S&W 500 Woes

[grit]

I recently ordered a 6 1/2" Half-lug 500 from Bud's Gun Shop in KY. Well, it arrived yesterday, and what was supposed to be a joyous day of celebration quickly turned into a dark and gloomy time of defeat. Upon inspecting this factory-new revolver, it was pretty dirty...mostly powder with a spot of rust by the internal lock...all things I can live with, as I know it must be fired in the factory before it can be shipped. However, there was fouling in all 5 chambers, and it already had signs of wear on it, as if the gun had been fired NUMEROUS times. Also, the cylinder gap appeared abnormally wide when comparing it to other 500's on hand. But what most concerned me was that both the barrel and shroud were loose. Very loose. I couldn't believe it! I could literally wiggle the barrel around while I held the gun

Talk about a buzz-kill!

Anyways, I obviously did not accept the gun from my FFL, and proceeded to call Bud's. I was responded to as more of a nuisance rather than an earnest individual. I'm sure they deal with knuckleheads all the time, but there was some serious skepticism on their part as to the validity of my story. I don't care about that...just send me another 500...all I want is a good gun, but now, they don't have one in stock and they didn't even offer to find me one. They just sent me an email saying that if my story checked out, they would issue a refund.

Soooooo, I guess I need to find one elsewhere...no one around here has them in stock, and everywhere else online is much higher.

Now I just sit and stare at my lonely 500 ammo, longing for the destiny it so rightly deserves. Man, good thing I'm not very dramatic.

Maybe I'm supposed to get the John Ross 500 instead.

 

[grit]

I recently ordered a 6 1/2" Half-lug 500 from Bud's Gun Shop in KY. Well, it arrived yesterday, and what was supposed to be a joyous day of celebration quickly turned into a dark and gloomy time of defeat. Upon inspecting this factory-new revolver, it was pretty dirty...mostly powder with a spot of rust by the internal lock...all things I can live with, as I know it must be fired in the factory before it can be shipped. However, there was fouling in all 5 chambers, and it already had signs of wear on it, as if the gun had been fired NUMEROUS times. Also, the cylinder gap appeared abnormally wide when comparing it to other 500's on hand. But what most concerned me was that both the barrel and shroud were loose. Very loose. I couldn't believe it! I could literally wiggle the barrel around while I held the gun

Talk about a buzz-kill!

Anyways, I obviously did not accept the gun from my FFL, and proceeded to call Bud's. I was responded to as more of a nuisance rather than an earnest individual. I'm sure they deal with knuckleheads all the time, but there was some serious skepticism on their part as to the validity of my story. I don't care about that...just send me another 500...all I want is a good gun, but now, they don't have one in stock and they didn't even offer to find me one. They just sent me an email saying that if my story checked out, they would issue a refund.

Soooooo, I guess I need to find one elsewhere...no one around here has them in stock, and everywhere else online is much higher.

Now I just sit and stare at my lonely 500 ammo, longing for the destiny it so rightly deserves. Man, good thing I'm not very dramatic.

Maybe I'm supposed to get the John Ross 500 instead.

 

[ladder13]

You could send it back to the factory. If you call them they will send a mailing label.

 

[grit]

Originally posted by ladder13:
You could send it back to the factory. If you call them they will send a mailing label.

After I inspected the gun, I did not go through with the transfer. I'm making Bud's take it back. I'm basically just back where I was before I started looking for one, that one was just a tease.

 

[DonD]

Stunned that a gun with a lose shroud could escape QA or that Bud's would send it out.

I do seriously doubt that it was fired extensively unless someone at Bud's took it out w/o permission and horribly abused it.

Perhaps it was fine when it left S&W and some clown fired some really nuclear level loads through it and losened it up.

Really sorry this happened, hope you can find another half lug. I really like mine. Don

 

[MTKTM]

I know nothing about Bud's Gun Shop and am not going to accuse them of anything, but definitely sounds to me like you got a used gun. Yeah, Smith test-fires them at the factory, but don't they then clean them? I've never seen one that was actually dirty or fouled or leaded, will just notice some darkening around the front of the cylinder showing that the gun has had rounds through it. I own two 500s and neither was dirty when I got them.

I'd love a John Ross gun, and I'm willing to bet any amount that it would arrive utterly pristine. I want one bad......just find I'm having a hard time justifying a 3rd 500!!

 

[stevieboy]

I think I'd be a lot more concerned about the loose barrel/shroud than I would be about the dirty cylinders. I've bought new Smiths that came to me really filthy. Others, not so much. I suspect that the amount of dirt on the cylinders and within them depends on who's doing the test firing on any given gun. And, no, Smith doesn't clean its test fired guns (the instruction manual tells the purchaser that he/she should clean the gun before firing it).

 

[andyo5]

I recently bought a 25 Colt Mountain Gun that, when I first looked at it, looked like a used gun. The inner surfaces of the frame (surrounding the cylinder) appeared to have alot of carbon fouling. Turns out this was NOT carbon fouling, but lack of proper finishing after machining. A S&W rep pointed out that the cylinder had no burn marks, and he was right. I checked my now M620 and it had the same characteristic.
The rep polished it up with a brass brush and it shined. The barrel does have very little fouling in it.
Regarding the barrel, though; that sounds like improper assembly of the barrel and shroud. I don't think that these parts would be likely to shoot loose if properly assembled.

 

[mulehide9]

Souns to me like Mr. "BUD" is trying to sell you a used gun for a new one.

 

[Calaveras Slim]

Originally posted by stevieboy:
I think I'd be a lot more concerned about the loose barrel/shroud than I would be about the dirty cylinders. I've bought new Smiths that came to me really filthy. Others, not so much. I suspect that the amount of dirt on the cylinders and within them depends on who's doing the test firing on any given gun. And, no, Smith doesn't clean its test fired guns (the instruction manual tells the purchaser that he/she should clean the gun before firing it).

Ya learn something everyday. When I went thru the Smith factory in 1999, they scrubbed every gun they tested. It came out almost pristine. It was done by machine and you had a hard time telling it had been tested.

 

[grit]

Originally posted by DonD:
Stunned that a gun with a lose shroud could escape QA or that Bud's would send it out.

The guy at Bud's said that he didn't look at the guns they shipped anymore because "some people get mad if they're not the first person to see the gun"...

 

[andyo5]

The guy at Bud's said that he didn't look at the guns they shipped anymore because "some people get mad if they're not the first person to see the gun"...

Sounds like BS to me. How would the customer even know that Bud had looked at it? Your eyes do not leave marks on the gun. As long as he doesn't shoot it or play with it, most customers would appreciate his looking before shipping (assuming they could tell that he had looked). He is not willing to assume any responsibility as a dealer for the quality of his merchandise.

 

[akr]

Have you checked with Whittaker's online?

 

[tbury]

Anything is possible, but I do not believe that anyone at Buds messed with the gun in question. I have been to Buds and the Internet business is separate from the store. If I order a gun online for pickup at the store it takes a day or two to transfer inventory from the Buds online to the retail store. Both businesses are very busy and I do not think they have time to "play" with the merchandise. I could be wrong but that is my opinion. Most Dealers I have ordered guns through wait for the buyer to open the package just to avoid any blame for condition. If it is a gun in the display case that is another matter. JMHO

 

[grit]

I don't think that Bud's messed with the gun either...who cares? it doesn't matter. What matters is that they shipped a defective gun, with a loose barrel, and they didn't own up to it. When I brought that up to the guy at Bud's, he put it all on the factory...after all, his job is not quality control.

 

[grit]

The 6 1/2" half-lug is on back order...God's telling me I should get the John Ross 500

I'm ordering it this week (with the satin finish) and will let everyone know how that goes.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

Grit

Did you receive a small yellow "sealed" envelope
containing the "test shot" cartridge with the mfg date & inspector's name & date inspected?

My 500 had this envelope like all new S&W's. My 500 was test shot on 7/17/07 and I had it in my hands through my gunshop on 7/29/07...fast pass-through. Could this have been returned to Bud's by a customer?

 

[John Ross]

Originally posted by grit:
The 6 1/2" half-lug is on back order...God's telling me I should get the John Ross 500

I'm ordering it this week (with the satin finish) and will let everyone know how that goes.

You won't be disappointed. Almost half the buyers order a second one after they get the first. I'm still waitingfor my first 5" customer to say something negative about the gun.

If you don't handload, try Ballistic Supply for loads of more moderate pressure and recoil.

 

[grit]

Originally posted by 460v LAC du FLAMBEAU:
Grit

Did you receive a small yellow "sealed" envelope
containing the "test shot" cartridge with the mfg date & inspector's name & date inspected?

My 500 had this envelope like all new S&W's. My 500 was test shot on 7/17/07 and I had it in my hands through my gunshop on 7/29/07...fast pass-through. Could this have been returned to Bud's by a customer?

It did have the spent casing in an envelope, but I didn't bother to check it. At the time, I was a bit flabbergasted by the whole thing...In hindsight, I should've gotten as much info about the gun as possible, as to see what really happened.

 

[alank2]

Hi,

grit you did the right thing in not accepting it. I wouldn't have accepted it either. You ordered a new good gun and what arrived wasn't as expected.

I don't fault Buds [for the guns condition] because I agree that for their Internet shipping department, they just order them, stock them, and ship them. If it has a problem I don't think they would ever know about it because they don't open it.

I do fault them for the attitude it sounds like they gave you. Not cool at all in my opinion. I've ordered 2 guns from them and both transactions went fine and some of my presales questions were met with "if you don't like what arrives, just don't take ownership, have the FFL send it back, and we'll ship another one".

Hope you find what your looking for somewhere else soon!

Good luck,

Alan