Smith and Wesson quality Kaput.

[hassiman]

I sent my new S&W 629-6 4" to my gunsmith because my cylinder gap seemed a bit wide and my barrel was a bit canted. It also seemed that the front sight was not straight.

Today, after working on the weapon he told me that my cylinder gap from the factory was .006 on one side and .009 on the other because the forcing cone was improperly filed.

He then said the the threads on the frame were not 90% to the frame. Great. He also said that the sight was crooked because the slot for the sight was not properly milled. He says he has seen a number of S&W's like this of late.

Inexcusable.

He set the barrel so that the front sight would be square to the rear and set the Cylinder gap at .004.

He cant do anything about the frame barrel mount not being 90 degrees but he said the gun should be a good reliable shooter.

I would think twice about buying another new Smith as some of these things can only be discovered by an expert gunsmith... after he removes the barrel. This fellow was trained by S&W years ago and is known as one of the best in the business.

 

[Irn-Bru]

Unfortunately this is the world we live in. Quality in every aspect of the world is going down hill. Cutting corners and saving a buck is the new trend. It's not just S&W, Sig Sauer are going the same way.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

Too bad you got a klunker. I would of sent it back and had it fixed for free. And I'd keep sending it back until it was perfect and I was satisfied. That's what the Lifetime Service Policy is there for. You pay up front, but shouldn't have to expend a single nickel afterwards. (Just time and aggravation!).

 

[Ashlander]

I just bought the new 2.75" 66-8 (to add to my accumulation of S&W revolvers) and find it very well designed and executed, yet I tend to agree that S&W is a bit behind the curve in quality manufacturing. I have recently bought a Kimber K6s and found the design, fit, finish, and trigger excellent well beyond my expectations (and better than any J-frame I have owned). Moreover I have even found recent Taurus and Rossi revolvers to be superb in design and manufacture (they went to the lock-up on the yoke long before S&W with their new 66-8) and the cost is substantially more economical. I have a 5 shot Taurus 85 and a 7 shot Taurus 617SS that I never thought would measure up to S&W - but they did. The Rossi 6 shot snubs 461/462 at 26 ounces with 2" barrels are super for the bucks (about $350).

I am not suggesting anybody abandon S&W -- only to check out what else is out there if you find a good deal.

 

[Tom S.]

Too bad you didn't send it back and let the factory fix it for free. By having a gunsmith work on it, the only thing kaput now is the warranty.

 

[MichiganScott]

Too bad that the only posts about current S&W quality are when someone gets a lemon. Five out of the last six that I've purchased were just fine. The one I sent back came home in perfect condition.

Compare that to the last three cars I bought. I'm still getting recall notices on the newest one that was bought eleven years ago.

 

[MichiganScott]

Placing this posting it in one section was a legitimate complaint. Putting this post in two different sections becomes trolling.

 

[Wee Hooker]

I've had several issues with new Performance/Pro Series revolvers in the last year. ( I sit here today waiting for the Fedex truck to bring my 986 Pro back from the factory.) I guess what bothers me ( as a consumer, engineer and retired process manager for the Navy) not so much there were manufacturing issues. That stuff happens in any manufacturing process. Whats wrong it's that they can allow easy to spot defects to slip through Quality Assurance process and get out the door without needed rework.
BTW, in my experience, I'm not sure the issues you found would be considered "out of factory spec" for factory repair. You paid for the fix but at least it got done done in one easy trip.

 

[JHB51]

Too bad that the only posts about current S&W quality are when someone gets a lemon. Five out of the last six that I've purchased were just fine. The one I sent back came home in perfect condition.

Compare that to the last three cars I bought. I'm still getting recall notices on the newest one that was bought eleven years ago.

This brings back memories of high school. Don't do your home work then complain about your grades. The last time I looked the search function worked fine it will tell you all the problems other people had and what to look for before you make your purchase.

 

[Arik]

Where's that thread with all the brand new 70s revolvers being sent to back to the factory from police departments due to major issues! You know, the ones that were from the era of great quality

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Pizza Bob]

Let me just expound a bit about threads like this. First the OP maligns all of S&W's current production based on a sample of one. I commiserate with him on getting a lemon, but fail to understand why he felt it necessary to spend money, on top of his initial outlay, to fix things the factory would have done under warranty and then come on here and cry about it.

Then we get those that wail and gnash their teeth over "Quality ain't what it used to be". Funny, they've been saying the same thing for the 55+ years that I've been shooting. Either the guns around prior to my taking up the sport were perfect and had near magical qualities or current production, by comparison, is at such a nadir, that we're lucky the guns shoot at all.

The Internet, and forums such as this one, are a great tool, but they are a two-edged sword. As was pointed out, you seldom read threads about the thousands of guns with which there have been no problems. That perform as expected day in and day out without a hitch. But let someone with a keyboard get one gun of questionable quality and suddenly they are painting with a very broad brush and condemning everything that particular manufacturer does.

Hey, it is a product produced by human beings - they, like the product they produce, are fallible and occasionally one gets by QC - just as has happened forever. Again, I'm sorry this has befallen the OP, but his cry of "S&W quality kaput" is reminiscent of Chicken Little's falling sky.

Rant over.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[Pebbles]

Do you have an address for him I'm having prob with my 629 performance center pistol

 

[cowboy4evr]

I'm not a semi auto guy so I have " no dog " in this fight . I have seen 2 glocks , brand new right out of the box have problems . These were with experienced shooters . Glock has a reputation for making quality firearms. My point is that it just occasionally happens , with ANY product made . It doesn't mean their quality is gone , just the occasional " lemon " . So get over it , fix it and stop trying to sound like you are the " final word " .
BTW : pertaining to Sig Sauer . Even though I'm not a fan of semi auto's I decided I needed to become familiar with them . In the past 6 yrs I have purchased 3 Sig's , brand new and they have been " Completely " completely trouble free . NO issues what so ever . Very accurate and just as reliable . On one I did the " Xchange Kit " from 9mm to 357sig . Couldn't be happier . So before you start bashing Sig , stop reading all the internet bashers who probably don't even own one and get one for yourself to find out the real truth .

 

[gnystrom]

I will join the "why would you not send it back to the factory" crowd. Sorry for your problems but you now have eliminated any possibility for future repair work. S&W quality will not improve until the culture changes those that are sending out defective products are removed from their job.

 

[H Richard]

What about the large New Jersey lawsuit against Sig for quality issues?

 

[VPNAVY]

FWIW - maybe the OP wanted his S&W now and not have to go through the process of calling, waiting for the next available representative, explaining the problem, getting a return number, waiting for pickup, waiting for S&W to repair, waiting for notice of return and on and on. Maybe the OP wanted his "toy" now and not a month (or more) from now and was more then willing to pay for the fix to enjoy his "toy" now and not months from now?

 

[ontargetagain]

You are asking for a production gun to fit into 'master gunsmith' specs. I can appreciate your quest but can't relate to your expectations. You opted to not have S&W service your gun, likely your intent was to have the gun worked over by a master gunsmith anyhow. It may have shot just fine, may have lasted a lifetime just the way it was.

When you get a car engine it is within manufacturing specs (or is it) you take it to an engine builder who blueprints and balances it and now it is as good as it can be but you don't get that in production built anything!

I'm curious, what other 4" 44 Magnums did you consider and why did you not pick one of those..............Likely because the Smith was the better choice and the one your gunsmith said can be best sweetened up to your likings

For those that have become perfectionists, we put trust in ourselves and only a few others to do the work we can't for us. The priviledge is we don't have to start from scratch to have a gun built, we can fine tune a production gun at a reasonable cost.

I don't expect an 'Wilson Combat' for the price of a std production gun but I would love too LOL
Please give us an update on the positive side once your gun is finished on how well it shoots.
Karl

 

[rbmac52]

Another reason I will never buy a Smith & Wesson gun that is not at least 30 years old.

 

[Autonomous]

While I'd like to see S&W have to pay shipping and perform repairs to all of their defective products, I don't blame hassiman for his decision.
S&W already had a chance to make the gun right. they blew it. Hasssiman wanted it done right and got his wish.

 

[hassiman]

The quality of my S&W and why I had a Smith corect it

First I would like to apologize for cross posting. Not trolling.... just venting. I won't do it again. It was late and I just forgot to delete my first post that really belonged in the Smithing section.

As to sending the weapon back to S&W.... I did that already. After 2 months with my new 629-6 it came back with only a damaged muzzle crown fixed. They did not address the canted barrel issue which I had detailed. After numerous calls where numerous S&W employees told me " We will put things into factory spec etc. etc. just send it back" I just gave up.

I had no idea that my frame was miss-drilled and threaded so the barrel was not at precisely 90 degrees to the frame... and neither would any of you that are not Gunsmiths and removed your barrel. I had no idea that the barrel's front sight blade slot was milled off center but my Gunsmith caught it.

Had I known what was wrong I would have asked for a new weapon but coulda, woulda, shoulda... I just want a good firearm that works and now I have one... albeit with a barrel that's slightly wonky. but it will be a good shooter.

As far as the lifetime warranty is concerned.... At my age that gun doesn't have to last that long...

I probably will look for a safe Queen 29-2 or 629-3 that was made 15-20 years ago or more when things were still hand fitted by gunsmiths.