S&W quality control experiment you can do at home

[Postman]

Here's the experiment I need feedback on. This is for those of you who have Smith and Wesson revolvers which have a flat rib running along the top of the barrel.

Grab your gun, a level and some books, or a vise, or what you can to prop the gun up on a sturdy table top as if it were being held in the hand. Lay the level along the topstrap of the revolver and note the bubble's position. Now lay the level on the flat rib on the barrel. How closely are they lined up?

A month or so ago I recieved my new 4" S&W 686+ which shot to the left big time. I sent it in for repairs and they seriously over tightened the barrel. I sent it back and it arived with a new barrel that is tightened just slightly too much to the left. I'm wondering if this is a normal thing with Smiths or revolvers in general or if I need to send it back yet again.

Incendently, they returned it with a 25 yard target fired from a ransom rest. 14 rounds in 1.3".

 

[B Shipley]

You should've seen what Colt did to my python. I think this is common to revolvers of current vintage as all they can get nowadays are indifferent morons to assemble and fix guns. A real gunsmith would recut the back of the barrel and threads until everything matched up. CNC is good, but it can't do everything-- think how much worse everything would be w/o it. Colt doesn't (didn't) use CNC on their guns and it showed, even at the $1K range of the python. The SAA was bad too, I hear.

 

[Espresso]

Being cheated never feels good. The big boys ought to fix the problem the first time. But after you get tired of playing gun tag with Colt or S&W give Bar-Sto a call. They make and install revolver barrels also. And the will do it right the first time, all the time.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Does your gun, with the barrel mounted "slightly too much to the left" now shoot to point of aim?

If so, this may be the result of a sighting-in adjustment. Shifting the barrel slightly to the left or right is one of the more common ways of making a gun that shoots too much to the left or right, with non-adjustable sight (or sights that can't be adjusted enough), be made to shoot properly. Its seen frequently with the Colt SAA-type guns.

If it shoots right, don't worry about it -- unless the left-ward cant really gets your goat.

If it doesn't shoot to point of aim, send it back again, with a detailed letter.