Through with Smith & Wesson.

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First of all I am not a brand snob by any means. I have owned revolvers from just about every major firearm company. S&W , Colt , DW , Ruger , Taurus, Rossi , I have owned several and have been happy with pretty much everything I bought. Both new and used. I have seen some bad ones of each of these brands as well while working at selling, trading, and as a part time gun smith for over 20 years.
The bottom line is that any company can put out a good gun and also put out a bad one. Three in a row from S&W is unusual and it would also be unusual for any other gun company. Your string of issues with S&W is absolutely non typical. Sorry to hear of your bad experience with them.
I have no specific gun in mind to be a cheer leader for. I have heard a lot of complaints about Taurus, but I have 4 of their revolvers with no issues. I never thought I would buy a Rossi, but when I tuned a Model 720 for a friend I was impressed enough to purchase one of their M720s and at one time had three of them. All were fine guns. So , pick whatever suits you and hope your luck changes. Buying in person and buying used so that you can check them over for timing, change up, barrel to cylinder gap , etc. has some advantages, but you need to know what you are looking for to make that work for you.

Even then you can't always find some problems until you start shooting them.
 
mnrivrat ,

Everything you said is valid , and I respect your expertise.

That said , the following is also irrefutable: Smith and Wesson revolvers ain't what they used to be.

Everything around us is changing. Quality workmanship is becoming increasingly rare in most areas of production. One may choose to accept the current day products (still good guns , mostly) , or stick with the older ones. In the case of revolvers , we are remarkably fortunate that they are generally well cared for and so durable that there are still many older ones to be had.

Imagine this : What if we could easily go online and sift thru numerous offerings of 55 ,. 56 , 57 Chevys in good working order , at prices well below those of new cars..... Nice dream , but not happening. Man - we are fortunate when it comes to guns. I don't have a "Double NIckel" , but I have a S&W model of 1902 .38 Sp. ... paid $250 ... shoots like a dream. Life is good.
 
I am just waiting for Colt to get off their backsides and start releasing new Pythons and Anacondas. S&W isn't at all what it used to be. Every time I try out a new S&W revolver (unless it is a Performance Center gun) the triggers are horrible out of the box plus the lock just bugs the heck out of me. The Cobra I picked up had a much better trigger out of the box than the new S&Ws I have tried. That said I'll never pass up a good deal on an older S&W. Even their 90's guns to me are light years better than the newest offerings. Anything pre-lock I would love to have. Their old steel semi-autos are for the most part excellent. I have 2 5906 semis in 9mm and will never part with them, and will never part with my 10s, 15s, and 19s. Still have to pickup a 44 and 45 ACP revolver from the good old S&W days.
 
As mentioned, plenty of production items have varying quality differences from the past times. The best way we can handle it is send them back for warranty work so that they can see and hopefully realize what they are doing wrong. I suspect they run the numbers and that X% is an acceptable amount that need re-working. :thumbdown: Would be interesting to know what the defect rate is among the gun manufacturers.
 
There are plenty of old S&W revolvers on the market. Find one. I agree - the current production is junk and they don't even seem to know how to fix them properly. They also don't even seem to care any more. Most of the products we buy today are built for one reason - to sell and make a profit. They couldn't care less about customer satisfaction once they sell them. This problem is not just S&W - all of the old American gun makers are going down this road. Donkee - Colt is never going to build Pythons or Anacondas again and if they did you would not want what they sell to you. Those guns were designed and built in an era when an old guy on a bench was issued a box of parts and told to fit them perfectly and management really didn't care how long it might take as long as they were perfect. Labor was cheap and machinery was expensive. Now it has reversed. Those craftsmen and those days are long gone and have been replaced by CAD/CAM machines. I own a safe full of old S&Ws and I'm keeping them til I die.
 
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Charter by miles...... Taurus used to make serviceable guns (30 years ago) but now they are absolute junk. Charter is currently producing the best guns to ever wear that name. I still carry a 1980s Charter and as much as I like it the new ones are better and their customer service is so fast it will make your head spin.
 
kheeka said:
Think the OP is looking for something in 357.
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Oh...oh you can shoot Kimberly in 357. You just might only make it 3 cylinders before admitting defeat :)

While the 357 reeeeeally does a number on the meat of your hand, I can't recommend the revolver enough. Bought one used w/laser grips a few months back, and boy oh boy does it fit the bill for just about anything. They squeeze in a 6th round (I assume through black-magic and witchery...maybe some engineering), give you a stupid nice trigger out-the-box (you really need to try it, it's nothing like any smith I've tried...something about their mainspring angle is something I've read), and damnit if it isn't flat-out sexy. I carry mine with +p hollow points, and they don't buck nearly as much as 357's, and are fun to shoot all day. And 38's? You could waist 10,000 rounds and still wanna send some more down range.

I have a 686 and a 1911...and I shoot the K6 just as much as the big boys. Great for carry and home defense. It'll feel too heavy for the plastic-fantastic fans, but that's not what I'm into. If you can get one close to $600 with the laser grips, you'll be a happy camper. Hell, the laser grips ALONE go for close to $400 new. I was gunna sell the grips off mine to make back some money but...well...they are awfully nice grips.

I should note that I am NOT a Kimber fan, and have doubted their quality control on their 1911's in the past. This gun is a new breed. I honestly can't say enough nice things about it. I keep waiting for Kimber to send me a check for endorsing their new product, but so far, no cheddar.
 
Funny that - I have always like Taurus revos but not autos (too many breakage problems); and now it seems S&W autos are still great (M&P), but their revolvers, not so much.

Once the hillary hole came on the scene I said that I'd never buy one until they ditched it, and I'm still sticking with that plan successfully.
 
Note to Waveski - Ironically, I did find my '57 Chevy online. It was in pretty okay shape when I got it. I gave $2400 for it and am still driving it about 14 years later. The moral of the story is don't try to sell your car during the Christmas holidays.

Like one of the other posters said, a good revolver, especially if it's intended to be a service revolver, is a solid piece of equipment. A casual shooter won't put significant mechanical wear on it in one or more decades of use (or I haven't, anyway). Many of them just sit loaded in a sock drawer for years on end. I don't care about new revolvers. What does a new Smith cost, $600 or $800 or something like that? The Model 10 snubby I showed earlier was a police trade-in I got for $265 this year. It doesn't have much mechanical wear and you can't find a new one with a trigger as good. Why would I care about brand-new revolvers?
 
Tallball said:
A casual shooter won't put significant mechanical wear on it in one or more decades of use (or I haven't, anyway). Many of them just sit loaded in a sock drawer for years on end. I don't care about new revolvers. What does a new Smith cost, $600 or $800 or something like that? The Model 10 snubby I showed earlier was a police trade-in I got for $265 this year. It doesn't have much mechanical wear and you can't find a new one with a trigger as good. Why would I care about brand-new revolvers?
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While in the past it was true that most revolvers didn't get shot much and many spent more time under the socks in a drawer than under a shirt(as in CWC), that is not really true anymore. Most folks that buy a handgun now shoot it to become and to remain proficient. There was a thread here I believe just a short time ago about how available parts are now and will be in the future, for guns like a model 10. Suggestions were to get 'em now while you still can. I doubt if newer models like current production 686s and 629s will have that problem in anyone's lifetime.

I doubt very much if new models have a higher percentage rate of failure as opposed to older ones, but I do admit, there is more to eye appeal to many of the older models. I suggest folks get what they can afford and what trips their trigger and not really worry about age. Folks don't need to validate their choice nor do they need to look down their noses at folks that chose differently. We all can agree tho, that revolvers are the best platform.
 
Sorry if I sounded like I was bashing anyone, Buck. If people want to buy brand-new revolvers, more power to them and I will admire their purchases. The truth is that I am far too cheap to buy things like handguns or automobiles brand-new. The only times I've cried in many years is when I had to pay full retail for something. I certainly don't hold everyone else to my own personal standards of miserliness. :)
 
Tallball said:
Sorry if I sounded like I was bashing anyone, Buck. If people want to buy brand-new revolvers, more power to them and I will admire their purchases. The truth is that I am far too cheap to buy things like handguns or automobiles brand-new. The only times I've cried in many years is when I had to pay full retail for something. I certainly don't hold everyone else to my own personal standards of miserliness. :)
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Wasn't insinuating you were bashing anyone Tallball, just following up on the comment about the "gun in the sock drawer" thing.It was common. Just as common was the original box of ammo stashed next to it. Why the gun was stayed so pristine. Also, why I think failures and problems were not encountered so much. Now many folks buy a new gun and put more rounds downrange during the first range trip, as folks used to shoot their whole lifetime with a revolver. Just how it was. Heck, my grandpas, dad and uncles hunted deer with the same box of 20 rounds for several years. Just how it was.
 
buck460XVR said:
Wasn't insinuating you were bashing anyone Tallball, just following up on the comment about the "gun in the sock drawer" thing.It was common. Just as common was the original box of ammo stashed next to it. Why the gun was stayed so pristine. Also, why I think failures and problems were not encountered so much. Now many folks buy a new gun and put more rounds downrange during the first range trip, as folks used to shoot their whole lifetime with a revolver. Just how it was. Heck, my grandpas, dad and uncles hunted deer with the same box of 20 rounds for several years. Just how it was.
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A lot of truth in that. When I was a kid, my dad had a really nice collection of the Winchester rifles and Colt pistols. Every month or so we would take a couple out and go shooting, but maybe 10 or 20 rounds in each gun, then back in the safe. Never took the same gun(s) twice in a row. I bet we never shot more than 200 rounds in any one gun. Fast forward to today, and I rarely go to the range that I don't shoot at least 200 rounds.
 
Don't give up on S&W just yet.

But consider a used Ruger Security Six. Excellent weapon.

Just my personal tastes, but I would avoid Charter, Rossi, Taurus, etc.

Best of all, for carry, go with the Glock.
 
I've had great luck with my M&P pistols but I can't speak to S&W quality on the revolver side. If you're done with S&W and don't want a Ruger, I guess look at Colt or Kimber? I don't think I'd want to go with something like a Taurus if you're relying on it as a carry gun.
 
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