Religious Shooter Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I was about to go to my LGS and pay CA prices for a Model 60 Pro Series. http://www.turners.com/smith-and-wesson/smith-wesson-pro-series-m60-357mag-3-barrel-268741 Then I saw the other thread... Has anybody had good luck with a recently made S&W revolver? Or should I just not make this purchase? I had bad luck with a recent SP101 purchase (the trigger locks up with live fire) and don't want to get burned again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWP Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Only one I sent back was my own fault. Can't say I've seen a bad one from the factory in person. It's not surprising to see a thread about some bad ones, nobody raves about the other 14 they have that work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okshootist Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 My experience has been that your chances of getting a functional, mechanically sound gun right out of the box are better than ever. I'm not a fan of every design and material choice they have made, but their current manufacturing process provides a high level of consistency. Bad products still get out but S&W customer service is better than most at resolving those issues. As for your SP 101, my one experience with Ruger customer service was very positive. If you haven't already, give them a chance to convert your experience from burned to inconvenienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I have only purchased one NIB S&W and that was a 442 Moonclip (no lock) I picked up last year. Have roughly 200rds through it without a problem. Fit and finish are very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondakilla98 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The only reason I bought my 329PD was because of the S&W customer Service. Otherwise a gun that beats itself into needing repair every 1000 rounds, doesn't make sense. If you happen to get a bad one, they'll take care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S-Hurt Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I bought a 625 (past year) and the SSR 686 (past month) and haven't had any problems however with the IDPA rule changes I sorta, kinda, wish I had my money back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
357454 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I was about to go to my LGS and pay CA prices for a Model 60 Pro Series. http://www.turners.com/smith-and-wesson/smith-wesson-pro-series-m60-357mag-3-barrel-268741 Then I saw the other thread... Has anybody had good luck with a recently made S&W revolver? Or should I just not make this purchase? I had bad luck with a recent SP101 purchase (the trigger locks up with live fire) and don't want to get burned again. As the originator of the "other" thread, I have purchased quite a few recent manufactured S&W revolvers that are great, Normallt I purchased from a local gun shop where i can inspect the firearm, in the case of my 929 I purchased it from an out of state distributor and could not inspect it before purchase. If your local GS will allow you to properly inspect the gun here are a few tips. Take six empty resized cases all the same brand with you, load them in the cylinder and check the timing by slowly pulling the trigger and look to make certian the cylinder bolt locks up before the hammer falls, I normally put a slight drag on the cyllinder by resting my thumb against it. Also take a set of feeler gauges with you and check the gap between the empty case and the firing pin recoil shield .007 inches is perfect and .012 is acceptable, check this for each cylinder, they shoild all be within .002 inches. Next check the gap between the barrel and cylinder .003 is good .04 is ideal and anything over .008 is too much, you should check both sides as some of the newer guns have as much as .005 differnce, this is definately not good. Next do a visual inspectiion are their any mars in the finish, does the barrel look line it is on straight, If everything checks out chances are you will not have any problems witht he gun, I see the GS have 10 in stock check as many as you can untill you find the one you like best, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thehotrodpig Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I have purchased two new S&W revolvers in the last 2 years. Neither were "right" in my opinion. The 627pc was a complete mess, barrel on sideways, crown all screwed up, burrs inside, hammer needed shimming to keep from hitting the frame. I didn't trust that S&W was going to fix the gun in a timely manner so a buddy and I fixed it all up. My 929 was in better shape but still looked like they cut the crown then cut the rifling. Neither were even close to being hand tuned like the PC claims. I would really like to see what they call hand tuning down there. Personally I think current S&W revolvers are pretty much a joke compared to the older ones but....they are really the only show in town (for competition), so that is what I shoot. Very few competitive shooters are going to use them without extensive tuning anyway. When they are all tuned up they are sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2rideWV Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 In the last few years: 625 PC had bad grips, bad polish job on the exterior, and did not have the "hand tuned" action as advertised. The gun had a rougher action than most new Smiths right out of the box. The gun was a different animal after an action job and a set of grips. Love it. 2 1/2" 686 seems like a great gun. The crown looks a little funny (out of round), but the gun satisfies me. Love it. 4" 629 was a great gun right out of the box. I changed the grips. Love it. 442 (four year old?) is a good little gun. LOTS of holster wear. The action has smoothed up with just a little bit of shooting. Love it. On the whole, I cannot complain about S&W revolvers, but it sucks when they drop the ball, and it is not ok to put a gun out there that is not up to specs or not delivered with the advertised features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterthefish Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Of the last 5 I have bought in the last 18 months or so, 3 have or will go back for warranty service. Minor stuff to major stuff. I also agree that the PC stuff is not what it used to be out of the box... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S391 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 In the last year I have purchased 2 686SSR revolvers and they were both correct and proper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futool Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Finally got a 929 and everything was fine with respect to the fit & finish. Accuracy is good too. My only complaint is the so called Performance Center trigger. It's a joke and doesn't garner the extra cost. But in the 929's case you don't have a choice. A JM spring kit, Apex hammer and a ton of polishing solved that issue. A minor issue is the front sight. I personally don't like the all all black sight picture. But Toolguy is fixing that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Picked up a 29-3 in 2006, the FP bushing and Cylinder Bushing were bad, sent in and customer service returned it with a fp bushing cocked so bad it left a .010 ridge, sent it back and was returned ok. 2007 bought a new 625-8 PC and while nothing was really bad, I've had to change hands and clean it up. The crown was ok though. 2012 bought a 627-5 and it was good from the box, except for the razor sharp cuts they left at the crown. Liked the rear sight, changed fs and grips, smoothed the action and recut the crown and forcing cone. Been great so far. 2014 received a 442-2 at the 2014 Revo Nationals and just had to smooth up the action cause a I just can't leave anything alone. The crown and all else seems good. The PC brand isn't worth anything special. And you won't see a quality action job from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelShooten Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I bought a 627 Pro this summer. Nothing wrong with it beyond a minor cosmetic mark on the barrel. Heck, it was even correctly sighted in (totally unexpected based on previous experience). However, another shooter who bought one of the first 929s and it had a barrel that never should have left the factory. The breech end of the barrel was not square and what passed for a forcing cone was somewhat radical. They did fix it for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermobollocks Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I picked up a 327PC in I think early 2013, and everything was just fine. My 625-8 was used so I can't be sure whether or not it's been to the factory and back before. Not sure if autoloaders will indicate anything for you, but my most recent Pro 9mm was just fine a few months before that. I also had a dealer demo Pro .40 that had its front fiber fall out, but it's a dealer demo, sooo... The only troubling thing I've had from them was my first M&P 9 in..2011 I think that has some abnormal tool marks in front of the chamber on the barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistolpete10 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 It's not gonna be right when you buy it and it probably won't be right when you get it back from warranty repair. I'm 3 for 3 on latest 3 revolvers. Buy an older gun if available in what you want. their new ones suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deno56 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Just picked up a 60 pro series 3 weeks ago only been to the range 1 time shot 50 rounds of .357 mag. and 75 rounds of .38 +p had no issues. The first one the salesman showed me had a broken grip glad I inspected it before I left the store. Edited February 15, 2015 by deno56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) I was about to go to my LGS and pay CA prices for a Model 60 Pro Series. http://www.turners.com/smith-and-wesson/smith-wesson-pro-series-m60-357mag-3-barrel-268741 Then I saw the other thread... Has anybody had good luck with a recently made S&W revolver? Or should I just not make this purchase? I had bad luck with a recent SP101 purchase (the trigger locks up with live fire) and don't want to get burned again. Take six empty resized cases all the same brand with you, load them in the cylinder and check the timing by slowly pulling the trigger and look to make certian the cylinder bolt locks up before the hammer falls, I normally put a slight drag on the cyllinder by resting my thumb against it. Also take a set of feeler gauges with you and check the gap between the empty case and the firing pin recoil shield .007 inches is perfect and .012 is acceptable, check this for each cylinder, they shoild all be within .002 inches. Next check the gap between the barrel and cylinder .003 is good .04 is ideal and anything over .008 is too much, you should check both sides as some of the newer guns have as much as .005 differnce, this is definately not good. Next do a visual inspectiion are their any mars in the finish, does the barrel look line it is on straight, If everything checks out chances are you will not have any problems witht he gun, I see the GS have 10 in stock check as many as you can untill you find the one you like best, Good advice, I might add a couple: 1) Check hammer for drag marks on the frame. 2) See if rear sight is cranked all the way to one side or the other, sure sign barrel is rotated and not lined up. 3) Check gap between back of empty brass and recoil shield all the way around, not just at the top. I have seen several that were not square. 4) Check cylinder lockup in all six positions. Cock hammer, pull trigger and hold trigger pulled and gently check cylinder for any rotational wobble (play). A well fitted new gun will not have play in lockup. Edited February 15, 2015 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Religious Shooter said: "Has anybody had good luck with a recently made S&W revolver?" No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) brand new 686 pro series 7 shot 5". So far so good. Front sight is too tall, but its a simple blade. Alot easier to file it down than file it up. Gun was about 18" low at 25 yards out of box. Afraid to crank up anymore. I was shooting 158 grain, 38's and 130 pmc 357's Will run a few boxes of factory remington 125 357 soft points through it before I do anything. My intended load is 140 gr XTP's over a buttload of 2400 in 357 cases, and 147gr black bullets over a mousefart load of American select in 38 spc cases.So far I love this gun, havent shot in years and this was the first gun I got excited about in years. Edited February 18, 2015 by Joe4d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewood Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I bought a 686 4" in late Dec. just now got it to work correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19852 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have owned and shot many S&W revolvers. The only one that wasn't G2G was a recent manufacture M67. The only way to get it close to hitting center was to crank the rear sight way over to the right. The shop took it back and the shop owner notice that the barrel might not have been installed correctly. I looked at a new M66 in the case and the rear sight didn't seem to sit square and plumb on the top. For now I only buy used classic S&W's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) I have owned and shot many S&W revolvers. The only one that wasn't G2G was a recent manufacture M67. The only way to get it close to hitting center was to crank the rear sight way over to the right. The shop took it back and the shop owner notice that the barrel might not have been installed correctly. I looked at a new M66 in the case and the rear sight didn't seem to sit square and plumb on the top. For now I only buy used classic S&W's. WHAT TO LOOK FOR ON A NEW SW: Just to summarize, here are the gross defects to look out for: 1) Barrel not straight. You can often just eyeball the "ribs" and see if they align with the frame, but another sure sign is if the rear sight is cranked all the way to one side of the other. 2) Drag marks on the sides of the hammer. 3) Forcing cone chewed up. Open the cylinder and inspect the end of the forcing cone for gouging with a file. Also check for the end being flat/square and not rounded off from filing. 4) Side plate not fitted. Run your finger around the seam where the side plate mates with the frame. I have seen plates so tight that the edge "ridges up" where it meets the frame. You don't want this. FEELER GAUGE CHECKS 5) Check barrel/cylinder gap. For a while, they were all running .010 - .012" with one I saw at .015. Best range is about .004" - .008" with a limit of about .010". 6) Check cylinder to breech face gap. Nominal range is about .062" - .064". Check all the way around (not just at the top) as some guns have spots which are not square. Edited February 21, 2015 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatJones Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Didn't this thread just get locked last week? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) I didn't open a thread, just posted the information for reference. AFAIK, you are still allowed to read the thread. If that's a problem I'll delete it. The defect of over/under rotated barrels is very common, hence being #1 the list. Edited February 21, 2015 by bountyhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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