What I did learn is the Performance Center has been closed and these guns are now produced or assembled exactly the same level of care and QC as any other S&W revolver. Times changes and S&W is no exception. And PC is a at best a marketing gimmick or worse a lie. Then, what do I know? Just another clueless soul living in the past.
I was curious as to when the Performance Center supposedly closed so I emailed S&W. Here is my question and their answer......
Is there still a Performance Center Shop, or did it really close and now the Performance Center guns are built on the same assembly line as other S&Ws?
Thanks in advance,
Buck
Dear Buck,
I would be happy to help you. Performance Center firearms are built in the Performance Center.
Regards, Richard
There....from the horses mouth.
Besides my X-Frame, I have two other P.C. revolvers. Not only did they come to me with superb triggers, they had options not available on other similar standard production models. All are extremely accurate. Maybe I'm just lucky, I dunno. But then, all of my standard S&W revolvers have been great.....again maybe I'm just lucky. It's not like I haven't seem Smiths with issues. I have, several. But not near as many as ones that looked/worked just fine. Same goes for my experience with Rugers. Seen some of them I wouldn't take home either, but that's why I look guns over before I take them home.
As for the problem the other poster has, I feel his pain, but wonder if it all couldn't have been avoided by a better examination before he transferred the gun in the first place. As to the insistence that it is relevant to this thread, it is only relevant to the point that this
one gun has had an issue and that folks should closely examine any firearm closely before they purchase it, so chances are, that they will be satisfied with it after the purchase. To beat it to death is not anything but an distraction.
Seems everyone has an opinion about the .460, but very few folks have actual experience. They go by what they have read here or on other forums, or from what a friend of their Brother in Law said. They brag up alternate calibers/platforms, they haven't shot those either. Then they want to scoff folks that have. I care less what other folks think of them. I've heard it all.....
"If I wanted to carry 5 pound firearm that can shoot 200 yards, I'd just take my rifle!" Sure you could, but you wouldn't be hunting with a handgun then would you?
No one needs a handgun that powerful just to hunt deer, they don;t wear body armor!" This probably from someone who uses a 30-06 or larger to hunt deer......
They are certainly not a gun for everyone. If you look at my previous post, my suggestion to the OP was to get something else. There are better everyday all day hip mounted revolvers out there. There are plenty of handguns with a more manageable recoil. But they are not an .460 X-Frame. Nuttin else in this world is. They do not do a lot of things, but what they do, they do very well. As for comparable recoil between them and a .454 Ruger, there are a ton of recoil calculators out there that will give you exact numbers. What one feels in their hand will be subjective and affected by how the gun is rested, held and how it and it's grips fit your hand. My youngest son has shot my .460 with legitimate hunting loads since he was 11. My Granddaughters and DILs have shot it and shot it well with hunting type loads. It's an easy gun to shoot and to shoot accurately. As for a .460 Encore, my oldest son got one a few years back because I already was reloading for my X-Frame and he thought the accuracy and recoil would be comparable, and he liked the Encore platform. Recoil was brutal and decent accuracy was never found after two years of trying multiple bullets/loads. It went down the road.
Again, don't reload and don't have deep pockets, get something else. Don't want a handgun that for the most part, with loner pipes, should be rested, get something else. Want a .460 that you can shoot all day without nerve damage to your wrist, get a long pipe and a comp. Want a revolver than you can reach out and legitimately "touch" a deer past 125 yards without having to "hold over", than a X-Frame may be for you. I know it works for me, what bothers me, is when others tell me it doesn't or shouldn't.