This was posted om another site I frequent, and I haqve no idea whether it's true;

State asks gun-maker to replace faulty guns
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH

Faced with problems ranging from misfires to barrels breaking off, the state has asked gun-maker Smith & Wesson to replace hundreds of revolvers carried by probation and corrections officers.

None of the revolvers have failed in the line of duty, and for now, the department is keeping the guns in service. In testing, about one in four revolvers didn't fire when the trigger was pulled. In some cases, the barrel of some models broke off when the gun was fired.

"In one sense, it's funny," said Dan Stieneke, the chief deputy correction secretary. "In another, it's alarming."

So far, the state Correction Department has asked Smith &Wesson to replace only 500 Model 64 revolvers bought in 2004, although there have also been problems with two other models. Officials could wind up asking Smith & Wesson to provide replacements for all 5,000 of the department's revolvers.

Last month, Smith & Wesson representatives got a live demonstration of the problems. During test firing of about 30 revolvers, four misfired. The barrel also broke off a different model when it was fired, something that has happened 14 times in practice firings since 2003.

"On the one hand, statistically (the revolvers' performance) is not bad, but it's just the safety issue," Stieneke said.

Officials at Smith & Wesson did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

For at least 20 years, state prison officials have used Smith & Wesson revolvers. The guns cost about $320 each, and it would cost the state more than $1.5 million to replace them all. That doesn't include the cost of buying new ammunition, holsters and other accessories and retraining officers to use a new model of gun.

MEGA DUPE

It's being discussed here -
www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=447282

(There are a couple of photos plus links to discussions at Glock Talk and the S&W Forum.)

dupe

Dupe thread--link above.