S&W "upgrade"

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contender4040

New member
Does anyone know if s&w will automatically alter an older smith sent in for repair and convert it to their "safety lock system" without the customer's authorization----the same way that ruger will convert an older bearcat or single six to the transfer bar system without customer authorization? I have yet to receive a reply back from smith concerning this issue. I did not mind ruger doing it to my bearcat as I received the original parts back with the weapon.
I have yet to see this smith key-lock on one of their revolvers and I do not care to see it on one of my own.
 
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PugetSound5

New member
I don't know about the safety system, although I doubt that they would modify your gun that way. There are several very good reasons for them not to.

However, I know about the trigger, because I specifically asked S&W on the phone. If you read your S&W warranty, you'll see that it clearly provides them with an option for fixing "unsafe" things even if it's not a defect (or perceived by them to be a defect) for which you sent the gun to them. Putting the gun back to specs so to speak.

Their revolvers come with a 10# trigger nowadays, so I asked them if they would modify a lighther trigger if the gun was sent in for unrelated work. In a nutshell, the guy told me that you should send a note with your gun telling them what to do on the gun (as you would anyway) and to specify clearly what you do NOT want to be modified, and they will respect that.

The bottom line is that if you didn't specify, you could spend $100 on a good trigger job and they **might** put it back at 10#. But if you specify, they won't. If you had a really unsafe trigger, I suspect that they might ask if you want it done, and there would be nothing wrong with that in my view.

Within that framework, I would not hesitate to send a gun back to them for maintenance or work. They are sitting between a rock and a hard place right now, but their staff sure is nice to deal with.

PS5
 
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Yellowstone

New member
What PS5 said and...

I've talked to S&W by phone. It is toll free and immediate, unless the gun smith has to call you back. Anyway they aren't upgrading frames as they come in. That would, at the very least, require a new frame. (new SKU too) That amounts to a new gun, with a new s/n. BTW, Ruger offered that conversion as a recall. S&W has done recalls also, but not lately.

The S&W folks are so geared to customer service (for repairs) that they often "rebuild" anything that comes in. And, I have never had anyything done to a gun without getting a phone call from the factory, with estimates, etc. first. They do however correct things like timing, put springs in older hammer noses, and replace worn parts as they see them.

It is the worn parts replacement you'll have to worry about. If it doesn't parallel a S&W action job, they'll likely mis-identify it as a worn part. But, they should have a gun smith talk to you before any work is done... at least they always have for me. That is the generally the person that's going to do the work and quotes your prices (can do some limited dickering). So, a detailed letter, follow-up phone calls, and straight froward discussion with your smith when on the phone usually gets the job done right.

BTW, I've had them call and ask whether they did the action job on a couple of my guns. One was being replaced under warranty. I told them who did it. The gun smith could be heard dry-firing the non-broken one in the background commenting on how nice the action was. It came back just as it had gone in... except for having the forcing cone trimmed, barrel turned, and new cylinder installed. The broken one got scarpped and was replaced by a new gun... with evrything as close to the original as possible... including action job, contoured and polished trigger, radiused hammer, chamfered charge holes, etc. That worked well. I attribute my service to, primarily, talking to whoever is doing the work.
 
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Yellowstone

New member
November 2001. That was a rebuild of a Model 13 and scrapping of a Model 19. I've called and discussed various stuff since then.. like prices, product codes, availability, etc.

An interesting discussion revealed how incoming guns are screened for warranty repairs and for fee repairs. It is of course depending on whether the repairs are for material defect or normal wear and tear. However, the call is made by those that unpack the incoming packages, so most have been treated as warranty repairs since it is a difficult call. :confused: Occasionally someone that knows the difference opens one up and that is why there are sometimes fees charged. :eek:

I know some folks haven't had as good of experience dealing with the factory folks at S&W. I tend to spend quite a bit of time discussing each of my guns that go back to them... but I tend only to talk to a gun smith... and not rely on what is told me over the phone. The phone people have access to quite a bit of information, especially s/n info... but they don't always have a say in what takes place during the repairs or custom jobs.
 
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