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

[PeteC]

After cleaning the barrel, try dropping a few rounds of each ammo into the chamber. It should drop in, and come out again cleanly and without much effort (nudging it in is ok). If there is resistance going in or out, that ammo may have issues feeding, or extracting cases after it was fired.

 

[wproct]

Thank you for your report, I am glad that it is performing at an acceptable level for you. I hope that as the pistol wears in it will only do better.

 

[Rick H.]

PAgunman: I am glad to hear that your M41 operates much better now since it's return from the Mothership. Any .22 rimfire semi-auto firearm can be finicky with different ammunition being fired thru it. I have yet to find a semi-auto .22 rifle or pistol that is 100% perfect with everything. If I were in your position I would settle in on 1 or 2 types of ammunition and shoot them only. I have followed the advice here to stick with CCI SV as my main ammunition in my PC M41. I have no real idea how many rounds I have fired thru my pistol but probably over 500 some rounds and it seems to be better each time I shoot it. I like the fact my M41 shoots CCI SV best as it isn't a high velocity round and isn't battering the gun excessively. Oddly enough if I am going to experience a failure of any sort it is with the first round fired and then the pistol works great from then on. Lately I don't even have a problem with the first round fired, but if I go to a different make of ammunition all bets are off on reliability and accuracy. Enjoy your M41 and I hope your good fortune continues.
Rick H.

 

[PAgunman]

Thank you, Rick H. , for your words. I agree wholeheartedly with you!
Just want to give an update—I went to the range today with my buddy who also likes to shoot. We shot about 35-40 rounds through my model 41. I used the CCI AR Tactical 40 grain 1200 FPS 22LR and it fired flawlessly! No jams, stove pipes, feeding issues. I think my gun likes the 1200 FPS ammo more than the CCI SV ammo. Maybe it needs a few thousand rounds as its break-in period?! Also, happy to say that I was able to disassemble the model 41 this morning and cleaned it (bore snake and chamber/parts swabbed with No. 9 cleaning solution) before my range trip by being able to pull down on the trigger guard to release the slide…..it wasn’t an easy release but it was nothing like before the factory repair…..before sending this gun to the factory, it was nearly impossible to pull the trigger guard down…..I could never do it and I am a strong guy……even when I took my gun back to the gun store where I bought it, the smiths there could barely lower the trigger guard with 2 of them working on it simultaneously. When they sent it back to the factory, they also wrote to the factory that the trigger guard was nearly impossible to pull down. So it seems that issue was addressed. Again, am I happy? Yes. I have learned a lot about this gun AND about 22LR/rimfire ammunition during this process! Thanks to everyone!

 

[thefwguy]

You should have tried another ammo, you should just send it back and let something be done to it or you get your money back

 

[Rick H.]

Hmmmmm, I think he did send it back and I think he did try other ammunition and it works good now.

Rick H.

 

[oysterer]

My 1979 model runs better with CCI SV and a wolf 7.0 lbs spring rather then. factory 7.5. No FTF any more.

 

[N4KVE]

Can I get my money back? Does anyone know?

Absolutely not. At work when someone purchases a firearm, there is plenty of tiny legalize specifying once you leave the store, you must deal with the mfr. If there’s a problem, you can come back to the store, & as a courtesy, the gunsmith will spend 5 minutes of his time to fix the problem. Many times, that’s all that’s needed. Also the fine print specifies that should you buy a gun, & want a refund even an hour after leaving the store, you will be offered fair market value for your “used gun”. Which means same price as a 2 year old gun. But we encourage everyone to send the gun directly to the mfr themselves. Here’s why. If we send in the gun for you, & you call the mfr to check on its progress, they won’t tell you anything because you didn’t send it in. The store did. And in these busy times, the store won’t have the time to call various mfr’s to check on customers’ guns that we sent in. So this is why we encourage the customer to send their guns directly to the mfr for repair. GARY.

 

[AzShooter]

I recently bought a gun from Sportsman's Warehouse and was told that if I had a problem with it for the first month they would send it back to the manufacturer at no charge to me. They did have a special warrentlee for a few bucks that extended it for a year.

I'm a tinkerer and my pistols are seldom left stock. Even with my modifications they would send the gun in, then it's up to the manufacturer to either repair it for free or charge me.

The only real saving is shipping costs are a lot less if you have your dealer do the returns.

 

[SWOH]

S&W sent me a label when my partially rifled 642 PC needed to be sent back for a barrel.

 

[Marlin57M]

I use a 2007 shipped Model 41 for bullseye competition with 5” barrel. Additions/modifications include Runk grips, Volquartsen extractor, Wolff springs, recoil buffer and Ultradot sight. Ammo I use includes CCI std velocity, Aguila std velocity and Federal Automatch. My gun likes this ammo, is extremely reliable and cannot remember the last time I had to refire due to gun issue.

I clean approximately every 300 rounds because it is an easy gun to clean. I always make sure chamber is clean and perform the “plunk” test whereby I drop several rounds into the chamber to make sure they effortlessly and fully enter and drop from chamber. With more than 40,000 rounds through the gun and few issues, I’m happy

 

[BE Mike]

I have seen a lot of posts on other forums complaining about PC 41's. For the price point, they should function nearly 100% from the factory. If I were to buy a 41 today, I'd expect I'd send it off to a well-known pistolsmith who knows the pistols in and out. Glad your 41 works mostly well, now.

 

[PAgunman]

An update from today’s range trip……not good news. Surprising actually. I have recently posted that my model 41 works much better recently after it came back from the factory. BUT, on today’s range trip, the same old problems came around…..several jams (3) where the empty casing would not extract from the barrel and I had to pry it out myself. Several stove pipes and 3 or 4 misfires where the gun wouldn’t fire when it should have. I immediately used the bore snake to clean out the barrel, sprayed gun cleaner into the barrel and chamber and then cleaned the gun by taking it apart at the range, and very gently oiling the rails. I also placed a drop on oil on the top of the first bullet in the magazine. I also spray cleaned the 2 magazines as well. Did all this at the range. The issues I mentioned decreased but did not go to completely zero. Why did the gun do so much better before but badly today? I used the same ammo as before—CCI AR Tactical 22LR copper tipped 40 grain 1200fps, Federal Automatch 22LR 40 grain 1200 fps, CCI SV 40 grain 22LR 1080 FPS. Same ammo as last times, same shooter and same range. What is going on? Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

[PAgunman]

What about a Volquartsen extractor? Would it help? What gunsmith/armorer would you sent it to to have them take a look at it (any superb model 41 gunsmiths?).

 

[BE Mike]

What about a Volquartsen extractor? Would it help? What gunsmith/armorer would you sent it to to have them take a look at it (any superb model 41 gunsmiths?).

Here are two suggestions: Ten Ring Precision | Custom Guns Based in San Antonio and https://kcskustomcreations.com These are custom pistolsmiths, so they aren't cheap. Maybe you could send the bill to Smith & Wesson.

 

[PAgunman]

Sorry to say that my model 41 is jamming frequently. If I fire one bullet, the casing will get stuck in the barrel and I have to manually extract it. Tried 4 different brands of quality 22 LR ammo. A local gunsmith looked at it and thought that when the barrel was polished and repaired at S & W, they may have enlarged the circumference just a bit too much. So now when a bullet is fired, the hot casing expands to fill the barrel too tightly and the extractor won’t be able to extract it. Just a thought.
Also, at the 3 o’clock position on the feeding chamber metal of the barrel, just above the horizontal ridge, I found a very small chip in the metal…..thinking is that perhaps the extractor caused have caused this or perhaps this is a factory defect in production. At any rate, the gun is going back to the factory again. The cost associated with sending it to a custom smith is $300–$600….. I have already sunk a lot of money into this gun. I am thinking that either the barrel needs replaced and re-lined and new extractor placed. Or a new gun should be issued. Thanks.

 

[Old_Cop]

Have you tried another barrel on the gun. I bought one a while back for $350.

 

[PAgunman]

The gun was sent back to S & W. I asked them to replace the barrel, re-line it and put in a new extractor. I think that would fix the problem.

 

[PAgunman]

Not sure if anyone can answer but does S & W do “the right thing” to fix a gun sent back to their factory? If a barrel needs replaced, will they actually do that or keep messing around saying the barrel is ok when it’s not? Should I send a letter explaining the problem and my proposed solution? To whom do I send it? How can I get my thoughts and concerns to them without being impolite and overbearing?

 

[rolandj]

Not sure if anyone can answer but does S & W do “the right thing” to fix a gun sent back to their factory? If a barrel needs replaced, will they actually do that or keep messing around saying the barrel is ok when it’s not? Should I send a letter explaining the problem and my proposed solution? To whom do I send it? How can I get my thoughts and concerns to them without being impolite and overbearing?

I believe S & W will do Right for you. Call them and ask to speak with a supervisor and explain the problems to him or her and email pictures to back up your complaint. I had a problem with the rifling in the barrel of a new 41 I bought this year. The first two times I sent it to S & W requesting the barrel be replaced they returned it without replacing the barrel. I called and spoke with a supervisor explained the problems along with several pics. for back up before sending it back for the third time. About a month later it was returned with a new barrel. This all took about 3 months from start to finish. Politeness goes along way when trying to get problems resolved. Do not give up!