Smith and Wesson QC issues

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HB

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Just bought my first 44 magnum. I’ve wanted one for years. Found one I liked... but not happy with it.

I should have caught it before leaving the store. There are machining marks in one of the chambers. I noticed it when inspecting a fired case. Brand new Smith and Wesson 629 5”.

I do not want to send it back because I have a feeling it will be there for months. I will continue shooting it with the remaining 83% of chambers .

I am 2 for 2 with garbage expensive new revolvers. No more Rugers, no more Smiths... Korth here we come!
 

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Just bought my first 44 magnum. I’ve wanted one for years. Found one I liked... but not happy with it.

I should have caught it before leaving the store. There are machining marks in one of the chambers. I noticed it when inspecting a fired case. Brand new Smith and Wesson 629 5”.

I do not want to send it back because I have a feeling it will be there for months. I will continue shooting it with the remaining 83% of chambers .

I am 2 for 2 with garbage expensive new revolvers. No more Rugers, no more Smiths... Korth here we come!


How do the machine marks in the chamber affect the functionality? Totally agree they should not be there but it is more of a cosmetic issue or a functioning one? If its function I would definitely send it back to Smith And Wesson for repairs.
 
HB....Stuff like this happens. Unfortunately when it happens to oneself it seems like it's 100% of the time. 2 for 2 is a bad roll for sure. I once went 4 for 4 on Ruger Single Actions. 3 Single 7's and a NM Vaquero had to have base pins replaced (no limp wristing on my part). 2 of the Single 7's (in the first run that was released) needed the loading gate area addressed as loading/extraction was very tight. ALL were taken care of and I couldn't be happier with the guns. No issues since.

S&W will make it right. I'd e-mail their customer service dept. and send the pics and at least get an estimate of how long it would take to resolve. Now's the time to do it since ammo has dried up and a lot of folks are cutting back on shooting and conserving their stock.

Lastly and you already know this because you mentioned the brand. Korth will reset you opinion to zero on what an expensive revolver costs.

Hope you get it resolved...Your S&W is a solid product, the chamber issue not withstanding.
 
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I have had S&W and M&P pistols. The one I bought new had an issue. I bought the SD9VE used. The magazine latch was erratic. Occasionally a mag would drop out. The gun had a lifetime warranty. I contacted CS and they sent me all I needed to send the gun in for repair. It took 3 weeks and the gun was back to me. Diced properly at no charge. Next story; my neighbor is a retired Philly homicide detective and a wheel gun guy. He has a problem wi the cylinder of his S&W revolver. A call to customer service settle it this way. He sent the cylinder to them and they sent him a new one. Turn around was ten days. No fees involved. You might call S&W CS to explain what you have and see if you can get a new cylinder.
 
Contact S&W. Their warranty dept usually has a two week turnaround.

Sorry to hear about your new gun. QC is a list art, apparently.
 
How do the machine marks in the chamber affect the functionality? Totally agree they should not be there but it is more of a cosmetic issue or a functioning one? If its function I would definitely send it back to Smith And Wesson for repairs.

Extraction seems unaffected but as a reloader it kind of bothers me. I would imagine the defect could case issues in the brass.

Honestly if it was a Charter and all the the chambers looked like that through the length of the chamber it wouldn't bother me.

I’ll shoot CS an email and see. I may just live with it to avoid the hassle.

The guns shoots very well and I won’t need 6 shots for its intended purpose.
 
As a reloader, which I am it would bother me as well to have the brass look like that.
 
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That seems easy enough to polish out, that's what I'd do. I so dislike sending my firearms back to the Mothership...but Korth is not even a consideration for me.
 
I am hesitant to send guns back too, but I have had good experience with S&W customer service. I would probably send it back in this case.
 
I also have had good experience with S&W customer service -- were it me with a new Smith with a minor cosmetic issue such as the OP's -- I'd send it back.

I don't know about disappointing. The gun-makers are trying to catch up with demand and sales, big-time -- not surprising QC might become an issue again these days. Not giving the companies a free pass, but the consumers are demanding guns in the retail shops right frickin' now ...

As far as Korth goes: is it just me, or since Nighthawk got ahold of Korth, did they suddenly get way, way uglier? And what's up with that billboard now? Sorry, staying purely 'Merican-made: S&W or Colt.
 
S&W has decided that instead of paying employees to do the final inspecting, the buyers of their firearms will be the QC dept..
Any that are found to be defective can be returned for repair or replacement. Most defects are slight enough that most buyers will not notice them, or worry about them....which is what S&W is hoping. They have figured out that they're money ahead not fixing the issues before shipping the firearm.
 
I have a S&W Model 60 that locked up at the 73rd round. Sent it back to S&W and got it back 2-3 weeks later and haven`t had a problem since then with it. Seems that the hand broke.

I`ve had a S&W 686 for quite a few years and a couple of years ago, I noticed while cleaning it that the firing pin bushing was cracked. Sent it back to S&W and they fixed it and it was back home in a couple of weeks.

I was a bit upset with S&W with the new Model 60 but the cracked bushing on the 686 I just racked up to wear and tear since I`d been shooting it a lot when I found the crack. Perhaps it shouldn`t have cracked but the bushing is subject to a lot of stress. PITA to send back but doable.

I can`t complain about the customer service at S&W since they fixed both problems and got them back with a reasonable turnaround.

It`s up to you whether or not to send your .44 back to S&W and if it`s a cosmetic issue only then it`d be somewhat easy to live with. Granted, it shouldn`t have left the factory in the first place so there`s a clear issue with QC, or lack thereof.

S&W will take care of it for you or you can simply shoot it and enjoy it. The choice is yours.
 
I don't know about disappointing. The gun-makers are trying to catch up with demand and sales, big-time -- not surprising QC might become an issue again these days. Not giving the companies a free pass, but the consumers are demanding guns in the retail shops right frickin' now ...

Beg to differ. There’s no reason that would make it anything other than disappointing for this storied American firearms manufacturer to have regular issues with QC. In any case, this is not merely an issue arising from the present surge in demand. S&W’s QC has been particularly poor for the last several years.

As far as Korth goes: is it just me, or since Nighthawk got ahold of Korth, did they suddenly get way, way uglier?

They got ugly before Nighthawk got involved -- Nighthawk just made it worse by plastering their logo and import marks on the gun. The original Korth factory in Ratzeburg, Germany closed in 2008. Although ownership changed hands several times, Korth in Ratzeburg generally stayed true to Willi Korth's original designs (mechanically and aesthetically) and production methods during its existence. The latest owners bought the Korth trademark and opened the new Korth factory in Lollar. Their models are a significant departure from the original Korth revolvers -- in design, materials, and production methods -- and they were building the guns this way before Nighthawk entered the picture as the stateside importer.
 
S&W has decided that instead of paying employees to do the final inspecting, the buyers of their firearms will be the QC dept..
Any that are found to be defective can be returned for repair or replacement. Most defects are slight enough that most buyers will not notice them, or worry about them....which is what S&W is hoping. They have figured out that they're money ahead not fixing the issues before shipping the firearm.

Agree completely.
 
“I don't know about disappointing. The gun-makers are trying to catch up with demand and sales, big-time -- not surprising QC might become an issue again these days. Not giving the companies a free pass, but the consumers are demanding guns in the retail shops right frickin' now ...”

I’d be OK with it if they dropped the price tag to reflect their record sales : )
 
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