Question about S&W Customer Service

[.460V & XVR Magnum Man]

I have a .460V that I have had about 6 months and it is quite a handgun. I liked it so much I wanted to get its bigger brother the .460XVR, which I did just get. I got it thru Bud's Gun Shop, it was sent to my FFL and I looked it over, it seemed ok. When I got it home after the 10 day CA background check, looking it over much more closely I noticed the seam where the sideplate meets the frame on the right side of the gun pointing away from you right next to the hammer, the edges of the seam was rough on the sideplate and frame. And cocking the hammer the inside of the seam on the frame part has a ding. The machined seam on both is rough, a definite factory machining flaw. I went to my gun safe and pulled out my .460V and my .44 mag 29-10 and even my old 1914 .32.30. The seam joints on those are perfect. My question is, I have never dealt with sending something back to S&W customer support. I called them to have them send me the RA tag and when I send the gun to them how quick are they to take care of the problem, and being that it is the actual frame with the serial number as well as the sideplate that that is flawed I was wondering if anyone could give me any kind of an idea of how S&W deals with machining flaws. Do they send a new gun or install a new frame with my original serial number or ???? Any imput would be greatly appreciated as I haven't even shot this yet and got it home on August 1st after a 3 month lawaway, now I still have to wait. I guess this is one that slipped past their quality control. Thank you very much for your replies. Craig

 

[rjh]

machine problem

I have not experienced this, but had a Navy Arms Schofield a few years back. They would send direct to me a brand new gun. I don't know how this could happen with out going thru a Dealer. Don't know how and time frame from S&W. RJH in Texas.

 

[duckloads]

I sent my XVR back to the mother ship for sloppy machine work between the yoke and frame. The trigger also had noticable creep before discharge. Imagine sqeezing the trigger of an XVR and not knowing when the gun would fire.

They refit the yoke and replaced the hammer and trigger. It came back the way it should have been built in the first place.

Good luck

 

[shadowrider]

I had to send a 625JM back for a hammer replacement for the finish chipping off of it. Must have been nickel plated hammer on a stainless gun? Anyway, while it was there I had the Performance Center do a master action job on it. I had it back in about 3 weeks better than new.

I'd definitely send it back. They'll make it right and they do it in a reasonable amount of time. Also they should send you a UPS shipping label so the next day air freight fee is on their tab, not yours. They did that for me and didn't give any any trouble about it what so ever, unlike some other companies I've heard about who expect you to pay the shipping both ways, and handguns have to go overnight, so it ain't cheap.

Their customer support department is 1st rate in my opinion. If I had one complaint it would have to be that I got my gun back and the explanation of what was done was pretty much non-existent.

 

[1066]

I have sent several guns back to S&W for both warranty and non-warranty work.

I agree that they have first rate service, and the shipping is a great deal for handguns. Even if the end up charging you, it is charged at their corporate rate, last gun was around $10 bucks. I'm sure its gone up but still a lot less then overnight with UPS on your own.

Shadowrider is absolutely right about the lack of explaination. On warranty jobs you just get them back and they work again. They also have always cleaned them up before they ship them back.

If you are sending in something for optional work, make sure you are very clear about what you want done to the gun. The good thing about non-warranty work is they have to call you for credit card info and you get to talk directly to whoever is working on your gun.

In your case the first thing I would do is go back to the dealer. Most dealers throw the warranty on your back, but sometimes a talk with the owner will get them to take care of it.

If they won't take it back, call S&W. Here is the web site with the info.

Shipping and Returns - Smith & Wesson

They are very helpful and can explain everything to you.