I think the reaction is to a combination of things in S&W's new designs.
Faversham makes a good argument for MIM. That's when it's done correctly.
My 360PD had a 16 lb DA trigger pull to start with, 11 pounds was the furthest down Jack Huntington thought was safe.
This gun listed at 1000 dollars, list price. Yes, it's light. Combine that with
the trigger pull and I'd like to see MBoreland do that coin trick with the 360PD.
Also, from a production stand point, I understand the argument for MIM a bit better now. If that's the case, why isn't the price less for S&W revolvers?
The market is currently allowing S&@ to get very high prices for guns with locks that don't work, and MIM parts. If the market slows down a bit, perhaps the prices will become more reasonable, and the features will reflect the publics wishes, not the production manager of S&@.
So: to summerize:
The last S&@ I bought, listed at 1000 dollars MSRP, came with by far the worst trigger I've ever had on any gun. And, it was rough and grity, as well as being horribly heavy.
The 'lock' that is supposed to never fail, locked the gun up while dry firing on snap caps, and had to be removed, leaving the trigger with a rather weird action.
The frame is weak enough that it has to have a small plate to try and defeat gas cutting on the top strap.
It leaves the overall impression of being a WAY overpriced, poorly designed, POS. The ONLY thing it has going for it is it's a pocket .357, and, I now can't really sell it.
On top of this, I now find out it has MIM parts.
As I said earlier, the parts in my Kimber that broke made me go out and replace every piece that I could with forged steel parts. Why? I don't like when things snap. If the MIM thumbsafety was forged, it would have bent, perhaps, not snapped off.
MIM, when it fails, really leaves a dirty taste in your mouth.
Sort of something like,
"I paid a 1000 dollars for this Kimber, near top dollar, and they put
a safety on it that snaps off, under normal use like a twig. This is something
I was going to bet my life on?"
Keep in mind that I have shot one Detonics Combatmaster for 5 years straight, every other day, 2-3 hours a day, rarely changed the springs, and had the gun run for ever, with .451 Detonics level loads.
Those of us that have had forged parts in our guns, and guns that run a REALLY long time, are not used to having such stuff happen, least of all in 1000 dollar gun range.
I still remember when you could buy a Glock for what it was worth, about 150 dollars, and, they even ran fairly reliably, and they are plastic.
By the way, at that price point, I'm never buying another Smith.
I think if more people walk away, they might get the message.
I won't miss the guns, either.
My opinions about guns have been wrong, in hindsight, before.
Perhaps I'll feel that way about S&@ when I'm dead.
There are some guns made today, at that same price point, that still have
top quality parts, and, on the used market, it's pretty incredible what is available, sometimes.
Let's try this:
A picture is worth a thousand words:
I paid the same price for these guns, which do you think represents the best quality?
This is the Kimber Custom II, after I replaced the parts with all Ed Brown forged parts:
I didn't feel real bad about this, since I figured I'd gamble on the MIM parts, and, if they broke, I'd replace them. After the slide stop broke, and, the safety, I replaced everything I could with forged.
ANY 1911 I buy in the future will have to be using forged parts. I believe JMB
designed the gun for forged parts manufacturing, and, that is the way they should be made. That limits my buying options, since most of the smaller guns are made with MIM parts that can't be replaced, like the Ultra Carry II from Kimber, etc.
I find it odd that Colt is one of the hold outs, using forged parts, and, their prices are a couple hundred under the MIM S&@, at least the last time I looked.
Finally, there is just a cheap look to the inside of the S&@ 1911's. I remember watching my gunsmith do a trigger job on a couple 1911SC
guns, a model from S&W that I considered. The internals areas of the gun are really uninspiring, and, the parts look real cheap.
So, in summary: Those of us that have had bad experiences with MIM parts,
and the new S&@ designs have a certain skepticism about how wonderful
MIM parts are.
I notice the guy never went
"When MIM goes bad. Or, you die."