Sent my Performance Center model 41 back to S & W….

[Green Frog]

Realistically one didn't hear much bad or good about anything not too long ago. The internet took care of that, especially when it comes to hearing about the bad stuff. Few post anything about something they are happy with. Just human nature to complain loud and long.

Rick H.

Before the internet there was the network of “jungle drums” among shooters. Some of our info came from printed sources, but a lot was word-of-mouth. We would hear about which ammo was working well (by lot even, and who had it in stock and at the best prices.) Folks today would be amazed at what we old farts could do before the electronic age… on telephones that were connected to the wall by a cord, and mail that was handwritten on paper and sent in an envelope with a stamp on it. It’s amazing how we were able to get along pre-internet!

We learned pretty quickly which guns were working and which had problems. We may have responded to too much in the way of rumor and innuendo, but we probably got as good info as most of what we get now, and nearly as quickly. OK, I guess I am officially an Old Fart now.

Froggie

 

[Beemerguy53]

... OK, I guess I am officially an Old Fart now.

Froggie

Froggie, I tell people that when I was born, the Dead Sea was only sick...

 

[max503]

If a gun isn't right I'll send it back. My beloved Model 34 has been back to S&W twice. It was out of time when I bought it (I didn't know any better), and it had a very junky action. Took two trips but they fixed it. Sent my 44 in. Sent my Contender to TC a couple time. Sent a Model 60 to Marlin and had it replaced. Sent a 357 rifle to Rossi and had it replaced. Sent my Colt Pocketlite back then sold it cause they didn't fix it. This is over 40-some years.
My policy has been to send them back. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sometimes it takes more than one trip. Sometimes you got to wait. i want my guns to work.

 

[PeteC]

A local LGS told me last summer they had ordered "8 or 9" model 41s over the previous year, two for old customers, and the rest because of increased interest during the pandemic. According to an employee at the store, one was returned immediately for a cosmetic issue, and two went back later for what he called chamber/extractor issues. Even if there were say 10 total, a 30% return rate can't be good for ANY product, and especially not a high-end one. What would buyers say if 30% of Porsches sold by a dealership only ran on gas from "some gas stations" during the first year? Or if there were dozens of posts on the internet saying something like "Size 7 Prada shoes may only fit some size 7 feet", or, "some new Samsung TVs will not play some videos until you break them in for a few hundred hours" ...ludicrous.

 

[mattallamerican]

i hope they fix it for you i have one i bought in the 80s it eats anything never a hickup i mostly fire thunderbolt cheap ammo

 

[pantannojack]

Your symptoms read like the trouble I had with my first .22 a couple hundred years ago. It was a Monkey Wards semi auto. Not unlikely for a cheap gun at the time. I had a m41 thirty years ago which ran flawlessly with ten different ammo's and off a Ransom Rest at 25 yds consistently printed 1 1/2 inch groups with all ammo tried. I think Corporate America relys too much on college educated dimwits rather than experienced burger flippers for workers.

 

[PAgunman]

Thank you all for your input. I called S & W customer service line about 1.5 weeks ago and all they could tell me is that they received my model 41 on 10/27/21 (I brought it back to the gun store where I bought it on 10/16/21) and “we have it”. That’s it. No more update, no details, nothing else. I’ll see what kind of “gunsmiths” they have; maybe they will replace it with a new model 41. I just hope it works after this period of time.

 

[PAgunman]

I think that guns today are not made like they were 40–60 years ago. Back then, it was an art. Today, it is a business…..machines have replaced the skilled gunsmiths. Now, it’s sell as many guns as possible to make $$$.
And the prices have all gone up, not down, in spite of the machine- produced guns. I think that the pandemic has also played a role…..

 

[350mag]

Sent my Performance Center model 41 back to S & W….

The PC 41 is a beautiful pistol. I got a early release m 41 PC and it has been flawless. I only use target velocity ammo. Good luck. I hope they sort it out for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MJK-MOD-547]

Your symptoms read like the trouble I had with my first .22 a couple hundred years ago. It was a Monkey Wards semi auto. Not unlikely for a cheap gun at the time. I had a m41 thirty years ago which ran flawlessly with ten different ammo's and off a Ransom Rest at 25 yds consistently printed 1 1/2 inch groups with all ammo tried. I think Corporate America relys too much on college educated dimwits rather than experienced burger flippers for workers.

Many dimwits are getting their degrees and diplomas ONLINE.

 

[PAgunman]

I got my model 41 back from Smith & Wesson today. Happy about it. I will go to the range this weekend to try it out. Hope it shoots well.

 

[Beemer-mark]

Can't understand how you can screw up a 50 year old design. My 41 is at least 41 years old (has the cocked indicator) and shoots anything I put in it. Some ammo more accurate than others but all shoot without a hiccup.

 

[Imissedagain]

I got my model 41 back from Smith & Wesson today. Happy about it. I will go to the range this weekend to try it out. Hope it shoots well.

Did they indicate what they fixed/replaced?
thx
RT

 

[PAgunman]

The report said repair/polish barrel.

 

[wproct]

Anxiously waiting for your range report.

 

[SWOH]

Be careful and inspect. I had a SS Python I sent in for a b/c gap .012 and asked Colt to tighten it - came back with the front sight canted about 20 degrees. Yes, someone really was that dumb and it got sent right back. Selling that piece of **** to some Walking Dead fan in Commiefornia for four grand on GB was a happy day.

 

[AzShooter]

Smith & Wesson has always taken care of me in a timely manner. Two months to get your gun back is considered fast these days.

From your description of the problem and their repair you should be happy. I hope it works for you.

 

[KSDeputy]

I have been qualifying with a 641 for many years. The last two years it has been acting like your's. I had it thoroughly cleaned, and it needed it. Next trip to the range it was much better, but still had the problem intermittently. I am not certain what the next step will be.

 

[Autonomous]

The bean counters have too much quality control influence. They know many buyers will attempt to fix the guns themselves or just put it back in the box and forget it.
They've run the numbers and it costs less to pay expensive shipping and do repairs to those that come back rather than building them to a more reliable standard.
My take is to send a bad gun back even though it is a PITA.
My last two new S&Ws bought 5 years ago had multiple issues right out of the box and went back. Good luck getting a straight explanation of what repairs they did.

 

[PAgunman]

Well, I just got back from the shooting range. I shot 210 rounds through my model 41……50 rounds of CCI SV 22LR, 60 rounds of Federal Auto-match 22LR 40 grain 1200 fps, and 100 rounds of CCI AR Tactical 22LR copper tipped 1200 fps 40 grain. The gun liked the CCI AR Tactical the best. It has one jam where the empty casing got stuck in the barrel after the bullet was shot with the Federal and one with the CCI SV. It had two issues with the Federal—failure to feed properly and one failure to feed properly with the CCI SV. Other than that, I noticed that the accuracy was much better and the groupings were much tighter after it came back from the factory. Also, I noticed that the issues that I just mentioned occurred before 110 rounds were shot……it seemed that the more I shot, the less trouble occurred. Overall, the gun works much better and is more accurate after it came back from the factory. It is a precision, competition 22LR pistol and I guess that the issues that I had today are just part of the deal of owning such a gun as this. Am I satisfied? Yes. It is much improved! Is it perfect? No. But that is the nature of 22LR rimfire. Lastly, I looked closely at the size of the various 22LR that I used today……it seemed to me that the copper tipped 22LR tip is just a smidgen small in circumference than the lead tipped 22LR bullets. It just seemed like that to me when I looked very closely at all the ammo. Maybe that has something to do with it OR maybe the gun shot more consistently after it warmed up and the heat caused the chamber and barrel to expand just a tiny bit. Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions!