a friend at the range who has the same PC 500 in 7". I fired some of the same ammunition through his gun from the same rest, at the same targets, at the same distance with spectacular results. He also put two cylinders through my gun under the same scenario and was getting the same results as myself. On my second trip to the range I bumped into a older club member who is very experienced with big bore handguns. I let him put three cylinders worth of ammunition through it under the same conditions. He too was getting the same results. However he noticed that the point of impacts at 50 yards were changing with the different types of ammunition. He said that different loads would move the point of impact but at 50 yards they probably should not move the 10 inches they were. He mentioned that his 8 inch model 29 shoots much tighter groups especially from a rest at the same distance.
Nearing the end of my second trip to the range my 500 began acting up. The cylinder would not close, as if there was some type of obstruction, or the center pin would not move in. I finally got the cylinder to close decide to call it a day. When I got home I looked my 500 over and could not see any reason as to why the cylinder would not close intermittently. Also I notice that there was a slight hitch on two chambers during DA pulls.
Seeing as how I had such a disappointing experience already with customer service I decided not to call them again and instead send a letter directly to Smith & Wesson, addressed to the CEO. I sent the letter certified. It has only been four days since they have received the letter and I have not received any type of communication since then.
The big question is if and when they do contact me what should I ask for as a remedy to this situation. I really love the 500 and while the cost of it, especially a performance center handgun, may not seem like a lot to some people it was good money to me. Therefore should I ask their most experienced gunsmith look over my 500 again or should I ask for a completely new 500? I am not looking to be compensated in addition to anything, I just want a PC 500 that lives up to its reputation.
I am hoping to get some input about a recent problem I had with Smith & Wesson customer service. Last August I purchased a performance center 500 Magnum new in box. Since it was getting close to the end of summer I did not have much range time with it and only put about 20 rounds through it. This spring I finally was able to get out to the range and spend some serious time with it. After a few sessions I began to notice that I could not properly sight the gun in as the front sight was drifting to the left. Also I noticed that the extractor center pin was protruding so far out that it was heavily denting the side of the recoil shield. Finally, although it may not seem significant to some, the role mark on the side of the frame had inconsistent depth from the factory. Above all my main concern was the poor accuracy.
I contacted the customer service department on May 8 and was promptly emailed a shipping return label. I sent my 500 in the very same day and checked that it was received on May 10. After a month I had not received any communication from the customer service department as to the prognosis or repair. I contacted the customer service on June 9th. I was informed by the customer service representative that both the frame and cylinder were being replaced and that the necessary parts to complete the repair were waiting to be sent to the Performance Center department. Additionally, I was also told that I would hear from someone within five days when the repairs are completed.
After almost 2 weeks I had still not heard from someone, I again contacted the customer service department on June 21st. I was informed that there was a slight delay due to the regulatory paperwork to put my original serial number on a new frame. Nonetheless, my handgun was now being transferred to the shipping department and it would be another 10 to 14 days before I received it. On June 26th I received two emails from FedEx that a package was in-transit to me and that it required an adult signature. No information was provided as to whom the package was from, nor did I receive any emails from S&W customer service that my handgun was shipped.
On June 28th I received a box from FedEx that contained my handgun, a piece of paper containing the shipping information, a piece of paper indicating that the handgun was test fired, and finally a repair order. The repair order specifies that my handgun was evaluated and that the forcing cone was cut, the extractor and extractor spring were replaced, and that the frame was repaired. No indication was made that the frame or the cylinder was replaced, nor was there any indication that the front sight was repaired even though it appears it was.
To my dismay when I looked over my handgun I noticed that several issues were not corrected and/or corrected poorly. First neither the frame nor the cylinder were replaced, or were replaced with used components as there is now a scratch along the face of the cylinder. Second, there are now gouge marks between the crane and the frame, and the role mark has the same inconsistent depth. Finally, the side of the recoil shield has been cut to remove the damage caused by the protruding center pin. This cut is very obvious and there are tooling marks from the repair.
I figured I would at least shoot it before I made any determination about sending it back to Smith & Wesson. While waiting for a month and a half for my handgun to be repaired I picked up several more boxes of factory ammunition, nine boxes in total. On two trips to the range I put about 80 rounds through my 500. Since I have been trying to dial in the accuracy all shots were from a rest at targets 50 yards away. The accuracy is less than stellar and less than I have seen on this and other online forums. As a comparison one of the times I met with a friend at the range who has the same PC 500 in 7". I fired some of the same ammunition through his gun from the same rest, at the same targets, at the same distance with spectacular results. He also put two cylinders through my gun under the same scenario and was getting the same results as myself. On my second trip to the range I bumped into a older club member who is very experienced with big bore handguns. I let him put three cylinders worth of ammunition through it under the same conditions. He too was getting the same results. However he noticed that the point of impacts at 50 yards were changing with the different types of ammunition. He said that different loads would move the point of impact but at 50 yards they probably should not move the 10 inches they were. He mentioned that his 8 inch model 29 shoots much tighter groups especially from a rest at the same distance.
Nearing the end of my second trip to the range my 500 began acting up. The cylinder would not close, as if there was some type of obstruction, or the center pin would not move in. I finally got the cylinder to close decide to call it a day. When I got home I looked my 500 over and could not see any reason as to why the cylinder would not close intermittently. Also I notice that there was a slight hitch on two chambers during DA pulls.
Seeing as how I had such a disappointing experience already with customer service I decided not to call them again and instead send a letter directly to Smith & Wesson, addressed to the CEO. I sent the letter certified. It has only been four days since they have received the letter and I have not received any type of communication since then.
The big question is if and when they do contact me what should I ask for as a remedy to this situation. I really love the 500 and while the cost of it, especially a performance center handgun, may not seem like a lot to some people it was good money to me. Therefore should I ask their most experienced gunsmith look over my 500 again or should I ask for a completely new 500? I am not looking to be compensated in addition to anything, I just want a PC 500 that lives up to its reputation.
