First let me say how happy I am that my wife got me a S&W 625-8 Performance Center 45acp for Christmas.  I already have a couple hundred rounds through it, and it shoots fantastically.  I also want to say that I'm pretty much a semi-auto guy, so I'm somewhat ignorant when it comes to the world of revolvers...though I appreciate their beauty.  

However, as I unbox my new beauty, I notice that the front sight has a hole where the gold bead should be.  There's nothing there.  I can still shoot it fine, but I'd really like to have the gold bead. (No, the bead isn't rattling around in the box.)

I see that I can buy an entirely new gold bead front sight, but I'd rather not do that.  I'm not finding "beads" to insert.  Do I have to send the revolver off to S&W to get this fixed?

What do I do here?  My beautiful new pistol is incomplete.

Thank you in advance for any advice / help you can offer.

Give S&W a call and explain your problem- very likely they`ll just send you a part out at no charge.

I`ve found S&W to be pretty easy to deal with on warranty matters.

You were 100% correct.  I gave them a call today since they've been out for the holidays.  It was pretty much a no questions asked situation.  A new front site blade with bead is on the way.  Very pleasant experience.

I was going to say they should send you a new front blade with the bead. It is a very easy part to swap.

An unsolicited opinion... let me take this opportunity to tell you you don't want the bead on that gun. The glare from the bead is not uniform in the sun and makes it very hard for most people to see the actual outline of the blade if shooting for accuracy. Keep the blade sans bead because you may find you like it better. I can also recommend the SDM fiber optic front blade as well. The FO is very easy to pick-up at speed but you can see the edges of the blade if you are trying to be precise.

Thank you for this information.  It looks like I'll have the luxury of trying them both.  I must say that the couple hundred rounds I put through this thing were very pleasant, and the black front sight treated me well.  I suppose for me it's a matter of wanting it to be "right."  However, if I run into problems with the complete sight, it should be easy enough to put the original back...sans bead.

S&W PC revolvers will ruin you, congrats on the awesome new wheelie .  My sister bought me a S&W629 V-Comp a couple years ago and it's a hard act to follow.

S&W sent a new sight free of charge...the install was simple.

Now she looks as great as she shoots.  Plates seem to fall effortlessly...fantastic shooter.

It's truly a pleasurable shooting experience.

Good to hear!