On May 14 I found this beautiful S&W model 19-5 (made in 1982) at the local pawn shop. Since the pawn shop policy is no returns, my son and I gave it (what we thought was) a complete check over before I bought it for $300 OTD. It was very good in lockup, tightness, etc.
Here is what she looked like:
However, when I was disassembling and deep cleaning it at home, I found that the forcing cone had a crack on the bottom edge (Damn!!)
Checking on the internet S&W oriented forums, I found that this was a common problem with these “K frame” 357s caused by too many full-house 357 magnum rounds of light bullets being fired (from the wear patterns, I figured it was owned by a cop). Also found out that once cracked, they should not be fired so I didn’t even try to fire it. I called Smith and Wesson to see if it could be sent in for repair. The lady assured me that it could probably be fixed and she sent out a prepaid Fedex overnight pickup label for it. On the letter that I enclosed, I gave them my charge card number, expecting to pay a hefty amount to repair it.
But on June 6, I get a call from a fellow in customer service at Smith and Wesson – He told me that not only can the barrel NOT be repaired, it also could NOT be replaced because S&W no longer had the replacement parts for it (Damn again!!!!)
But……. (There IS a God!), The Customer service man then told me, since S&W could not fix the 19-5, they would REPLACE IT WITH A NEW REVOLVER! And the closest to it still being built is a 4” 686-6 (MSRP of $694.00). So they would be sending one out to me AT NO CHARGE, WHATSOEVER, as soon as I provided them with an FFL’s address to send it to (Hallaluya!!!!)
They are also sending me back (via Parcel Post) the grips from the 19-5, since they say they are nice "collectables".
Just think of this analogy – You buy a used, 1982 high-end line car, say a Cadillac. You get home and find it has a problem that cannot be repaired, but the seller won’t allow a return. Would you think that GM would send you a BRAND-NEW 2005 MODEL CADILLAC AT NO CHARGE?? (I don’t THINK SO!)
So here is what I received yesterday:
I already took it out to the range and shot it (over 2 boxes of 50 ea.) and zeroed the sights and it is a TACK DRIVER now! No functional problems what-so-ever right out of the new box. Now to go register it at S&W for the lifetime warranty!
And some of you out there still won’t buy a Smith and Wesson because of them caving-in to Clinton! Well, that was when it was Brit – owned - Now they are American owned and they are bending over BACKWARDS and UPSIDE-DOWN to earn customer loyalty. Well – They’ve EARNED MINE – for LIFE!
Ron
P.S. I was so impressed with the Smith and Wesson “Edge” that I went out and bought this (just to give S&W something back, you see):
(A S&W 629-6 .44 magnum 4 inch “Mountain Gun”!)
Here is what she looked like:
However, when I was disassembling and deep cleaning it at home, I found that the forcing cone had a crack on the bottom edge (Damn!!)
Checking on the internet S&W oriented forums, I found that this was a common problem with these “K frame” 357s caused by too many full-house 357 magnum rounds of light bullets being fired (from the wear patterns, I figured it was owned by a cop). Also found out that once cracked, they should not be fired so I didn’t even try to fire it. I called Smith and Wesson to see if it could be sent in for repair. The lady assured me that it could probably be fixed and she sent out a prepaid Fedex overnight pickup label for it. On the letter that I enclosed, I gave them my charge card number, expecting to pay a hefty amount to repair it.
But on June 6, I get a call from a fellow in customer service at Smith and Wesson – He told me that not only can the barrel NOT be repaired, it also could NOT be replaced because S&W no longer had the replacement parts for it (Damn again!!!!)
But……. (There IS a God!), The Customer service man then told me, since S&W could not fix the 19-5, they would REPLACE IT WITH A NEW REVOLVER! And the closest to it still being built is a 4” 686-6 (MSRP of $694.00). So they would be sending one out to me AT NO CHARGE, WHATSOEVER, as soon as I provided them with an FFL’s address to send it to (Hallaluya!!!!)
They are also sending me back (via Parcel Post) the grips from the 19-5, since they say they are nice "collectables".
Just think of this analogy – You buy a used, 1982 high-end line car, say a Cadillac. You get home and find it has a problem that cannot be repaired, but the seller won’t allow a return. Would you think that GM would send you a BRAND-NEW 2005 MODEL CADILLAC AT NO CHARGE?? (I don’t THINK SO!)
So here is what I received yesterday:
I already took it out to the range and shot it (over 2 boxes of 50 ea.) and zeroed the sights and it is a TACK DRIVER now! No functional problems what-so-ever right out of the new box. Now to go register it at S&W for the lifetime warranty!
And some of you out there still won’t buy a Smith and Wesson because of them caving-in to Clinton! Well, that was when it was Brit – owned - Now they are American owned and they are bending over BACKWARDS and UPSIDE-DOWN to earn customer loyalty. Well – They’ve EARNED MINE – for LIFE!
Ron
P.S. I was so impressed with the Smith and Wesson “Edge” that I went out and bought this (just to give S&W something back, you see):
(A S&W 629-6 .44 magnum 4 inch “Mountain Gun”!)
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