cmj8591
Member
All the S&W's I own were made in the Bangor Punta era, and they are still of the older, hand-fitted, high quality finish era. Some of the most desirable S&W models come from those years, the culmination of the "pre-model number" guns from before BP bought controlling interest in the company in 1965.
I think Tompkins plc and Saf-T-Hammer did more to change the spirit and quality of S&W than anything else has.
Early BP, yes, they continued the post war quality. As time went by, they went down hill fast. Just before LS acquired them, quality was non existent. I think LS was more interested in S&W for their metallurgy abilities than as a gun manufacturer. Tompkins almost ended S&W as a viable business. CS not withstanding, had it not been for Saf-T-Hammer, the S&W we know would not exist today.