Should I be upset?

[S&WsRsweet]

I have learned through the years that when dealing with any large corporation you have to be persistent sometimes very .I would give it a few cooling off days and if no call back start all over again maybe with a different contact .I personaly wouldn't give up until I was satisfied but I am just that hard headed . I had similar experiance with car company it took six weeks maybe 20 hours on hold on phone and a bunch of those looks from my wife like " why don't you just give up" head shaking eye rolling .End the end I got what I wanted though.

 

[mauiblue]

If the issue with the gun bothers you, sell it. If you still are upset with the way S&W dealt with you, call and talk to a supervisor or a corporate rep about the situation. I sent two revolvers back to S&W in the last few months and all went well. No problems with communications and all was resolved. Good luck and be safe.

 

[one eye joe]

I have a 686-6 that has pretty much what you have. Been to S&W and got same answer. Every time I looked down the barrel it would just @#$& me off.
Took rear sight off, installed a Weigand rail, installed a reflex and it is a tack driver now.
I know this isn’t for everyone but it worked for me and at my age I don’t need blood pressure getting up.

THIS IS A VERY VIABLE WAY OF ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM, Carrier--IF THE BARREL LENGTH OF THE OP'S M686 IS LONG ENOUGH TO ACCEPT THIS, WITHOUT APPEARING DISPROPORTIONATE......

 

[rifmon]

If the issue with the gun bothers you, sell it. If you still are upset with the way S&W dealt with you, call and talk to a supervisor or a corporate rep about the situation. I sent two revolvers back to S&W in the last few months and all went well. No problems with communications and all was resolved. Good luck and be safe.

Well I was out and about yesterday and came in late. I read a few additional comments and woke up to see many more. Thanks again for all the input everybody!

It appears to me there are a few sentiments represented through all the posts and I agree with all three points here and 2 of them are well represented by mauiblue's comment above.


1 - The gun doesn't make you happy. Sell it and get another one.

2 - I'm upset with S&W's handling of the situation. I was led in a specific direction with an expectation of a repair but was denied or ignored. Pursue S&W to a better conclusion; new frame or new gun

3 - The condition of my gun is not too bad,.... shoot it....enjoy it.

Again, I really appreciate everyone's input because I was able to explain why I'm bugged and I received honest reactions from people who understand my concern. (My wife thinks I'm crazy on this matter haha.)

So how do I feel about it this morning after reading your comments? I feel better. Im not crazy and I'm not the only one to have this type of experience.

I can approach S&W's customer service; wait a couple of days, call to speak with the same person or a senior manager etc. In thinking about that process, I'm not sure I want to expend the energies and time to do that. During the three weeks the gun was at S&W, thought crossed my mind "Will my gun come back with a new frame only for me to discover a canted barrel?!?! UGH

So at this point, I'll either keep it because it's not too bad as many pointed out, or I may sell it because I'm not real happy with it .... But, if I buy another new 3 inch revolver, it might be a new Ruger or an older Smith and Wesson. I want a 3 inch barrel because I carry AIWB and wanted the extra inch barrel for the 357 rnd.

I'd really love a 65 3 inch but have you seen the prices they command?

 

[rifmon]

Glad we could help. I too, sometimes need some outside/opinions and assistance as well. I too carry my "N-Frame" everyday at some part in the day if not most of the day. My wife asked me the other night if I was going to wear my M629-5 to bed... Of which I replied, "Why, you wanna get kinky..." I got "that-look" which shut that down; but it was worth saying enough for "that-look" in retrospec for fun and giggles just to be funny.

Keep that Revo and enjoy shooting and carrying the snot out of it. I love my N-Frame (Midgets) as I call them, All chambered in .44Spec/Mag. They have become my favorite hand held firearms outpacing even my beloved 4" barreled "Commander" M1911's as of recent!

Beautiful gun HamHands! Really nice 44!

 

[rifmon]

Your issue with the S&W Company is not new. In the era of 1964 I sent a blued Model 10 HB as the cylinder locking bolt was not correct in that it did not lock the cylinder allowing the cylinder to continue to turn. I requested that the issue be corrected and the revolver be nickel plated. The revolver was returned nickeled plated but the issue with the cylinder locking bolt was still present.

Ugh. what a nightmare...time spent, time without your gun etc...Did it ever go back and get corrected and if so, how much time did you need to spend?

I have a beautifully made model 10-6 HB.... it is a manufactured perfection!

 

[rifmon]

Sometimes... all you can do is roll with the punches.

The below link is a posting about my experience with a 625-8 JM that I brought new a few years ago:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...ongs-sometimes-makes-right.html#post138687908

At first, when the gun is viewed from the top, it bothers me because you can see the alignment error with the barrel and the replacement Hi-Viz front sight blade canted to the right... but since the sight picture now looks "normal" and it shoots very well, it bothers me less and less as time goes on because of the results seen on a target.

Yeah that canted barrel would've bothered the heck out of me. I'm glad you got the problem resolved.

 

[Old Corp]

To the OP - sounds like you have a piece of 'trading stock'. Use it to get something you'll really enjoy.

Think we've all seen CS where you get one strong impression, and that is you're served with the impression they really, really just hope you go away. Been there too many times.

 

[rifmon]

Last year I purchased a new S&W 629 4" barrel. When I picked it up I checked it out only to find a number of what I would call serious flaws. 1. The barrel was clocked at about 11:00 o'clock. 2. The cylinder gap was.005 on one side and .009 on the other. 3. The front sight's slot had not been milled in the center of the barrel. 4. There was a tool mark on the barrel's crown.

I tried to talk to someone at Smith about it but was never connected to anyone that actually knew anything about guns...

I sent the gun back with a letter detailing the problems, 4 weeks later I gut the weapon back with only the muzzle crown fixed and no mention of the other problems.

I finally sent the gun to Frank Glenn... master gunsmith and S&W trained. He was amazed. He fixed the cylinder gap but in the process discovered that the hole in the frame for the barrel was not even 90 degrees to the frame!

He said that from what he had heard the real gunsmiths at Smith & Wesson are gone. QC is almost non existent and getting a well made revolver is the luck of the draw. Everything is C&C milled and parts fitters assemble the guns from parts bins. This does not account for machine tools that get worn and tolerances that change.

I sold that gun at a loss and found a 629-4 Trail Boss 3" that WAS assembled and fitted by a gunsmith. It is a wonderful gun. It's isn't as wonderful as the 29-2 that I had and sold in the 1970's but it's close. I am afraid the days of S&W quality have, like many other things, passed.

Wow. It sounds like you had a Franken-gun. That's a clear case for warranty work but I guess you didn't want to expend your time and energies. I get it. You voted with your wallet. Buying a used Smith from another era doesn't reward the current S&W.

 

[ken158]

If something as insignificant as what I see bothers you this much, put it on gubroker at $1 with no reserve and your troubles will be over in a week. The factory makes guns to be used as tools of the trade. I suspect some commeratives made are given a better look but in the end, they go out the door. Adjustable sights are made to adjust your group to your load, hold and sight picture...

 

[RGVshooter]

Just out of curiosity but is the OP right handed? And are we right eye dominant? Are we shooting with both eyes open or closing that left eye when we shoot?

 

[vt_shooter]

S&W asked you what you wanted them to do. They can't un-mill the gun and mill it again, so their question seems reasonable to me.

 

[rifmon]

Just out of curiosity but is the OP right handed? And are we right eye dominant? Are we shooting with both eyes open or closing that left eye when we shoot?

I am right handed and right eye dominant. I shoot with both eyes open. For this particular gun, in order to obtain consistent POA/ POI, I shot from a rest. Something I do not normally do.

After sighting it in from the rest, my shots from a standing position were hitting true to POA.

 

[rifmon]

S&W asked you what you wanted them to do. They can't un-mill the gun and mill it again, so their question seems reasonable to me.

Yes I agree. As I stated, I called S&W on a whim thinking there was nothing that could be done. It was the customer service rep who told me they’d replace the frame. That thought didn’t enter my mind until he said it.

 

[gwpercle]

If S&W is willing to replace the frame, go for it....you know well and good the offset is going to bother you every time you pick the gun up....
Do It ,
Gary

 

[rifmon]

Update; (I was not going to let this go.) I wanted to talk to the rep who sent the label to see if it the repair request was accidentally mishandled or if it was intensionally mishandled.

I called the customer service rep 3 times. Each time, I left messages requesting a return call. The first message was on November 16th. The second on November 19th and the third on November 26th. On the third call I reached a person who said they were sitting directly behind the customer service rep and I was assured that I would get a callback as soon as that customer service member was off of a call. I waited, and waited and waited; No call.

At this point I was more than annoyed because it appeared I was being ignored and avoided.

So I called again today; call #4. This time I decided to not use the direct extension to the initial person; Hopefully start fresh with someone else.

I was glad that another person answered. I explained the sequence of events and I was told that I should not have gotten the gun back with the same frame and that there was a disconnect in the process. I was told that they would send me a label again and this time, the returned gun would go to a supervisor.

I have the label so it'll go out to S&W by the weekend.

It pays to be persistent.

 

[American1776]

I'm picky as hell with my guns, and that little deviation would *not* bother me at all. I'm much more bothered with
1) loose cylinder lockup
2) canted barrel
3) poorly finished forcing cone
4) slow carry up

 

[H Richard]

The variation is so insignificant I doubt if I would have noticed it. 4 clicks windage is nothing.

 

[otis24]

You should EXPECT to receive what S&W's customer service representative told you to expect. You sent your firearm in based upon the information told to you BY THEM. You had certain expectations of remedy based upon what was told to you BY THEM. If you were told to expect your frame to be replaced, THAT IS WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN. Anything less is poor customer service and warrants being upset.

 

[Andyd]

I have read this thread and find something in the mindset here very disturbing. The OP is aware that S&W has a very generous warranty to the original owner and made it clear that he is not the original owner but bought the gun second hand, so legally not entitled to a service he demands vigorously. In my opinion he has no right to this warranty service and I find his request for a warranty service that he illegally acquired dishonest and very unethical.

The cost for this stolen service will be paid by everybody else who buys a new gun because the cost of warranty repair is calculated and included in the price that new gun owners pay.