Sending a Gun Back to the Factory For The First Time

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OregonJohnny

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I was wondering if there was anything I should know when sending a recently purchased gun back to the factory for repair, because I've never had to do it before.

I bought a S&W 642 Airweight revolver about a month ago. Upon close inspection, I realized that the front sight post (and actually the entire barrel) is twisted counter-clockwise (if you're pointing the gun out in front of you) about 1/16th of an inch off-center from the axis of the rear sight channel. Which is why my shots have been consistantly grouping to the right of center (in order to line up the front and rear sights perfectly, I've been pointing the gun slightly to the right).

Anyway, I contacted S&W and they're sending a pre-paid envelope. That's all the info I got from them. Is this the kind of thing that can be fixed easily? Is there anything else I should ask them to do such as test fire to see if it's now grouping ok? Maybe request some other service while it's there? Will this repair weaken the gun? This basic fix won't cost me anything will it? Thanks for any tips.
 
S&W is kind of touch and go as far as CS. I have a scandium framed 360PD that the cylinder came loose from the crane after firing the very first 5-rounds through it. When I went and cleared the cylinder it slid forward and bound up with the frame, taking much of the black finish with it, and then polishing the frame when I pushed it back onto the crane. I sent it off to the folks at S&W and 10-days later had it back in hand, and believe it or not, the tech had used a black touch up pen on the frame blemish that looked grey in contrast to the actual finish it was replacing. I might ad this was an $800.00 revolver that had been NIB minus the 5-rounds. Just a terrible insulting effort on their part. I had to send it back to them three times before they finally replaced the gun.
Make sure you let them no just what you expect for your trouble and they'll probably take care of you.
 
I had an excellent experience with Smith & Wesson customer support. They emailed me a UPS overnight label, I packed my revolver with photocopies of my purchase records, dropped it off at the correct UPS location (they don't all take firearms shipments) and got it back from S & W in perfect condition.

They charged me nothing.

No problems at all.
 
You have to go to UPS hub, not a store.
After that ti's pretty easy

Personally I find that cool of S&W, most places you send it back on YOUR dime.
 
My experiences along with anyone else I know who's dealt with S&W has been outstanding. I would venture to say they are the best, but I haven't had to deal with many others, but my dealings with S&W were spectacular.
 
If S&W is sending you a pre-paid UPS label, you don't have to go anywhere.
Once you get the label, stick it on your box & c all UPS to schedule a pickup at your front door.
Denis
 
I had the same problem with my 342PD. They took about 2-3 weeks and took care of it. You should tell them if there are any other issues with the gun. This kind of repair should be no problem for the gun. If they sent you the label, they anticipate it is warranty work and you won't have to pay if so.

Good luck.
 
Bought a Colt King Cobra

that was making light, ineffective primer hits, called Colt, put it in a USPS box and mailed it off.
 
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