Picked up a new 686 6".

Checked it out the other night, and whaddya know it has one chamber out of time. Ejector rod seems a little bent as well.

This is the 3rd s&w in a row that has to go back after being taken out of the box.

Others being a PC 629 Hunter with a mangled crown and according to s&w needed a new cone, and a 627 V-Comp that had a canted barrel. The 627 then exhibited light primer strikes after every 100 rounds. Tighten the screw, go another 100 and start getting light primers strike again.

Now this one.

Purchased a Model 19 Carry Comp that came in with a nasty burr on the cylinder and a left side of barrel appeared to be dragged against pavement. Luckily the dealer just gave me a refund and he sent it back to Smith.

The wait time has been from 1-2 months per gun from shipping out to return.

I really really really like Smith revolvers, But what is heavens name is going on in that place?

"Performance Center" guns rolling out with somewhat major issues and now the workhorse of S&W revolvers with more issues out the gate.

Starting to think it's my own fault for believing it will be any different this time around.

I know this a tech forum but:

Everything is now manufactured for @#$&

The people who design, review and approve products are academics who have never used the things they are producing.

And to make it worse, the bean counting c@#$&s will turn out @#&& to save literally a penny per unit.

I guess I’m not alone in missing the days of “American Craftsmanship” and when it actually was “art.”  I have several 1960s-1980s Smiths that are amazing, and a couple circa 2005 with MIM parts and burred edges so sharp you could shave with them.

Sorry to hear—I hope they make it right for you.

ETA:  i contacted S&W about a pinned S&W19 barrel swap & they told me flat out by phone they no longer have the people trained to do it not equipment.  They recommended Cylinder & Slide.

I got a 686-6, 6" as well. I didn't notice it at first but then I realized it left the factory with a canted barrel. To be fair it shot straight but I couldn't unsee it after that and it was irking me. So instead of dealing with the headache of shipping it back to S&W and waiting, I just decided it'd be better just to deal with it myself. I put it in a vice and clocked it. Only took like a minute to do, instead of weeks of dealing with S&W

Bent ejector rod, mangled crown, canted barrel, cylinder burr, "dragged on pavement" marks on barrel...

These all seem like issues that would be caught on a cursory inspection prior to purchase? Or if bought over the internet, caught before accepting from the FFL?

Damn, that sucks!  I sent in a 66-1 2.5” with a messed up forcing cone and a spare barrel in probably seven years ago to get swapped.  The spare had some tool marks from the removal.  The Performance Center swapped the barrel (with pinning) and cleaned/polished everything up.  Had them do a trigger job at the same time.  It’s one of my “pretty” revolvers now.

Seems like Smith doesn’t have anyone that gives a shit any more.  I hope I’m wrong.

One of the many reasons I only buy older S&W revolvers. I prefer the late '40s to late '60s era guns. Their QC really sucks these days.

My PC 686x7 was perfect out of the box.

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I also love S&W.  But these days, due to their QC issues, if Ruger makes anything remotely comparable than Ruger gets my money instead.  And Colt has made a bunch of offerings that give me pause as well.

The Ruger Match Champion easily rivals most S&Ws I've seen over the last 10 years, and the Colt King Cobra does as well.  

The last S&W I bought was a TRR8; I don't think another S&W will ever join my stable with how fast their QC is declining, and their seeming refusal to innovate or do things like include .327 in their lineup.

Both S&W and Ruger need there new revolvers closely inspected before purchase

I had to send a S&W 69 back twice for the same reason.  When I got it back I sold it in disgust.

Except they did not finish machining the cylinder!  


All but one of my S&W revolvers was bought used.  Let someone else deal with the QC issues.

I will only buy older pre-lock smith products. I have my Dad's old 686 that was tuned at Cylinder and Slide back when it was just a small outfit. I've had bad luck with every new smith I've bought. For new revolvers, I'm really only interested in Ruger now. Their quality has dropped too, but not as badly as smiths. I sent a new redhawk to Magna-Port and had them port it, bead blast it, and tune it and they did a fantastic job.

Is this a recent S&W phenomenon?  I bought a 686+ back in 2018 and haven't noticed anything off with it.  That being said, I've only had it out a few times since then due to life happening.

I bought a 686 PC, with the vented rib and 7 shot cyclinder.  I had 10-20% misfires due to light primer strikes, till I took the grips off and saw the screw putting pressure on the mainspring wasn't in all the way.  No issues after that.

Then when I had my gunsmith work on it, the "screw" (there's a proper name for it) that holds the cylinder housing in place broke when he took it out, and he's a pro smith so he didn't do anything wrong.  Now after a replacement "screw" and his work, it's a fantastic revolver, but yeah, QC, even on the PC models, seems to be lacking.

A shame, as they're great guns as long as you work the problems out from them - but that should be done already, not by the user.

I fondled a new production model 10 a few weeks ago, at least 2 of the chambers were rubbing on the forcing cone.


Just gotta get lucky and find a nice used model smith or ruger.

Add Springfield Armory to that list put a brand new 1911 it sits back at the factory waiting for repairs

Only problem with that is that could be the reason they’re selling it.

ALL the Smiths after maybe 1996 are a gamble. Especially the ones with the locks.

I recently traded into a 4" 686+, checked it out well at the LGS before I did the trade. Otherwise I don't buy any new Smiths, have a couple older Model 10's and am picking up a 1972 Model 36 this weekend. The new stuff is too chancy, older Smiths  ROCK!

I haven't bought a new S&W revolver since 1982 or 1983, 686, and yes, it had issues.

Most of my S&W's are from the 50's and 60's.

Bah, those are risking your life too.  Pre WWII are the only ones reliable!!!

I've bought 3 moderns S&W's.  Two have been perfect, one had light primer strikes till I screwed down the mainspring, and as mentioned, the cylinder yoke piece broke in two.  

I'd not avoid a new Smith if one looks good to you.  Everything made can have issues, and Smith has been good with me on the item (non-revolver) that I had to send back to them.

op, are you buying these all from the same seller?

I have shot and collected Smiths for years. Years ago they were absolutely solid 99 out of 100 but it sounds like that’s not the case. The old 5 screw pre-27s (a personal favorite of mine) were just perfect on every example I have had. I remember pined and recessed model 19s would shoot outstanding groups out of the box too.

I am an FFL and all mine have come from my distributer.

So an update.

Got it back from Smith last week. Timing is perfect and the rod is straight.

Went out and shot a few hundred 38s that I cast/reload and a few H110 357 loads for development.

Noticed the front sight pin walking out every 60 rounds or so. Found I could wobble the front sight on its axis with a couple .001 of room.

It's a stupid thing, but at that point I was pretty frustrated. Primarily because its proving very accurate and the throat, cone and barrel all size up nicely at .357, something not always concentric with modern Smith's as well.

Had a .230 DP front sight on hand so I used blue loctite and a new pin to bed the front sight. Rock solid now.

Two more little nuances with the trigger some of you might have some experience with...

In double action, if the trigger is slightly torqued to the left when cycling, is smooth as silk. If torqued to the right, it has almost a "2 stage" ledge right before the break, something I've never felt in a factory smith before. Makes me wonder if the hand possibly is contacting the cutout, or a burr?

The SA is light, but has an oh so tiny amount of creep before the break. Again not bad, but all my other Smith's have a very crisp break with no creep.

I bought a 4" 686+ in 2020. Got it and the cylinder ratchet and the cuts for the cylinder stop were all chewed up. Brand new. Got a return label and sent it back on their dime. Got it back a week later and they said it checks out fine.

I kept the gun as it shoots well, I enjoy it, and it's a good farm gun. Doesn't compare to my older S&Ws though.

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I have this problem with my new-ish J frame. Didn’t realize it was something I could fix without a lathe. Imma look into this; thanks.