S&W Customer Service (time to vent)

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dsink

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Bear with me for a minute but I have to vent.

I have a New Model BG 38. I have had it for about 2 years and love the gun but as long as I have had it, the cylinder has a hard time latching when you close it. What I mean is, when you close the cylinder, you can push it back open. Sometimes it takes 8 or 10 times to get it to latch.

I contacted Smith via email about it and they sent me a return label. I box it up and ship it back. 5 weeks later, I receive it back with a note saying there is nothing wrong with it and it operates as normal. Actually if anything, it seem to be worse than before I sent it.

I contacted them again by email and recieved another return shipping lable. Sent it back on 9/24/14. Got a call today from a gentleman at S&W who told me they went over it and it operates the way it was designed and nothing was wrong with it. He did agree that the cylinder didnt always latch but he said they are all like that. I have personaly tried 2 others and they latch the first time everytime.

I told him how dissastified I was with the operation of it and asked if they would send me a 442 Pro Series in its place. (I included a copy of my FFL when I sent it back) He said they cant do that but if I didnt like, his advice is to sell it and buy something else!

I love the little gun, its my everyday carry gun. Yea I have several other Smiths but for some reason I have taken a liking to this one. I dont feel it works correctly so I wouldnt want to sell it to someone else. I guess I just need to ducktape the cylinder closed and learn to live with it.........

Sorry for the rant. I will get off my soap box now.
 
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The Tupperware bodyguards have been problematic.

Curious why you'd carry it for SD with such an issue. It won't work at all if the cylinder isn't properly locked closed. You cylinder requires 8 to 10 tries to get it to latch closed. I'd be pretty concerned about whether it would function at all if needed.

Sounds more exciting than I want in a SD weapon.

Just my opinion, of course.
 
Unloaded, if you close it and pull the trigger, it latches and works fine. Same goes when its loaded.
Alot of times, I will open the cylinder to change out a couple rounds with ratshot. When I close the cylinder, it might take several tries to get it to latch.

Once its latched, it works fine and since it latches if you close it and pull the trigger, I thought maybe I could live with it. I also thought it might need a few rounds run through it before it started latching all the time. I have had it close to 2 years but didnt start shooting/carrying it till about 6 months ago. Been carrying my Shield up untill then.
 
All my old smith's work fine, guess I don't want a new one now.
 
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If I read that correctly, it sounds like there is an issue with the "rat shot" shells. Maybe they are dimensionally faulty.
Have any crud under the ejector star?
 
Honestly I am not a fan of the Body Guard. I would sell it and buy the 442 Pro you want. It is a much better gun in my opinion. They can be found for under $400 NIB on GunBroker and under $400 at Kentucky Gun Company. You can probably get just under $300 for your gun in a no reserve auction on GB. Good Luck.
 
Anton Chigurh said:
If I read that correctly, it sounds like there is an issue with the "rat shot" shells. Maybe they are dimensionally faulty.
Have any crud under the ejector star?
Click to expand...

I was just using the ratshot as an example. Same thing happens when I switch back to my carry ammo or if its empty.

Sorry, I should have made that a little more clear.
 
Sure hate to be negative but all my steel Smith's have worked perfectly over the years, talking about revolvers here. I have seen some of the early 9mm Smith auto's failing to feed, etc. I have what I call my "space age" revolver, the 325PD. Only gun I ever had to use blue Loctite on. The cylinder latch screw would loosen after firing one cylinder. The local gun shop said put a drop of blue Loctite on it and it worked. Plastic guns are not for me. Give me heavy metal all the time.
 
Include me in the group that doesn't want to be negative...but I sort of can't help it here. I would not keep a gun that I had to keep fiddling with to get it to work right, unless it was some sort of classic antique or something. But as an SD/carry gun? No...just no.
 
Become a squeaky wheel and start climbing the human ladder.......someone you talk to will get it and take care of the problem.....you just need to find that guy. Even in a large company , there are people who care.
 
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I think you need to go up the totem pole.
I'd get the highest ranking CS manager I could get and explain the problem to him/her.
If I'm paying Smith prices, I expect it to work perfectly, first time and every time.
I tend to prefer steel framed guns to aluminum and/or plastic.
Steel is stronger and more durable.
As much as I love my Ruger SR9 (100% reliable), and love it's lack of weight when carrying it, I absolutely adore my 5946 and it's steel frame.
Nothing wrong with the Ruger. Accurate, reliable, soft shooting, better trigger than a Glock or M&P.
I just prefer a ferrous alloy frame.
 
I said this in another post, more or less: trade it or sell it. It's not your parents house, or a Bugatti Veyron. It sucks. Move on ��
 
That explanation is flat out unacceptable.

If it is operating within design, than the design is faulty.

Definitely escalate this up the chain. You spent hard earned good money on what is supposed to be a Product that is Top Notch Quality.

I work with customers all the time. I deliver solutions for them. If they are unhappy it is MY Problem until they are happy. They pay for a deployment, I owe them a correct deployment.

You paid for a Smith and Wesson product that is supposed to work correctly.

Try the Phone Route, if that doesn't work start writing letters. Don't just take it.
 
I agree w/others who said to go up the food chain until you get a manager who will make this right. Once I got it working right I'd sell it and buy the 442 you want (my EDC is a 442).
 
I have a Model 686 Plus in a 2 1/2 " that locks slow when I close the cylinder and is very tight when I dry fire but only one cylinder. Can't figure it out. It's pretty new.. Only shot maybe 35 rounds or so. Hoping is will break in.
 
I have a 442, 642 and 640 and they are perfect. Other revolvers as well. So far the only problem I've had is the slow locking on the 686p snub. I'll fire it a couple hundred times and see if that breaks it in. All of the others are great..I wonder why S&W won't step up and replace that gun.
 
jaaeatax said:
I have a Model 686 Plus in a 2 1/2 " that locks slow when I close the cylinder and is very tight when I dry fire but only one cylinder. Can't figure it out. It's pretty new.. Only shot maybe 35 rounds or so. Hoping is will break in.
Click to expand...

Could be a bent ejector rod. Easy fix.
 
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