What happened to the Old Smith and Wesson Company

[steelslaver]

While I will agree on the actual quality control part.

But, Check out Ford, GMC, Chrysler to see if they stock parts for any of their 1986 models. If you want an old school, hand build by dedicated craftsmen revolver are you willing to pay for their services?
.
Now days a actual craftsmen is worth at least $45 an hour. If they hand fit every piece of their revolver most people could never afford them.

The old style front screws for rear sights are available. In fact ACE has lots of both stainless and blue gun screw. You might have to adjust the length.

 

[SWFan27]

There was a time, "the good old days", when S&W's philosophy was we will be successful if we build the best possible product for the price. That went on for about a hundred years--------and it worked.

Then a new philosophy was born----we will be successful if we build our products and conduct our operations at the lowest possible cost. This latter philosophy has matured over the ensuing 75 years.

One writer above lays this at the doorstep of senior management----perhaps simply because he didn't stop to think about who senior management reports to. (That would be the owners.) I can't tell you who the major owners are at this point in time, but I can tell you what their interests are.

I can go on, but it's a sad tale --------and the only happy ending will arise from new owners----with somewhat different interests.

Ralph Tremaine

Smith & Wesson is a publicly traded company, and they basically answer to stockholders looking for a good return on their investment. That is the reality of things in 2025. And as far as revolvers go, that is such a small niche market. And a very small percentage of their business.

My LGS owner told me he sells 50 semiautos to every revolver he sells. It will be a very sad day if S&W ever stops making revolvers, and an even sadder day if they ever close their doors for good. 1975 is not coming back anytime soon. And my modern Smith & Wessons work just fine.

 

[flagaman1950]

Not to step on any toes, but just want to throw in my 2 cents worth. I am retired and I look back on my years of work experience and see both sides of the worker vs management challenge. Product quality failure will happen. Aviation, medical and even atomic energy have failures and they have some of the most redundant safety and quality checks you can have.

I learned a lot through school, but learned far more through experience. I finally got a feel of what it takes to develop and maintain an effective culture and then I retired. Oh well. Having started as an hourly paid clean-up man up to facility manager let me experience both sides.

Developing and maintaining a winning work culture is a challenge for sure. An effective culture takes a long period of time to become the norm in a work environment. It has to start at the top or it will not be successful nor will it last if management fails to do their part.

Hiring quality employees is a challenge, but maintaining the required performance level is even more critical. Small things, such as one sub par employee not doing their job will bring a whole crew down. And it is often because the supervisor lets that person get by with a sub par work performance. Performance expectations must be known and followed.

From my experience, management and hourly must be on the same page to achieve and maintain a positive work culture. One where an acceptable return is achieved. When management and labor work together
cost will go down, product failure rate will go down and profit will go up. Just my 2 cents worth.

Best.

 

[white cloud]

There obviously are things going on at S&W among the everyday workers that top management knows nothing about.

That is why if anyone knows how to contact any of the upper management they should do so and pass along some of the things that have been said and done with customers having a problem..

Management can't correct what they are kept in the dark about.

I am sure customer service and tech support keep things to themselves to protect their jobs.

If you want things to change shout it from the mountain.

I am old and retired and so know nothing. That said, when I was a director at decent size software company, my philosophy was to attend fewer meetings, write less email and "walk my ship". In other words, get involved. It seems to me that modern management practice seems to be pontification, email and meetings.

 

[steelslaver]

I am old and retired and so know nothing. That said, when I was a director at decent size software company, my philosophy was to attend fewer meetings, write less email and "walk my ship". In other words, get involved. It seems to me that modern management practice seems to be pontification, email and meetings.

A good leader leads, to really do that you have to be seen out front displaying the behavior you want them to follow.

Or as one boss taught me,

Crews are like chain, you can pull them with a little effort, you can't push them very well no matter how hard you try

 

[stansdds]

I'm surprised by all the negativity. Not from the OP, he seems to be the typical one post ghost type of complaintant.

Ah well.

Yep, first post is to bash S&W, which always makes me skeptical. The OP did successfully stir the pot of dissension.

 

[Model29-26.5]

“…1986, We don’t stock those parts.” “These things happen..”
Neither of these statements should be a surprise about any company on a tight profit margin making precision equipment at consumer prices.
This is not like paying 20 grand for a Rolex. Even then, I’m sure they’ve had their dud products going out the door.

If you stop buying Smith & Wesson then which company you are you gonna go to that has the kind of quality control that you’re looking for??
None.
They don’t exist anymore in the consumer market.
I can’t know any offhand, but I’m sure if you Want to buy something out the door that you know will work flawlessly and have spare parts for your lifetime.. You’re gonna pay a much higher price for A custom item.
This is just today’s factory manufacturing.
Or, as the OP did… He took it to a gunsmith, which would’ve cost a little but not a ton. And there is your extra cost.. To have something that is a quality product that is working well. You could pay for that straight from the factory from the custom shop. No need to get upset. It is just the way is.

 

[Tom S.]

I certainly am glad you took the time to join our forum to air out your two incredibly horrific complaints and inform us of your vow to abstain from purchasing any S&W products in the future. No doubt, the stockholders will rent their clothing to tatters and weep uncontrollably, but I'm sure your therapist will be happy at the steps you have taken to regain your sanity.

Tarus eagerly awaits your business.

 

[S&WshooterFIN]

Here on NATO's eastern border, I don't think we'll see new S&W revolvers for a long time. Even if we did, I wouldn't buy one, because there are plenty of good old ones available at a good price.
We don't have an importer, spare parts are only available by chance.
In the 1990s there was an importer that went bankrupt. There is little left of its spare parts stock, luckily not everyone knows where they are.

 

[505Gibbs]

Still better than Colt

Under their new ownership I would disagree with this statement! Colt doesn't have as many bases to cover compared to S&W given all the potential models in their catalog but as noted by many the current S&W products can be problematic and the service department has proven to be a joke by many on this forum!! Just my $0.02.

 

[Brian Parrish]

LOL

I certainly am glad you took the time to join our forum to air out your two incredibly horrific complaints and inform us of your vow to abstain from purchasing any S&W products in the future. No doubt, the stockholders will rent their clothing to tatters and weep uncontrollably, but I'm sure your therapist will be happy at the steps you have taken to regain your sanity.

Tarus eagerly awaits your business.

I laughed out loud.
You troll!

I did not think to look and see the statistics on the OP. You pointed out that he just joined a couple of days ago only to post this complaint. The rest of us have all been talking to him like he was listening, he ain't, and if his complaint had merit, eh.. Maybe? Some? Really?

I am going to sound like I am defending S&W...

Mark Smith has been CEO since 2020.
Before that he was president of manufacturing for years and years.
Before that he was Vice President of manufacturing.
He has led the company through the nightmare of inflation for four years and is still number one.
He now leads the company through the nightmare of Massachusetts political changes and the move to Tennessee.
He challenged the Glock 42 and the Sig P365 with the introduction of the Bodyguard 2.0 using a social media campaign that is truly innovative, which
-identified the key influencers.
-brought them to HQ with their cameras.
-had a fun range day together.
-sent them back home to be basically Beta testers and work out problems,
such as "My BG2 won't feed hollowpoints!!" then a week later, "Bodyguard 2.0 Problems Fixed? Maybe So!" then a month later, "Bodyguard 2.0 1000 Round Range Report." etc. etc. etc.

The top three factors impacting gun sales and gun futures right now are
1. The ladies carrying concealed. The numbers are being taken seriously by S&W.
2. The Blacks. The National African American Gun Assn is reporting high membership numbers since Trump. NPR reports, "24% of African Americans say they personally own a gun, compared with 36% of whites and 15% of Hispanics."
3. CCW garments innovation for the ladies. If you show these gals how to carry and still look good, they will come on board.

Please correct me, Tom S or anyone. I am not the expert.

Kind Regards!
BrianD

 

[steelslaver]

Another point. The chip

Inside he found a large chip of metal that was left over from the machining/assembling process and it was jammed in the mechanisim. I called S&W, not to complain but to suggest they do a better job on quality control in whichever factory was making these revolvers since this type of issue could hurt their reputation.

Dress it however you want, I would call that a complaint

Should you have to take off the side plate and check inside? NO

BUT

If you are going to bet your life on a gun, that and firing a bunch of rounds through it to make sure it functions correctly is it is a really good idea

 

[Ameshawki]

No manufacturer is going to stock parts for an item forty years old. There’s a reason places like Numrich and Jack First exist.

 

[LostintheOzone]

It's a sign of the times. Almost all the big companies have been geared for a profit margin, not highest quality.

I'd say it's that more than anything else.

 

[robertrwalsh]

My belief, for what that might be worth to you, is it is the same thing that happened to Boeing. The engineers no longer run the company. It is run by bean counters. Quality control is now the back burner. Way back.

 

[Hairtrigger]

They are publicly traded company. The focus is on profit, Not quality

 

[Malysh]

Still better than Colt

Bull!

Not any more. I visit the S&W and Colt forums multiple times a day. I own many firearms from both companies.
I see more complaints here on a daily basis than I'm seeing with new Colts.

Nothing like spreading more internet gossip. Go to it!

 

[Hairtrigger]

I encourage you to go to a local gun shop that will let you disassemble a colt handgun that is new.

You had a bad experience with Smith & Wesson, but disassembling and inspecting a new one will change your mind

If it is on the Internet, it must be true!

Bull!

Not any more. I visit the S&W and Colt forums multiple times a day. I own many firearms from both companies.
I see more complaints here on a daily basis than I'm seeing with new Colts.

Nothing like spreading more internet gossip. Go to it!

 

[Malysh]

I haven't had a bad experience with new guns from either makers.

I have never heard of a
gunshop that allows customers to disassemble new revolvers before purchasing, and I have a
hard time believing they would let you do
this either.

 

[Invictus357]

I very much doubt we will hear from Martin again.