S & W PPK

[Jailbirdwatcher]

I sent my unfired (by me) PPK in for the recall earlier this year. They had it about four months and when I got it back there was a paper with it stating that the safety issue was addressed and in addition they had polished the feed ramp and chamber. I haven't looked at it for a few more months. Last night I field stripped the pistol to check out what they'd done to it. The first thing I saw was the fact that it had been test fired a bit and was somewhat dirty. This was not upsetting to me as one would expect them to test the pistol and there would be a lot of time involved cleaning each and every gun in that recall. However, after thoroughly cleaning the PPK it was blatently noticeable that someone worked the feed ramp over with a dremel tool and some sort of grinding wheel. Instead of being polished (I know what a polished feed ramp looks like) there are grinder marks all over it. In addition they gouged up the inside of the firing chamber. While cleaning the slide there was evidence of more grinding on the inside of the flats. I do not know why this was done in such a crude fashion. There could have possibly been some contact at that point, but the area could have been relieved in a professional manner and not be so "butchery" looking. I wonder if they did this on any other pistols in the recall as I have read on another post that feed ramps were polished. I own over twenty Smith And Wesson products and this is the first time I used their service department. I feel my pistol may be ruined and I'm gonna' have to cool off a bit before I call their customer service department. I will attempt to post some pictures in a few days as I do not have a digital camera at my disposal.

 

[Big Foot]

That would really "peeve" me off! I had similar experiences with Beretta in their Maryland facility. I'd let them know about it in certain terms...

 

[Jailbirdwatcher]

I am under the assumption that everyone else that sent in a PPK for the recall received first class service. Since nobody else has any complaints I suppose mine just arrived on the service bench early on a Monday morning or late on a Friday afternoon. In a way that is good news, just in case I need some work done in the future. Hopefully they will get it right on the next go round.

 

[nmsu]

We must have had the same guy working on our pistols. I sent in a 4526 that I have owned for many years for recall work and they called me this week to tell me they ruined the pistol while doing the work on it. I am still trying to come to some resolution with them, but I am hoping I can have a gunsmith in Houston repair it and charge S&W for the repair.They offered one of their 1911s in exchange but I really don't want one.

 

[tocohillsguy]

We must have had the same guy working on our pistols. I sent in a 4526 that I have owned for many years for recall work and they called me this week to tell me they ruined the pistol while doing the work on it. I am still trying to come to some resolution with them, but I am hoping I can have a gunsmith in Houston repair it and charge S&W for the repair.They offered one of their 1911s in exchange but I really don't want one.

Why not tell them to return your ruined pistol and send you their top of the line 1911. You can then sell the 1911 if you don't want it, and use the proceeds to purchase a used 4526. Save your ruined pistol for parts.

 

[nmsu]

Thank you for the suggestion but they won't return my 4526 if I take one of their other pistols (non Performance Center). I even asked if they would return the slide and barrel but they said they had to keep the entire pistol per BATF regs, which as far as I know is bullshit. And this pistol has sentimental value to me so just replacing it really isn't the same.

 

[loknload]

After reading this I'm glad I didn't send my PPK back for the recall!
I figured since it didn't appear to have the problem they stated I wasn't going to return it and I would take my chances.
First off I didn't like the idea that they were going to stamp it somewhere as to mark the pistol as being recalled and repaired.
The long return time was another factor, I realize they had a lot of guns to go through but to long a wait for me!
Now after reading this, this is the icing on the cake!

Regards,
LnL

 

[Jailbirdwatcher]

I did not intend for this thread to become a flame against S & W's service department. It just happens that they did a real boo boo on my pistol in particular. This was a major recall and bunches of guns were worked on. As I said above nobody else on this board has come forward with ANY complaints on the PPK pistols. I am not nearly as upset as when I first posted. It is too bad that some guns end up in the scrapper, but it is a possibility when they are worked on. I would suspect that not every person in the department is a master gunsmith and that may explain some of this. My pistol has literally NO sentimental value to me (at this point) and I would be elated if they just replaced it. However if it were my 686 revolver (one of my first handguns and the one most special to me) I would be sick. That's all I'm gonna' say about that.

 

[Jailbirdwatcher]

I sent the pistol back to Smith & Wesson on Dec 22nd. It came back yesterday (Jan. 11th). I opened the box this morning and found the gun slightly dirty (test fired). After a moderate cleaning job I found the pistol appeared to be new. There is no evidence of grinding inside the slide (it had to have been replaced) and the frame may or may not have been replaced (same serial number)but the feed ramp and firing chamber were more than acceptable. I will fire this gun when the weather gets a little warmer but it looks like they took care of my problem.

 

[Hunt200]

I am glad they made it right. I only shot mine once since I got it back and didn't remember anything out of the ordinary when I cleaned it, so I just took apart again, and I have to say it is in perfect shape, who ever polished it did a really nice job and there isn't any other marks on it.

 

[Walthernut]

I think if you do a search on this forum you'll find your situation is not unique. (other forums as well)
S&W Walthers, the recalled ones, came back screwed up in a lot of instances. I wish you luck in getting things straightened out. (you too nmsu)

 

[MP45COMPACT]

I received a new Mod 40 when they first came out as a retirement gift from my employer, opened the box & sideplate had rust bubbles on it. We sent it back, with a letter & a call to Svc Dept Mgr explaining the problem and that it was a gift. They kept it for weeks and weeks and finally returned it, it had been reblued and every marking on gun was ground down and the gun looked like it was an ORIGINAL mod 40 that had been polished and reblued a dozen times. This was a gun that was brand new, never even had the cylinder opened and they reduced the value by 50%. The good news was my employer took it and replaced my gift gun with another one. I'm not a big fan of their service...