Is the Performance Center name being bastardized?

R

Robert the41MagFan

New member
Remember a few years back when I started collecting Performance Center guns, they where relatively difficult to find, low production numbers and the selection very discriminating. Today it seems that everything is Performance Center, the numbers that are being produced are many times greater than in the past and for the average price of $850, the product no longer has prestige or exclusivity.

So, what do you think. Collectable or bastardized product line?

Robert
 
I don't know. Every one I see seems to have a 'street' price of. or more than, double what a comparable regular production piece is priced at. That still bodes well for exclusivity, if you ask me.:D
 
Is Performance Center name being bastardized?

Robert
I tend to think for the most part these guns will be collectible in the long run.With the exception of an early Shorty 40 and an 845 which had serial numbers in the 3-400 range, none of my others have serial numbers over 150 and I have a number in double and single digits.And I seldom pick them up when they are first introduced.

AS long as it is not overdone, the boycott should be beneficial to collectors.You and I probably wont live to see any startling increases in value, but our kids might.Just wish they would pay a little more attention to quality.-Wally
 
ROBERT-
Other than being somewhat unique I'm not happy at all with the last 2 I've gotten. The 625 V-Comp,that I got last summer, had an OK trigger but the
629 V-Comp I picked up last month action was the
PITS ! I sent it back and they improved it a little but the CSR said they cannot lower the pulls below "production specs" which are 3.5-4.5
lb. SA and 10-14 DA. Two years ago a V-Comp was
2.5 and 8 which IS a performance piece.
I guess those days are long gone...dewey :(
 
The entire Smith&Wesson organization has been overrun with bastards with the exception of the front line employees IMHO!!!!
 
Wally,

It seems to me that since the boycott, Performance Center production has intensified and number of units has gone up significantly and quality is in question. I have seen a few post agreement production guns (one of which I was force to take. I paid for it right before the agreement.) and like Dewey said, "the pits". Seen others with machine marks, dings on the finish and the list goes on. Yet again, S&W service is second to none and they would be more than willing to fix any problems, but my point is that the Performance Center is now more of a "Line" and not part of the "Custom shop". They are now slapping these guns together in a "production line" fashion and the personalization and attention to detail has gone out the door.

Not trying to bash the Performance Center in any way, still think that S&W's the best revolvers made for the money today (sans the political BS) and the PC is the flagship of this company. Just concerned about the direction which the company has taken with this line. I sent a hot potato to S&W a week ago concerning the new built-in locking mechanism being installed on PC product and still have not received an answer. Told them that the agreement gave them a loophole (like they didn't know) and that if they do, my years of collecting is over at S&W.

Robert
 
I just bought a PC 586 L-comp, 3-inch barrel. I don't have it yet because I'm waiting for the background check to go through. I was a little concerned about the decrease in quality of PC guns that has been mentioned, but I have to say that I have read posts about almost every gun maker that say it was "better in the old days.":)

I will agree that the trigger pull was not as smooth and light as I would expect, but it's not too hard to fix that. Although, you would expect better for an $800 gun. Anyway I'll post my expereince with it after I get it to the range.:D
 
PS - my 586 has a serial # of slightly under 200, does anyone know what the production runs of PC guns are these days?
 
Dunno what the production guidelines are these days, but it was my understanding that they were produced only on special commission to distributors that could guarantee a minimum 300 sales.
 
I think the Performance Center is just an indication of the cheap disposable times we live in. I remember not so long ago when S&W would not let anything less than a perfect revolver out of their shop and there was no performance center. More like marketing hype than anything else to me.

Related: Remington Custom Shop. Ha!
 
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