Have you sent a Revolver back to the factory for warranty?

[357454]

Like many on this forum I waited a very long time for my S&W 929 to show up, upon my first inspection is was obvious the quality had declined in the last few years and my first firing of the gun indicated excessive discharge between the cylinder and the barrel. A quick check showed the end gap to be .008 on one side and ,012 on the other so I placed a call to Smith and Wessons Customer service and sent the gun back for warranty, last week I received a call telling me the gun was unrepairable and they would send me another in three weeks. I know things happen in manufacturing that are unplanned however it seems S&Ws Quality control is lacking. In the past forty years I have purchased at least one "New" S&W revolver per year, during that time I have sent three back for warranty, one a 610 that had excessive barrel to cylinder gap was repaired and returned, one of my early 627s expericened the trigger stud coming loose after many thousands of rounds and now this. What have your experiences been?

[NoSteel]

My 929 had a burr around barrel perimeter sharp enough it was cutting my finger while practicing reloads. I De-bured with a stone but now that you mention it I will have to verify the spacing. Disappointing paying a premium for performance center work that is worse than production line work.... It is a fun gun to shoot though!!!

[3gunyotehtr]

Two years ago the first 625 Performance Center I bought had to be returned because the trigger would lock up. I got it back opened the box, tried the trigger and it was still locked up. so had to send it back again. The second 625 performance center shot poorly so sent it back but they said it shot good enough and would'nt do anything. I bought a 686ssr off of a friend that he bought new and he had to send it back because the cylinder holes were bored off center. The 929 that I just bought had numerous burrs like others have mentioned and the action was extremely rough. My 627 V-Comp was superb. I guess you buy one pretty much expecting it will need work. They do have pretty quick turn around for repairs.

[mcb]

Not a warranty issue but he is a brief description of my interaction with their service department for a repair. A bit out of date but I had a good experience getting mine repaired.

Back in late 2005 (IIIRC) I blew up my S&W 610. If your wondering, 9.0 of titegroup under a 180gr 40 is too much. The revolver was still in tack but I had to pound the cylinder open and the 40 case came out in two, nearly three, pieces. (http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29199&hl=%20blew%20%20up%20%20revolver) The gun did not look damaged but I wanted it checked out. I call S&W up and told them I wanted to send it back to them for a safety check and to repair any damage they might find. They told me how to send it to them and I packed it up. With the gun I included a note where I told them I was not the original owner, I described the double charge including pictures of what it looked like as I got it opened and what was left of the case and moonclip. I requested they complete any repairs that where need and I would pay for them for the parts and work. I got the revolver back a week later. They found no damage from the double charge but replaced the cylinder stop and cylinder stop spring. They did not charge me a cent. I was out only the cost of shipping it to them.

[Dogged]

One broken trigger stud in a 610 repaired at no cost. Excessive cylinder gap on 627 repaired (by overclocking the barrel) at no charge.

Really guys, the readers of this forum probably put more rounds through our revolvers than the rest of the nation combined. If there is going to be a problem It will end up being discussed (with disgust) here. That's no excuse for declining workmanship but it's probably why it matters to us so much and not so much to everybody else.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Dogged

[bountyhunter]

Like many on this forum I waited a very long time for my S&W 929 to show up, upon my first inspection is was obvious the quality had declined in the last few years and my first firing of the gun indicated excessive discharge between the cylinder and the barrel. A quick check showed the end gap to be .008 on one side and ,012 on the other so I placed a call to Smith and Wessons Customer service and sent the gun back for warranty, last week I received a call telling me the gun was unrepairable and they would send me another in three weeks. I know things happen in manufacturing that are unplanned however it seems S&Ws Quality control is lacking. In the past forty years I have purchased at least one "New" S&W revolver per year, during that time I have sent three back for warranty, one a 610 that had excessive barrel to cylinder gap was repaired and returned, one of my early 627s expericened the trigger stud coming loose after many thousands of rounds and now this. What have your experiences been?

My recent experiences are that SW no longer has any quality control. They "lifetime warranty" their products and let their customers serve as their QA. The PC 627 I bought a few years back was so bad that I will never buy another new SW gun.

[buckaroo45]

Bought a 627 Pro about 6 years ago. Flame cutting on the top strap was SEVERE after only 100 rounds of Remington 158 gr lead rounds. Argued a bit w/ customer service and wound up sending it back. 2 weeks later a NEW 627 showed up w/ a non committal letter saying they opted to replace thanks and goodbye. Prolly 5K rounds thru it and just had the hand replaced by my local 'smith due to cylinder occasionally dragging just short of good lockup. Good to go now. Can't say I have anything bad to say about S&W except maybe their production line QC is in freefall. When all the old guys retire or get run off all you have left is trainees with no work ethic.

[Luv2rideWV]

My 929 had a burr around barrel perimeter sharp enough it was cutting my finger while practicing reloads. I De-bured with a stone but now that you mention it I will have to verify the spacing. Disappointing paying a premium for performance center work that is worse than production line work.... It is a fun gun to shoot though!!!

I love S&W revolvers but agree completely with the above statement! My 625 PC is a great gun, but there wasn't a "tuned" or "hand fit" thing about it; the action was rougher and heavier than any other new Smith I've seen; there are also a few places where the final buffing/finishing wasn't perfect; and the poorly fit grips had a sharp edge that dug into your hand. I've shot other regular production revolvers that were smoother, such as my new 629. While I've never had to return one to the factory, I can tell you that all but one of a handful of calls to S&W customer service have been very frustrating. If I need a part, I make every effort to get my factory part somewhere else.

However, nothing is better than a good S&W revolver whether new or old.

[JohnRodriguez]

I would have left it with a .008 gap as I run moly coated lead. sound like they may have removed the barrel to turn it back 1 turn and messed it up, not sure how they messed it up, it is a simple fix.

could you possibly see if they would return the original barrel when they send it back. I would be interested in a 6.5" barrel to build a bianchi gun.

[bountyhunter]

I would have left it with a .008 gap as I run moly coated lead.

The problem the OP referred to was not that simple:

A quick check showed the end gap to be .008 on one side and .012 on the other

This is a common problem I have seen, I also see barrel ends that are crowned with say .008 center and .012 on each side. It's because their monkeys use a mill file to "adjust" the barrel cylinder gap by hand and that gives an uneven end.

Here's an example of my PC 627 brand new as I got it (nice of them to not bother to tape off the top strap so the file tore it up as well):

Edited November 25, 2014 by bountyhunter

[pfcchambers]

I bought a new 617 a few years ago. It to had to be sent back for cylinder to barrel gap. Spit lead so bad.....once I finally caught a big chunck in my cheek sent it back. They fixed it free of any charge. But would have to agree seems quality on the newer stuff is not so great.

[9146gt]

Like many on this forum I waited a very long time for my S&W 929 to show up, upon my first inspection is was obvious the quality had declined in the last few years and my first firing of the gun indicated excessive discharge between the cylinder and the barrel. A quick check showed the end gap to be .008 on one side and ,012 on the other so I placed a call to Smith and Wessons Customer service and sent the gun back for warranty, last week I received a call telling me the gun was unrepairable and they would send me another in three weeks. I know things happen in manufacturing that are unplanned however it seems S&Ws Quality control is lacking. In the past forty years I have purchased at least one "New" S&W revolver per year, during that time I have sent three back for warranty, one a 610 that had excessive barrel to cylinder gap was repaired and returned, one of my early 627s expericened the trigger stud coming loose after many thousands of rounds and now this. What have your experiences been?

I have a 929 back for repairs now that I suspect also may have to be replaced.I have posted in other threads the accuracy issues and cosmetic issues I have had with 929's. Looks like the cylinder throats on the 929 may be suspect at they are the same diameter as the 627 .357 guns.

Tom

[AusPPC]

Had to send a S&W 686-6 back due to a barrel that was misaligned to the frame.

[sp00ky]

Sent my 929 back because of accuracy issues. It came back saying it was more than accurate with 2" groups @ 20yds Ransom Rested with Win Factory 147gr ammo.

S&W told me that 4 to 6" groups @ 25 yds is within spec.

Good to know about the .357 cylinder throat. Next I'll be trying 160grs .357 bullets for accuracy.

[bountyhunter]

S&W told me that 4 to 6" groups @ 25 yds is within spec.

Wow. I can kick rocks better than that.

[ede]

Had a PC 627 that wouldn't accept a load full moon. Little investigating and I figured out one hole was off, sent it back and cylinder was replaced. 5" 625 had something screwed up with the yoke. Yoke and cylinder got replaced.

[AusPPC]

I had a S&W 686 with a barrel misaligned to the frame (was over torqued at the factory). Sent it back and they straightened it up no problem. Very common fault.

[alecmc]

i'm sending a gun back to the factory that needs to be replaced, frame is fubar, barrel threads are destroyed and the frame/barrel face is not cut straight.

Anybody have experience with how long the factory usually takes to replace a gun?

[9146gt]

Is Smith send a return shipping label?

If it comes back with a different serial number you will have to do another 4473 at a dealer. Is it a current production gun?

Tom

[alecmc]

Is Smith send a return shipping label?

If it comes back with a different serial number you will have to do another 4473 at a dealer. Is it a current production gun?

Tom

I assume they are, My gunsmith is taking care of it on my behalf.

Doesn't matter to me if it comes back with a different serial #, i've got permits ready to go. Just wanted to get an idea on time frames people have experienced in the past.

[buckaroo45]

FWIW, After a discussion w/ S&W Cust Svc I sent a 627 Pro back to them in 2010 because it had a SERIOUS flame cutting issue on the top strap and threw lead shavings at anybody to my right rear. A single box of Remington 158 gr lead 38 Specials put a slice in the top strap a measured .060 / .070 deep! Didn't have the nerve to run 357's thru it. Received a new gun in less than 2 weeks w/ a different serial # shipped straight to my house. No additional 4473. Mebbe you'll need one because you went thru your gunsmith. Replacement has run something north of 5K rounds just fine without all the drama.

Ron

Ex Naval Aviator

NRA Life

Yadda-Yadda

[alecmc]

FWIW, After a discussion w/ S&W Cust Svc I sent a 627 Pro back to them in 2010 because it had a SERIOUS flame cutting issue on the top strap and threw lead shavings at anybody to my right rear. A single box of Remington 158 gr lead 38 Specials put a slice in the top strap a measured .060 / .070 deep! Didn't have the nerve to run 357's thru it. Received a new gun in less than 2 weeks w/ a different serial # shipped straight to my house. No additional 4473. Mebbe you'll need one because you went thru your gunsmith. Replacement has run something north of 5K rounds just fine without all the drama.

Ron

Ex Naval Aviator

NRA Life

Yadda-Yadda

It will vary state to state, I live in New Jersey, our laws are very strict - So i'll need permits and paperwork for every firearm / serial # i'm in possession of.

[bountyhunter]

Received a new gun in less than 2 weeks w/ a different serial # shipped straight to my house.

Interesting. I didn't know it was legal to do that.

[Lonnie H]

I had to send my 617 back twice. First time it was an accuracy problem due to uneven rifling depth and 2 out of 10 chambers bored off-axis. The best it would do at 50 feet rested with a scope was about 6". After it came back the first time it would shoot 8 shots into about 1/2" at 50 feet, but had two flyers that opened the group considerably because of the chamber alignment problems. I sent it back again and this time they replaced the cylinder, like I asked for in the first place. It shot very well after the second trip.

I recently bought a 929 and the best it could do at 25 yards was dinner-plate sized groups, regardless of what load I used. I cleaned the gun, checked the barrel and found what is pictured here in the attachment. The finish machining is not even second class, and it looked like they crowned the barrel before they did the rifling. Look at the dings and gouges, along with the saw marks on the muzzle! The rifling itself was really strange looking too. It showed not only uneven depths (check the difference in the right and left sides at the muzzle in the picture), but there was deep scoring running in a different helix pattern and direction than the grooves. It is hard for me to imagine how something this obviously poor could get through any sort of final inspection.

I sent the gun in and got it back in about ten days. It had a new barrel, and now it shoots most loads into about 1.5 to 2 inches at 25 yards, and 3 to 4 inches at 50 yards. I think this will improve with some load development. Sadly, the barrel is now over-clocked a bit which is visually noticeable when using the iron sights. By the way, the DA trigger pull was off-scale high (>12 pounds) and the SA pull was 6 pounds. I didn't bother sending it in again for that because I could fix it myself pretty easily.

I have a half-dozen other PC revolvers and a few of them are really outstanding, but IMO most are only average from a factory-built quality viewpoint and are not of custom shop quality. Most of the semi-autos I have from the PC are excellent, but they just don't seem to be doing very well with their revolvers. The good news is that S&W will definitely fix such defects for free, but you have to be willing to put up with the hassle of sending it back and waiting for extra work on a gun that should not have left the factory in the first place. I agree with others that have said the customers are doing the QC for the company.

Lonnie in NC

[MattYvip]

I purchased a 625 JM pro a couple years ago.. after less than 500 rounds the hammer pin broke (cheap MIM part). They sent me a new gun which was nice but it took damn near 4 months. I recently purchased a 929 and have been having problems with it as well. Two revolvers purchased and both have had issues... not happy with S&W at all.