S&W says "J-Frame 357 is for carry not shooting"!

[Marshall]

Ted,

I mean no outrage, I mean concern for buyers. See, I am a S&W fan and am concerned by there answer. Personally, it makes me ashamed of S&W's customer service, I believe it's a weak ass answer.

Paraphrased:

Hello, S&W C-Service

Yea, this is Joe and I have a problem........

What is it Joe.......

My J Frame 357 Mag is screwed up........

Well Joe, you haven't been shooting many 357 Mag catridges have you?...

Uh, yea........

Well Joe, we don't recommend you do that.......

Uh, what do I shoot then?..........

.38's Joe..........

Why didn't you tell me this before I bought it or, broke it.......? I could have saved money and bought a 38 special!

Doesn't everyone know this Joe.........?

No, I didn't........I even read your manual..........!!!

Well Joe, you dumb ass, what all do you expect from us......???

and so on.........

 

[surfinUSA]

I agree with Marshall. When I buy a 357 I shoot 357 if the gun breaks under waranty I expect it to be fixed under warranty. I don't want to hear ???? from a customer service rep. If I do, I go right up the ladder like I said in my earlier post.

If they would like to use my K frame in an advertisement as to the unbelievably long life expectancy of these guns thats fine, but other than that I don't want to hear ???? about how many rounds of a specific caliber that a gun is chambered for that I shot.

I expect my guns to wear from use. I expect S&W to fix them for free if they are still under warranty (lifetime is hopefully a long time).

 

[Gunsnrovers]

Where in S&W's lifetime warranty does it say they'll fix a pistol for free regardless? Wearing something out doesn't constitute the same thing as a defect.

From their web page:

1. Lifetime Service Policy

We will repair any defect in material or workmanship without charge to the original purchaser for as long as you own the handgun.

Now if their warranty said, "we will make repairs without charge to the original purchaser for as long as you own the handgun." I would see your point.

If you're expected S&W to give us all a free ride for buying their pistols, you're out of your mind. HUGE difference between a lifetime warranty and a lifetime manufacturers defect warranty.

The unlimited warranty offered by Taurus is a completely different animal and sounds more like what you're looking for.

 

[JohnBT]

Mark me down as one of the "I thought everybody knew that" crowd. I'd guess the first time my father told me little guns last longer if you don't shoot max loads was in the '50s or early '60s.

I'd say they put that .357 on the barrel to tell us the gun won't blow up if we shoot a few every so often.

Heck, he told me big guns last longer if you don't shoot max loads. K-frames for instance.

Look at the speedometer on your car or truck. How long will the engine last if you drive it all the time at 110 or 120 or whatever the largest number is? Or if you drive with the tach at the redline all the time?

John...no wonder everybody wants to buy my old guns.

 

[surfinUSA]

I agree that webhobbit should have to pay for the refinish thats almost never a warranty item. But 400-500 rounds doesn't seem excessive. It sounds like normal use not normal wear. Of course reading his first post it appears that S&W only wanted him to pay for the refinish so I don't know what his problem is unles the labor rate was for the repairs and not the refinish.

 

[Gunsnrovers]

I have no problem with getting manufactures to back up their warranties, so I'm not sticking up for S&W, but if you came to me with a pistol you bought in 1996 (8 years ago) that needed to be refinished due to wear and needed to be repaired for damage that is typically attributed to a large amount of .357 firing, I'd have serious doubts about the 400~500 round count of .357 (and 1000 rounds total). That only comes to 125 rounds per year and 50~60 rounds of .357. Just doesn't sound right.

I'll also stand by my earlier comment that a $400 or so dollar pistol that is carried every day and needs to be repaired for $200~$300 or replaced after 8 years has done good service. If you're using the pistol to defend your life, the $60 or so dollars a year is a lot cheaper then someone telling your family you won't be coming home anymore.

 

[JohnKSa]

they'll fix a pistol for free regardless?

No one says that, but on the other hand, no one says up front that their guns are only good for about 1K rounds of which only about half that can be full power loads before repair is required. Having them say that openly, up front, would be one thing. Having them complain when you send it in needing repair after shooting 1K of factory ammo through it is another entirely.

 

[Erich]

Well, I just bought a Model 60-15 .357 this week (as many of you may already know from other boards), and I shot a mess of .357s through it today. It seems to be no worse for the wear, but I have no intention of repeating today's performance regularly.

If things should go wrong, I fully intend to take advantage of S&W's lifetime repair policy, and if they give me guff about shooting this .357 with .357s, I'll take advantage of my law degree.

However, I was always an advocate of shooting K-frames only very rarely with .357 magnum rounds, so I certainly would not think this J-frame will hold up forever under such abuse.

By the way, based on my range work today, I intend to carry 158-gr LSWCHP +Ps for social work (because they work, are astonishingly accurate in this gun, and I can also use them in the Colt Agent that I carry alongside the Model 60, and this way I can just carry one type of ammo) and use Buffalo Bore 158-gr LHCs (they chrono them at 1398 fps out of their 3" J-frame) for a trail load.