"The Dark Side of Smith & Wesson"

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The 1st pistol I ever shot was a Smith.. I carried many Smith's over my nearly 30 year career.. While I have never been a great fan of their Semi-Autos, I am a huge fan of their Revolvers.. Their simplicity of design, and their use of a minimum of internal working parts are a tuners dream. In about an hour, I can take a rough action out of the box and make it into a double action dream with a trigger pull like glass, with a solid and reliable 57 ounces of hammer fall..

There are many fine revolver on the market, Ruger, Colt, etc.. just like there are many flavors of ice cream. And that my Friends is why Baskin and Robbins carries 31 flavors.. You can have what you want... to each his own, for reasons of their own... When it comes to Revolvers, Make mine a Smith Please.. You are welcome to purchase and carry the one of your liking..
 
I've never liked Chuck Hawks. I've never liked his attitude or bias. I'm just glad that now I'm not the first or only one.
 
I have 37 S&W hand guns some are 125 years and and I like them all looking to buy the M&P 40 this year.
 
I have a S&W M64, M10-2, 2 M27-2, M28-2, 586-1, 686-2, and a
M41. As much as I love these guns, I would not buy a current
production version of any of these. I probably will buy a M&P
this year.
 
I have carried personal revolvers and issued revolvers. I never had a problem. With the sheriff issued model 59s (1978-79) they were jamamstics. SW could not afford to give the counties money back but offered model 66s in trade. They worked great. Currently deputies carry semiauto sig in .357sig
 
I own a few S&W guns & never any problems with them at all.
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Me, too. I love Smith revolvers...at least the older ones...and I'm especially fond of the Ks.


However...

I have shot a few into oblivion because in those days...I thought that because it had "Magnum" roll-marked on it...I had to touch off a small thermonuclear event every time I dropped the hammer.

Experience, they say, is the best teacher.
 
Isn't he the guy that thinks the Tikka T3 is a corner-cutting budget gun that's way overpriced, and that wood stocks don't warp in humid weather?

I don't give his opinions much credence, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again. S&W quality has really taken a nosedive in recent years. The last three post-Hillary hole revolvers I've bought have been real disasters in either accuracy or reliability. I'm not sure I'm enough of a gambler to try again with a fourth.

My 1980 vintage model 19, on the other hand is a functional work of art. I saved my summer job money and my Dad signed the papers on that gun in early January 1981 when I was a senior in HS and too young to buy a handgun. As I recall the asking price was $235 and we (Dad, mostly) talked him down to $225 and a box of Remington 125 JHP. I wish I still had the blue box...I still have the cleaning rod and aluminum-handled sight adjusting screwdriver.

Sorry...just realized I'm wandering down memory lane...but it's a good memory...makes me realize again how much I miss my old man.
 
And I remember Hawks writing about how the new design Winchester Short Mags had serious feed issues and should never be used on dangerous game. Turns out he had never fired a WSM, but feedback at his website (when it was free and before people were foolish enough to pay him for his OPINIONS) 'caused' him to report those emails.

Anyway, Hawks should do some personal QA before his fingers hit the keyboard IMNSHO. :)
 
Me, too. I love Smith revolvers...at least the older ones...and I'm especially fond of the Ks.
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"Pinned and recessed" are such lovely words. When I'm scanning a table of guns at a show I'm always on lookout for that little pin.
 
Elkins - I believe I bought my M19-4 in summer of '78 (maybe '79). I still have the box & invoice, rod, bore mop, and screwdriver. I gave around $180+tax. It is the target version with 6" barrel. I was given my choice of the S&W or a Colt Auto in 38 Super for the same money. I have wished I had gotten the 38 Super on occasion. Should have gotten them both I guess.
 
S&W is not perfect…………….its run by humans….. who, by their very nature, are an inferior species
 
The only articles I read at chuckhawks.com are articles written by people other than Chuck Hawks. The man's a blowhard who appreciates the rattle of his own keystrokes way too much.
 
Smith and Wesson is not a company

Smith and Wesson has been a whole bunch of companies over the the years. The only thing that has remained a constant through all of the ownership changes has been the building and the logo.

The people that make the weapons, the quality control processes, and the attention given by management to the quality of the product have greatly differed through the years.

My first weapon was a S+W Model 19 built in the early 70's. It worked flawlessly right out of the box and I could not have asked that any part of its construction be any better.

In the mid-80's, I bought a model 686 as a duty weapon. It took three trips to the warranty station, and a new cylinder before I could carry it on duty. It ultimately proved to be a very fine firearm, but only after considerable repair. I then added a model 66 2 1/2" back-up. It also worked perfectly right out of the box.

I later bought a 3913 for an off-duty weapon. It had two trips to the warranty station, right out of the box. It would not fire a full magazine without jamming. They said the gun was in such poor condition that it would have to go back to the factory. The factory rep acknowledged the poor condition of the weapon, blamed it on a prior Smith and Wesson company, and committed to making it right. I got the weapon back in much better condition, but I can rarely finish a 30 round qualifying course without a stovepipe jam. I still cannot carry that weapon.

The bottom line is that I no longer have confidence in the brand. They made some some fine stuff, but when I open the box I don't know what I'm going to get.

I'm now carrying H+K across the board for my duty and off-duty weapons. I've never had any issue going back more than 10 years.
 
"Pinned and recessed" are such lovely words. When I'm scanning a table of guns at a show I'm always on lookout for that little pin.
Click to expand...

Just recently, I got a call from a carolina shooter's forum member that I've known for a while. I've helped him with a few minor issues with his 1911s over the years. He'd bought a 1905 Smith, manufactured in 1916 in 32-20 caliber that was a mite...neglected...and just barely functional. He nearly stole the little beauty. The seller let him have it at a bargain-basement price because of the condition, stating that it was probably just a parts gun.

Off came the sideplate and about 90 years of accumulated crud and some light rust removal later...I buttoned it back up and was rewarded with a double-action so smooth that the description "Buttered Glass" is the closest thing I can come up with. The action, timing and lockup rivaled anything that I've seen come out of the Smith custom shop.

The sideplate was so perfectly fitted that you could barely see the parting line under a strong light. Ditto for the mating of the crane with the frame. If they built something comparable today, it would be so prohibitively expensive, the average Joe could only dream and drool.
 
Opinions are like noses...most everyone has one. Chuck Hawks is real big on himself...is it worth paying for his biased opinion? No. I own several S&W handguns and they all perform flawlessly....if I do my part. My $.02 worth.
 
FogHorn LegHorn (Chicken Hawk)'s crap has been posted here repeatedy. It carries as much weight in it's 50th posting as it did the first. :rolleyes:

If you want to read someone who knows something about revolvers (and has some credibility) try Hamilton Bowen or Grant Cunningham.
 
Chuck is one of them fellers whose opinion I would like to buy at what I think it is worth and sell at what he thinks it's worth.

I read a couple of his articles and was so impressed I quit readin'.
 
I've wondered for years who this self-proclaimed expert is.... he also spouts a bunch of stuff about my other interests - motorcycling; specifically Harleys. Personally, I think all his perceived "credibility" comes from his own we sites.

In the interests of taking the High Road though, everyone has an opinion and he has as much right as the rest of us to express it. (I just don't listen.)...
 
Well he knew better than to mention the m&p. I hate revolvers (they are just plain ugly and capacity limited) but that m&p is a thing of beauty in terms of looks and performance

*swyped from the evo so excuse any typos*
 
As for my opinion on S&W firearms, I like them for the most part and I hold the company as a whole in very high regard. Of the models that I have presently, 4 of them are in the top tier of all of the handguns that I own. And of those, the 2.5” nickel Model 19 is perhaps my favorite handgun of all…a classic by any standard of measure. I have had issues with some of their guns and have known others that have had issues with some models, but their CS has always made them right and this supports most everything that I have ever heard about them standing behind products. So, what Chuck says about S&W is supported on some levels by things that I have seen, but overall I feel like it is a real stretch to make the case that this is the reality of their history.

As to Chuck, for years I have read his postings on all manner of guns and found that I agreed with some of it and disagreed with other parts and this is no different than what I have seen from other gun writers. I have always respected that he gave what appears to be his honest opinion about a gun and did not really care what others thought about it and I cannot say that I feel like most other writers do the same… I have read so many reviews in other places that were virtually promotional ads for whatever gun was being reviewed. I think that the veracity of his postings would be commensurate with the postings by members here. I give his postings the same credibility that I give to what I read here and on other forums…not a whole lot. If someone posts a negative view of a gun that I hold in high regard, I am not offended by it because I am comfortable with my own view of it. I have had a lot of varied experience with firearms and I can determine what I like or what works for me without looking to others for affirmation.
 
Wow...

I don't think the M&P is a copy-cat of anything, at least as far as I can tell. I believe it is meant to compete with the Glock. I heard something about a lawsuit between Glock and S&W over the Sigma, I think. Never heard the whole story.

I like S&W, for now I suppose. I really have no allegiances, I prefer to operate the best product for the money on the market at that time - to me, that is the M&P, at least for now.
 
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