S&W Annoying Cosmetic Issue: Advice Please on Technical Issue

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It would bother me as well, right is right.

I bought this Taurus .32 Mag off of GB. The barrel was over rotated and way off. I contacted the seller and they told me I was full of manure, there wasn't anything wrong with it, and I just had buyers remorse. *Sigh*

I screwed off the barrel, cleaned it all up, de-greased everything, lathered on some Loctite, set it square with the body, and it continues to be a fun accurate gun for me.

Figured I had nothing to lose. :)
 

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Walkalong said:
It would bother me as well, right is right.

I bought this Taurus .32 Mag off of GB. The barrel was over rotated and way off. I contacted the seller and they told me I was full of manure, there wasn't anything wrong with it, and I just had buyers remorse. *Sigh*

I screwed off the barrel, cleaned it all up, de-greased everything, lathered on some Loctite, set it square with the body, and it continues to be a fun accurate gun for me.

Figured I had nothing to lose. :)
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I assume you have a gun vice and proper tools?

I’ve honestly thought about buying a replacement and trading this one away, assuming the new one is as good a shooter as this one.

It gnaws at me. It vexes me. It’s like a popcorn hull stuck in my teeth.
 
460Shooter

Got a Model 686 when they first came out. This gun was perfect with the best out of the box trigger on it that I have ever come across! Thought I could find another one just like it: nope, not happening this time around. Overall fit and finish on the second gun was noticeably lacking and the barrel was a bit off from where it should have been in alignment to the frame. Kind of bothered me as time went on and I ended up trading it for another gun.

From the way you describe the action on your gun it sounds like the one I have; definitely a keeper! Send it back to S&W (that is if they think they can fix it), and go from there. Let us know what you decide to do!
 
Master Blaster said:
Shoots great has a great trigger, but you want to mess with it or replace it. And what if the result doesn't shoot as well? After you spend a bunch of money.

My advice look for a perfect one to look at.

Keep and shoot this one.
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The thought of the trade was a passing one. I’m keeping this gun. If it can be fixed, cool. If not it’s too good of a shooter to let go. I’ll deal with the minor issue if need be.

bannockburn said:
From the way you describe the action on your gun it sounds like the one I have; definitely a keeper! Send it back to S&W (that is if they think they can fix it), and go from there. Let us know what you decide to do!
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I’d say so. It’s got many thousands of rounds through it. Not even a clue how many. It’s also got thousands of dry fires. A skilled person with some stones could maybe make it even better, but I doubt it would be worth the work.


Planning to put another 250 rounds through it tomorrow if the weather cooperates.
 
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460Shooter said:
I know, I’m being stupidly OCD about it.
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460Shooter said:
I assume you have a gun vice and proper tools?

I’ve honestly thought about buying a replacement and trading this one away, assuming the new one is as good a shooter as this one.

It gnaws at me. It vexes me. It’s like a popcorn hull stuck in my teeth.
Click to expand...

Master Blaster said:
Shoots great has a great trigger, but you want to mess with it or replace it. And what if the result doesn't shoot as well? After you spend a bunch of money.

My advice look for a perfect one to look at.

Keep and shoot this one.
Click to expand...

You know you will never be totally happy with this gun. OCD and mass production products do not mix well together. The problem with trying to achieve perfection is you do not know how far is to far until you have gone too far which is past the point of no return.

Master Blaster has the best suggestion. Start hitting the gunshops looking for your perfect gun. When you find it then sell the one you have now.
 
Just speculation but is it possible the rib could have been installed off at the back but center at front and the slight angularity makes it look off to left?
Also what's your thoughts on perhaps at some point the barrel had been removed or changed and they got a little zealous with the torque? In which case backing it off and retorquing it should be successful.
 
Y'all are reminding me I need to send in my 686-6 6" (yes, that's a lot of 6's); the rear sight has to be all the way to the right for it to shoot POA/POI.
I'm just afraid they'll dookie it up.
 
460Shooter

On another thread in the Revolver forum two gunsmiths (pinnaclehighperformance.com and glenncustom.com), were mentioned concerning getting quality work done on your gun. Maybe contact them (Marc Hartshorne of Pinnacle High Performance actually prefers a phone call to going back and forth with emails), to see if your barrel problem is something they could fix or else advise you on what your other options might be. Hope this helps.
 
BSA1 said:
You know you will never be totally happy with this gun. OCD and mass production products do not mix well together.
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Agree, it’s just one of my personality traits with my guns. I’ve learned to let go on a lot of stuff. So I think that trait rears it’s head in this area of my life. Can’t stand a dirty gun.

BSA1 said:
The problem with trying to achieve perfection is you do not know how far is to far until you have gone too far which is past the point of no return.
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Good point.
 
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skeeterfogger said:
Just speculation but is it possible the rib could have been installed off at the back but center at front and the slight angularity makes it look off to left?
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Nope. I measured it with calipers. It’s manufactured properly just assembled wrong.

Also what's your thoughts on perhaps at some point the barrel had been removed or changed and they got a little zealous with the torque? In which case backing it off and retorquing it should be successful.
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I bought this gun new in box so if there was ever a barrel removal and reassembly it would’ve taken place at the factory. Unless they totally screwed up the first time and rebarreled it I don’t see how that’d happen.

If you watch the video linked above, I’d say the barrel is already over torqued. That’s the heart of the question really. Would it be an easy fix for a smith or not.
 
460Shooter said:
Nope. I measured it with calipers. It’s manufactured properly just assembled wrong.


I bought this gun new in box so if there was ever a barrel removal and reassembly it would’ve taken place at the factory. Unless they totally screwed up the first time and rebarreled it I don’t see how that’d happen.

If you watch the video linked above, I’d say the barrel is already over torqued. That’s the heart of the question really. Would it be an easy fix for a smith or not.
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If you said it was NIB purchase I just missed it.
If it bugs you enough I think it could be retorqued to low end upto straight with no problem.
 
You have nuttin' to lose by contacting S&W about this. That would have been my first thought, even before coming to this forum to ask. My experience has been that they do everything they can to make their guns right. If they tell you it is within spec, you still have lost nuttin' cause you still have a gun that shoots well and is reliable. I think the reason any of us take that close look at our S&W barrels nowadays is because of all the hype about canted ones on the internet. As CPE stated, canted barrels are not a new thing and does not happen only with S&Ws. When I look at you pic, it seems that the ribs seem to be milled off center on the barrel more than the barrel seems offset from the frame.
 
"Well Im not asking for recommendations on a good smith. I’v researched my local options, or rather the lack of them.

I was curious if based on the ask, if the THR community thought a smith would even mess with it, and if so how difficult it would be.

So far I think I’m better off just contacting S&W."

Like the title of the thread says: looking for advice.
Since I have nothing good to say about this issue, I won't say anything more.
 
skeeterfogger said:
If you said it was NIB purchase I just missed it.
If it bugs you enough I think it could be retorqued to low end upto straight with no problem.
Click to expand...
I failed to say it was NIB earlier.

Hmmm. So now a vote for easily fixable. I’m torn.
 
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buck460XVR said:
As CPE stated, canted barrels are not a new thing and does not happen only with S&Ws. When I look at you pic, it seems that the ribs seem to be milled off center on the barrel more than the barrel seems offset from the frame.
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Yep. I had a Ruger with a much worse cant than this one, consequently it was bought the same day as the revolver that is the subject of this thread.

Regarding the milling, I’ve measured it. The barrel is canted and you can see it in the front sight when shooting. If the picture is giving you a different impression I think it’s just the light.
 
beag_nut said:
Like the title of the thread says: looking for advice.
Since I have nothing good to say about this issue, I won't say anything more.
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Hmmm. I’m not really sure what your intent is with this post.

I was pretty specific about my question and the type of advice I was looking for in my OP, and someone asked for my location to make a recommendation on a smith. That’s fine as it’s tangential but related. I politely declined as that’s not what I was looking for and I have several reasons why I don’t openly share my location on THR. I thanked the poster for the offer too. There’s no harm in the offer or declination.

Your post seems pretty passive aggressive. Guess I don’t know what I did to offend exactly.
 
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I was sort of glad when I put a small idiot scratch on my first 1911. It saved me having to worry about keeping it perfect.

So the barrel is a little off. It still shoots lights out, so who cares? It adds character. I get it, I can be pretty OCD too, but some things are worth it and some aren't. To me, since the gun is a good performer, this is one of the things that isn't worth stressing about.
 
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