Older Smith & Wesson vs. New ?!

[10X]

quality

A simple fact - change does not mean improvement.

I have to echo that S&W products from the 1970s and 1960s were superior to what we see today.

A simple fact of business is that changes are made to meet a market demand. Unless and until the consumer influences S&W to improve quality and provide the features or not provide something we don't want (locks) they won't change.

Take a look at what Colt is doing with their 1911s. Consumers migrated to other makers they felt were giving them the quality and features they wanted. Colt has been trying to respond and by some reports is doing a lot better than a few years ago.

There is a big trend in consumer products with nostalgis (sp?). The Ford Mustang, Colt's WW I and WWII reissues, etc.

Winchester couldn't live on nostalgia and made no meaningful innovations. The market passed them by.

S&W is coming up with new products but is not providing the quality they should.

 

[Stoney]

Yesterday I ordered a new Lew Horton 3" Model 29 at a local gun shop. It's my first new Smith & Wesson in years. My 19-3 made in the late 60's or early 70's is a fantastic revolver in fit and finish. I have a dozen older Smiths dating from the mid 20's to the mid 50's, all works of art in my eyes. If the new model 29 does not meet my expectations, it's my last new Smith, and will be sold very quickly. I'm hoping that's not the case, but I'll know in a few weeks.

I'm a huge fan of pre war Smiths, I wish that kind of pride in product would return to our shores, but it's not going to happen. Thank god for Gunbroker, Auctionarms and the C&R lincense.

 

[Click Click Boom]

I like all my newer Smiths. My model 610 has a better trigger on it than my TRR8. I have a 629-4 from the 80s thats a sweet wheel gun and Im in love with my Lew Horton M25. I have shot my fathers older smiths and I dont see a much difference. None of his older smiths holds a candle to my TRR8. I think Smith has had some QC issues but overall they make a good product. Im going to add a early 80s vintage LH 3" bbl .44 .spcl soon. Ijust don't see this "gap" in quailty.

 

[Magnumite]

Not to bust any bubbles, but there have been vast improvements to S&W products since the 1960's and 70's. You can shoot the 29's (or 629's) far more with heavier loads than you could earlier models. There we several improvements to keep the silhouetters from beating them to death with heavy loads, and those are loads within the SAAMI working range. The L frame is an 80's design, because the earlier 19's and 66's couldn't take alot of shooting with heavy loads. I have a Horton 624, its action is quite smooth. I had found no reason to do any action work to it. A 90's era Classic Hunter was smooth and so it the 629 DX I own.

Many here are comparing custom level guns with mass production guns (Those registered magnums were custom guns, no doubt about it). Not the same thing. And those earlier Smiths (through the 50's and 60's) were largely handfitted to a greater degree than those guns from the later 70's forward. I have an early post war Masterpiece, nice action, but only marginally better than the 624 Horton gun.

Remember, we are talking production guns here. Every manufacturer is doing the same thing. MIM...Smith is doing that well. I have no problems with their MIM performance. For the money, a modern era Smith and Wesson revolver is some of the best money spent. And I won't even go the integral lock route...most of that is hysteria and refusing to change. Best buy in a 1911's now, new, I think is a S&W 1911. Produced the modern way. a

Find a revolver with a smoother action than a S&W for the same money with the same level of quality. You won't, the guns are elegant and sound. You want brutal strength and endurance, buy a Ruger. You want a nicer action (even modern Rugers have decent actions) and give away some in strength, buy a S&W.

This is 2007 and the firearms market is very competitive. All guns being mass produced use similar technologies. Made the old way, most of us wouldn't be able to touch a S&W revolver - the cost would be too high.

 

[Blacklabman]

I had a 4" 686P(7-shot).
The lock would engage itself. After a few rounds(125gr JHP) the revolver would lock(cylinder/hammer/trigger) up, and you could see the flag clearly.
To disengage, the key had to be used. A turn to full on, then a turn back to full off.


Pre-lock S&W's are great.
You can keep, the "new" S&W's with the idiot lock. I do not trust them.

 

[18DAI]

A look at the S&W catalog, shows they are charging $600 or more (some are alot more), for the stuff they are currently producing. Denying there is a problem with the internal lock, however small (or large) a problem it may be, is putting your head in the sand, IMHO. I'll stick with older S&W's, and get nicer revolvers for less money. YMMV.