S&W Customer Service - Warranty Work

I have also had similar experiences with S&W's CS: beyond expectations on more than one occasion. +1 on the positive remarks.
 
After all the negative reports on ruger and my own bad experiences with them, it's nice to see good on S&W. I've owned a ton of them and never really had any problems.
 
Smith is fantastic. My range guys would not let me carry my 642 because the trigger was too light by department standards. Took it to Smith, they took it in and gave it back 45 minutes later with a heavier trigger that was ok with range staff. No charge, and there was nothing broken or wrong with the gun, just out of spec for my agency. Can't beat that service.

Colt is just as good. For me its better because I drive right up to Colt and drop the gun off. Had a Defender that had the barrel locks cut too far, barrel was "floating" in the slide and jamming the gun. Took it to Colt, their guy came to the front desk, played with the gun, took it in back for 20 minutes and gave it back to me. Brand new barrel installed, no problems after that and no charge. Also gave me 2 of the new magazines with metal followers.

Just bought a Combat Elite 1991 that was doing the same thing. Dropped it off Monday at 2:30. Had a voicemail telling me it was ready at 10:00 am the next day.
 
Wow

I almost didn't read this thread, as I generally prefer Rugers to Smith & Wessons.

But the consensus is that they are fast and tend not to jerk their customers around.

With my recent Ruger service (good, but it took 9 weeks) this is put into perspective a bit.

I think I see why S&W are a bit more expensive.
 
I got my 41 back from S&W today but haven't had a chance to test it at the range yet. That happens tomorrow. But I DID notice that one of the two magazines that I had shipped to S&W with the gun and that they returned to me is now defective. Both magazines were fine when I shipped the gun. I'm sure that S&W will replace the defective one, but you'd think a company that prides itself so much in customer service would have caught the problem before shipping the gun back to me.

To be specific, the defective magazine doesn't release when the release button is pushed. It has to be pried out from the front of the gun. It's hard to describe exactly, the the problem is that there is a metal piece at the bottom rear of the magazine that is no longer flush with the bottom as it should be, but is bent a little lower, probably causing it to bind when releasing.

A little thing, but annoying.
 
Why is the Model 41 so highly regarded

I went to the range today with my 41 after S&W "repaired" it and it functioned exactly the same as when it was shipped to them (except now, as I indicated, I have one defective magazine that I didn't have previously). 10% of the shell casings with CCI and Federal ammo fail to eject from the gun causing the gun to jam.

When I've shot the Ruger Mk III and the Walther P22, I NEVER experienced a jam nor did a shell casing fail to eject properly even after 200 rounds.

So, my question is.. why is the Model 41 regarded so highly when it is so unreliable?

bubsy
 
After reading messages on the S&Wrimfire forum website, I searched for the ammo that was recommended for the 41, CCI SV. One of the gun dealers in Nassau County Long Island NY had a supply of CCI SV 22LR in stock so I dropped by and got 500 rounds yesterday. Today, I loaded and attempted to shoot 100 in my 41. 98 of the 100 shot flawlessly. One spent shell casing failed to eject completely. One shell failed to load in the chamber but on inspection, the shell was defective (bent just ahead of the rim) which prevented it from chambering properly. I've had several defective ammo recently, mostly 38 spl. Is the quality control of ammo manufacturer's slipping? I've NEVER had a 38 made by CCI that was defective so this defective shell was surprisingly.

I did run a patch through the barrel after every 25 rounds was shot, as someone recommended on that forum, but I'm not sure it was necessary. I'll do a thorough cleaning of the 41 this week then try it again next week with another 100 rounds and see if I get the same results.

I CAN say that with the CCI SV, there is little recoil. Another advantage is that the shell casings seem to all land on top of the counter rather than on the floor making cleanup easy (although that will be even easier with my next gun, the 617 revolver).

Thanks to all who made suggestions on this board and the S&Wrimfire board. It seems to me that now that I found the ammo that the 41 likes, I can concentrate on accuracy instead of worrying about misfires and jams.

Bubsy
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Just want to followup. This past week I shot 100 rounds of CCI SV ammo with my 41 without a single jam, misfire, or failure to eject the spent shell. However, I did notice that as the shooting progressed, the gun became less accurate. I ran a dry cleaning patch through it after 50 rounds were fired, but it didn't make a difference.

Has anyone else experienced a decline in accuracy as the number of shots fired increased?

S&W sent me a replacement magazine for the defective one. It functioned fine.

bubsy
 
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