I couldn't believe it. I went to my favorite gunshop on Saturday because a S&W rep. was onsite and all S&W products were on sale. (Before you get started, I haven't purchased a new S&W since the agreement. I own lots of S&W pistols/revolvers and must admit that I do like many of their products.)
Anyway, I thought this might be the time to finally buy a S&W handgun again. Boy, was I wrong. Initially I was excited because they had brought in lots of stock. There must have been 30-40 products to chose from. What really caught my eye were the Performance Center revolvers that I've been salivating over for some time. I felt like a kid with with Christmas in October. They had a 627 V-comp 3" (eight shot!), a 629 V-Comp 3", and a 629 V-Comp 5". They really looked great in the case. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of asking to fondle them.
First of all, the new wood grips feel and look like they're machined out of pine. They were nowhere near as nice as expected and looked awfully cheap compared to Performance Center and Lew Horton runs of the past. But the worst part was the overall poor quality. The 629 V-Comp 5" was a total disaster. You could pull the trigger and the hammer would fall but the cylinder wouldn't turn. It would just click forever. Sometimes, the trigger wouldn't work at all and you'd have to rotate the cylinder to allow the trigger to fire. Unbelieveably poor workmanship.
All three of them had triggers that felt like there was sand in the action. They were gritty and overly long. The double action pull was lousy. The Ruger Redhawk feels like a Python compared to these dogs. Overall, they were a disgrace to the Performance Center name and a major disappointment to me. I was really looking forward to taking one of these babies home. The way it stands now, I will be buying older Smiths only. I really can't believe how they could have ever gotten out of S&W in this condition. It tells me that QC is nonexistent. It would be one thing if only one of the 3 demonstrated some problems, but they all were of lower quality than the lowliest Taurus. And that's saying a lot.
So beware. If you've been looking at their website and coveting one of their newest creations, think again. I'll probably be looking a Dan Wesson or Ruger and suggest you do the same.
Anyway, I thought this might be the time to finally buy a S&W handgun again. Boy, was I wrong. Initially I was excited because they had brought in lots of stock. There must have been 30-40 products to chose from. What really caught my eye were the Performance Center revolvers that I've been salivating over for some time. I felt like a kid with with Christmas in October. They had a 627 V-comp 3" (eight shot!), a 629 V-Comp 3", and a 629 V-Comp 5". They really looked great in the case. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of asking to fondle them.
First of all, the new wood grips feel and look like they're machined out of pine. They were nowhere near as nice as expected and looked awfully cheap compared to Performance Center and Lew Horton runs of the past. But the worst part was the overall poor quality. The 629 V-Comp 5" was a total disaster. You could pull the trigger and the hammer would fall but the cylinder wouldn't turn. It would just click forever. Sometimes, the trigger wouldn't work at all and you'd have to rotate the cylinder to allow the trigger to fire. Unbelieveably poor workmanship.
All three of them had triggers that felt like there was sand in the action. They were gritty and overly long. The double action pull was lousy. The Ruger Redhawk feels like a Python compared to these dogs. Overall, they were a disgrace to the Performance Center name and a major disappointment to me. I was really looking forward to taking one of these babies home. The way it stands now, I will be buying older Smiths only. I really can't believe how they could have ever gotten out of S&W in this condition. It tells me that QC is nonexistent. It would be one thing if only one of the 3 demonstrated some problems, but they all were of lower quality than the lowliest Taurus. And that's saying a lot.
So beware. If you've been looking at their website and coveting one of their newest creations, think again. I'll probably be looking a Dan Wesson or Ruger and suggest you do the same.