S&W Quality?

[stregap51]

Just purchased a new 686 talo plus. First time shooting the gun one shell would not eject from the cylinder. Thought it was an ammo issue. Shot another seven rounds, same issue. Tried again with different ammo same result. Took the gun to my local gunshop after inspection they noticed one of the cylinders was not machined smoothed. They sent the gun to S&W for repair have not received the gun back yet.

I'm disappointed that they let this gun leave the factory. I think
the quality control there has issues.

S&W has always been known for quality that is why we pay a little more $$ for them.

 

[Amp]

Welcome to the group

 

[AlwaysArmed]

Yep. I got a 63 that's junk. It went back once. Now my range gunsmith is going to try to get a replacement for me.
They don't make 'em like they used to. But they charge four times as much.

 

[Ashlander]

Warranty work usually gets priority and takes a couple weeks, give or take a day or two.
Once you get it back and start enjoying it I trust you'll start feeling better about it. They are good guns (but they are made by human beings).

 

[glenwolde]

Yep. I got a 63 that's junk. It went back once. Now my range gunsmith is going to try to get a replacement for me.
They don't make 'em like they used to. But they charge four times as much.

I bought a 63 (no dash) about 1980/81? for my then girlfriend (now wife). It would not eject shells. In order to extract them you had to hit the end of the extractor rod on the side of the bench to knock them loose. Took it to my gunsmith and he said the radius on the extractor portion was not lining up with the radius of the chamber, there was a little ledge. He polished them down for me and it has worked fine for the last 35+ years.

I guess they do make them like they used too.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Welcome to the forum.

I feel your pain. It's disappointing when the gun you were looking forward to has issues. The good news is that the "L" frame design is rock solid, and once repaired will be a very dependable and enjoyable firearm.

I haven't been shooting that long or have very many firearms, but the ones I have were all bought new, with an expectation they should work properly. So far, I've had out-of-the-box function failures that required rework or gun replacements on:

A Mossberg rifle
A M&P pistol
A Rossi rifle
A SIG pistol
A S&W revolver, returned twice before fixed ("L" frame like yours)
A Walther pistol

Good luck.

PS, if you need to get it repaired again, a short call to customer service will yield a free shipping label e-mailed to you. Then you can be sure it gets sent immediately, and get notified by e-mail of it's status.

 

[comiskeybum]

Just remember that there isnt a manufacturer out there that does not have one bad apple for every 500 good ones. It just sucks when you are the person who got the bad apple.

Smith is still great quality when you think about it. Taurus revolvers probably have 10 bad apples in 500.......Ruger somewhere in the middle.....Colt I wouldnt touch right now with them in backruptcy.

My point is that give Smith a chance to fix the issue, if it is taking a while then I would assume they see something that is very irregular and are looking deep into the problem.

 

[comiskeybum]

By the way, that was one reason I went with Galleryofguns. When you buy a gun from them, you dont go to the OEM for any issues, you to go them and they issue you a BRAND NEW firearm and handle the bad one themselves and probably resell it later.

 

[gnystrom]

This is an all too often repeated topic. I solved my S&W quality problems..

 

[CH4]

This is an all too often repeated topic. I solved my S&W quality problems..

They're nice, but tough to find

I shot the K6 at SHOT and found it very uncomfortable. The blackstrap/grips need more of a radius. It really bites, especially with magnums.

 

[glenwolde]

Colt I wouldn't touch right now with them in bankruptcy.

Colt is out of bankruptcy. Again.

 

[Ranger514]

This is an all too often repeated topic. I solved my S&W quality problems..

[/QUOTE

You might want to do some research on the numbers of their unhappy 1911 owners before you start bragging on the brand.

 

[stregap51]

By the way, that was one reason I went with Galleryofguns. When you buy a gun from them, you dont go to the OEM for any issues, you to go them and they issue you a BRAND NEW firearm and handle the bad one themselves and probably resell it later.

Good to know. I bought this one from Grab A Gun.

 

[comiskeybum]

LOL Kimber? I dunno if i would necessarily go thumping my chest about their quality control either.........just saying.

As nice as some of their guns are.......

 

[revolver686]

This is an all too often repeated topic. I solved my S&W quality problems..

I'm sure its a fine revolver, but I can guarantee that if you jump on to the Kimber Talk forum somebody will be complaining about an issue they're having with the gun I've read several. Such is the nature of online forums.


Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Old cop]

Back in the late '70s we replaced our blued Model 15s w/the "new" stainless models. Quite a few needed the range master to make a few repairs before they could be issued, and some were so bad they had to be returned to the factory. This is nothing new.

 

[Kingspoke]

By the way, that was one reason I went with Galleryofguns. When you buy a gun from them, you dont go to the OEM for any issues, you to go them and they issue you a BRAND NEW firearm and handle the bad one themselves and probably resell it later.

I just bought a 627-5, 4" through Gallery of Guns,and because of all the S&W QC complaints on the web, I went over it with a fine tooth comb, and glad to say it is thus far flawless, and a real quality revolver. It's still in jail for a week, but I sure didn't want to give it back until then.

Cheers to S&W for producing some of the finest quality and most attractive revolvers out there. It's also nice to know that I have a guarantee of complete satisfaction, or I can send it back.

 

[ladder13]

Kimber? Saw one at a gun show, meh.

They've made what, 10 revolvers, let me know when they're making 100's of thousands.

 

[Autonomous]

I sure miss the old S&W. My older ones are 100% good. My two new ones are 100%... back to the factory.

 

[Jim NNN]

I sent a new S&W Sigma back to the factory, and they repaired it good. I also sent a classic old model 681 back to the factory, and the repair was not quite so good.

I also have Ruger back at the factory. It happens to all gun makers, now and then. Had a couple of pristine vintage S&W revos with issues...obviously wasn't wear and tear as they had little wear. Go figure.

 

[Tom S.]

This is an all too often repeated topic. I solved my S&W quality problems..

Funny you should mention this. I bought one last year, and posted a report here under "other Brands". While it looks nice, the trigger on it can't hold a candle to my 640. And we won't talk about how much than the 640 it cost.

Kimber K6S

 

[OLDSTER]

S&W quality

I'll be the "fly-in-the-ointment" on this thread. The only "new"(IL,MIM,etc.) S&W revolver I've purchased in at least 15 years is this Model 360J scandium frame .38+P. I was intrigued when they first began showing up a few years back. Fit and finish is superb, action is very smooth, factory grips are perfect to tame recoil, so even at around 15 oz. It's not unpleasant to shoot. POA to POI at 7-10 yrds. is spot on. I guess I was just lucky with the QA/QC of this little gem

 

[sasu]

To be on the positive, of the dozen or so new S&Ws I bought about a decade ago, two thirds did not require any repairs.

 

[cmj8591]

We tend to hear only about problems on internet boards so we think that most of the guns coming out of the factory have a problem. The truth is that most of the guns are well made and have no problem. They go to their owner and give years of trouble free service and we never hear about it. The trouble comes when one slips by the person in charge of making sure everything is right before the gun heads out for sale. Maybe the quality control guy was busy talking to his co worker about the New England Patriots winning their fifth championship in eleven years and a gun with a defect slipped by! See, it's Tom Brady's fault!

 

[gnystrom]

Duplicate posting

 

[Bourget117]

All my firearms purchased in the last 3 years have had issues and have needed to go back for repair. Two Sigs, a S&W Bidyguard and now my e-series 1911 will need to go back.
Only firerarm that has not given me any problems is my Colt.

 

[gnystrom]

I am trying to keep this to a discussion of expected quality when purchasing a firearm not a specific brand so...

Understand I am not a fanboy of any particular company and as a RSO and instructor I see problems with literally every brand of firearms made and as other have stated, the internet is full of complainers, so let's assume all guns fire and operate as advertised as the vast majority do,
That said:
When I pay a bonus price for any firearm that comes from their "custom shop" I do not expect to open the box and find a cylinder that has one chamber left unfinished, a barrel visibly clocked, the flutes in the barrel with deep visible pits (my 640Pro), a gun totally out of time (my 686 SSR), damaged crowns, trigger action that felt like it was full of sand (my buddy's 586L comp), among many other issues reported here.

The Kimber I purchased will be the first revolver in twenty years that will not need a trigger job, charge holes chamfered, or sights replaced.
As with all guns I will assume it will continue to perform as expected or get the great customer service that S&W provides. So far, I have only fifty rounds downrange and being recoil insensitive (I shoot and carry a 340PD) the Kimber just continued to put them in the black on a NRA bullseye target at 30' just as I would expect from any high end firearm.

As for pricing, my 640 Pro with LG350 Lasergrips and trigger job was a wash with the Kimber equipped the same way. You will find Rugers Wiley Clapp models to also be in the same bracket with Kimber and S&W.

 

[jeeps]

Kimber?? Worst Q problems in the industry!! Would not own a Kimber!

 

[Bourget117]

I am trying to keep this to a discussion of expected quality when purchasing a firearm not a specific brand so....

Well all my brand new defective firearms cost me $850+ each with the exception of the bodyguard, so ya I expect some quality regardless of the brand.

 

[cmj8591]

I am trying to keep this to a discussion of expected quality when purchasing a firearm not a specific brand so....

You are absolutely right, when you plunk down a G note for a new gun, you expect it to be as advertised. The thing with internet forums, all of them, not just this one, is that quality is subjective in a lot of cases and we get that subjectivity in most of the complaints that get posted on the internet. (I.E., the dreaded lock!) I buy a gun and am happy with the fit and finish, you buy the same gun and think it's a piece of junk. So, you send it back and it comes back in that same condition and it's still a piece of junk and now the manufacturer is no good. That doesn't mean that the gun is junk, it just means that you have different expectations than I do. My point is, absent an obvious manufacturing defect, like we have in this case, keep in mind that many of the complaints we read here are in the eye of the beholder.