S&W Quality (Revolvers)

[SineMetu82]

I could agree that maybe, in the 159 or so years that S&W has been making guns, maybe the "current" quality isn't the best it has ever been in that time... or even the best as it could be.

However, I would never say the quality is "poor".
I will say the fit and finish of some of what I have seen can be desired, however, functionally I've never had a problem. I have a N Frame, J Frame, and a 1911PD.
My 1911PD was my first gun, has seen thousands of rounds, and even still when I pull it out at the range people make comments on how nice it is and how well it shoots. Many times they think I paid a couple hundred more than I did for it.

Do I wish the quality was better, yes. Could it be better, yes. Will I pay the price for that quality, yes. Will most people... nope.

 

[FLHTC]

I have co-workers who purchased a S&W Model 686 Plus Pro (.357), I think the list is around $1400, he was very disappointed in the fit and finish of the gun, he felt there was not a lot of attention paid to detail.

I purchased a DK1911, another expensive gun, the ball plunger that stabilizes the safety didn’t work, I had to have a smith fix it, the medallion on the grip fell out and now it’s gone. Yes I could have sent it back to S&W but I shouldn’t have to. It was faster and easier to pay for the repair then ship the gun.

I recently bought a S&W 625JM, no issues so far, the gun seems real nice, but it should be.

 

[jasons]

I love my S&W revolvers, both old and new. Oldest is a 586 from the late 70's, newest is a 642 that's only a few years old. My favorite is an 80's era 686 that I use for PPC. (Or is my favorite the .500? Hard to choose...) I've never had so much as a hiccup with any of them that wasn't my fault. (Playing with springs, etc.)

I wish I could afford a performance center gun. Those are nice hunks of metal.

 

[MichaelJR]

I gotta write it twice? Damn.

S&W sold us all out once, they will do it again if the hammer starts to fall on our rights again to save their own asses. They don't deserve our business.....and their quality is going down the toilet.

 

[M1911]

I gotta write it twice? Damn.

S&W sold us all out once, they will do it again if the hammer starts to fall on our rights again to save their own asses. They don't deserve our business.....and their quality is going down the toilet.

1) they were owned by a different company when that happened.
2) the executives who made that decision are gone.

Enough already.

 

[MichaelJR]

1) they were owned by a different company when that happened.
2) the executives who made that decision are gone.

Enough already.

I'll leave it alone, I know what happened....I just don't trust them. It's kind of like being hesitant to go to a restaurant under new management...after getting food poisoning there a few weeks prior.

 

[SheepDog_B]

1) they were owned by a different company when that happened.
2) the executives who made that decision are gone.

Enough already.

This.
Have an issue, hears a tissue.

 

[center442]

Regarding the bolded part: Someone was pulling your leg; it wasn't true then (or ever).

Yeah, there's no way they could do that. It would be illegal to force someone to perform labor without compensation.

I suspect you gentlemen are correct. I heard it over 30 years ago, so I don't honestly remember her exact wording.

The situation may have been that the workers received a base rate of pay and a piecework incentive. If they had to rework a gun, they might have gotten their base pay but no additional incentive for redoing the work that should have been done correctly the first time. That may have been what she meant by "on their own time."

It was a fascinating tour. If you've never been on one it's well worth the trip, or at least it was years ago.

 

[Mike1911]

snip...It was a fascinating tour. If you've never been on one it's well worth the trip, or at least it was years ago.

It was very interesting to watch. Each worker was given enough parts for a certain number of revolvers he was to built for that day, none extra. All guns or parts had to be accounted for at the end of his shift.

 

[M1911]

I'll leave it alone, I know what happened....I just don't trust them. It's kind of like being hesitant to go to a restaurant under new management...after getting food poisoning there a few weeks prior.

Dude, the entire management has changed.

Do you trust Ruger? In 1989, Bill Ruger, Sr., sent a letter to all congresscritters (representatives and senators) that read, in part:

The best way to address the firepower concern is therefore not to try to outlaw or license many millions of older and perfectly legitimate firearms (which would be a licensing effort of staggering proportions) but to prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. By a simple, complete, and unequivocal ban on large capacity magazines, all the difficulty of defining "assault rifles" and "semi-automatic rifles" is eliminated. The large capacity magazine itself, separate or attached to the firearm, becomes the prohibited item. A single amendment to Federal firearms laws could prohibit their possession or sale and would effectively implement these objectives.

And yet while many people still hammer S&W over decisions made by owners who have since sold and executives who are now gone, they give a pass to Ruger, even though Bill Ruger's behavior was far more vile.

Bill Ruger is dead. What's done is done. The company is different now. The same is true for S&W. Get over it.

"...a few weeks prior?" Do you realize that over a decade has passed?

 

[Supermoto]

I had a 642 that had the lock engage while shooting. Completely locked up the gun. removed the lock, such a stupid idea

Had a PC 627 V-comp, complete POS from the factory. Burrs on the forcing cone. gritty trigger, tooling marks on the yoke barrel, bad enough that you could hear it when spinning the cylinder, bad blueing. When I sent it back, it had a Jpoint red dot on. The S&W smith was not able to get the mount off. If a smith doesn't know how to get a loctited mount off. I don't want them working on my gun.

 

[TY43215]

From experience, the quality seems to be hit or miss. You can get three revolvers off the line tomorrow and have issues with one or none. Unfortunately, before they started cutting corners and mass producing parts, that was rare. I learned repair at S&W in the early 80's. We hand fitted 6 guns in two weeks just like the line fitters learned. It was a great experience.

Unfortunately, most of the fitters were promoted and many have reached retirement age. Be very careful when you talk to customer service though, most of those folks were fitters and have forgotten more than you will ever know about revolvers. That is why usually you get a spot on answer from them. They have been there. Last I knew, the assistant instructor from my Armorer course was in customer service.

 

[saltydude]

I had a 642 that had the lock engage while shooting. Completely locked up the gun. removed the lock, such a stupid idea

I removed the locks on all my revolvers (the ones that had them) prior to even fireing a shot. Smoothed out the action a bit. Most of the lock up malfunctions occur with J frames. Figures the one you depend on to work the most. Agree a very stupid idea.

Had a PC 627 V-comp, complete POS from the factory. Burrs on the forcing cone. gritty trigger, tooling marks on the yoke barrel, bad enough that you could hear it when spinning the cylinder, bad blueing. When I sent it back, it had a Jpoint red dot on. The S&W smith was not able to get the mount off. If a smith doesn't know how to get a loctited mount off. I don't want them working on my gun.

I would expect that from a regular production line gun but from the PC? That's upsetting. These are the the short commings I'm talking about.
My V-comp seems flawless (after a little trigger work).

When I bought my 686+ I looked at three of them before buying mine. The first one had a cylinder that seemed bound up & just would'nt open smoothly. The clerk said it just needed to be broken in. Bull shit! The second had such a small gap in between the cylinder & the forceing cone there's no way it was in tolorence. I'm sure it would bind after minimal carbon build up. Unacceptable.

Guys look for these things before walking out with a new revo from Smith.

 

[jasons]

removed the lock, such a stupid idea

Yep. The first thing I did when I got my 642 was remove the silly lock.

 

[fubar]

I have 2 gen 3 model 29's. They are not for sale.

 

[Dnotarianni]

All of mine are pre-lock.

I won't buy one with a lock.

I have to agree! Something about drilling a hole in the side of a perfectly good gun just seems wrong!

Dave