My S&W 442 Pro finally showed up...Worse than Century Arms!

[azerious]

Some of you guys might have seen my J frame grip thread where i was excited to finally buy and carry a 442 Pro. Well today was the day!

Unfortunately...

This is what showed up brand new. Barrel is canted, all of finish was removed at the front where it mates with the frame, huge ding on front of barrel, cylinder extremely hard to open and binds at the very end of travel, odd wear under the top strap, and much more. Worse gun I've ever seen brand new. Even worse than marlin.

Thankfully Grabagun will replace or refund no questions asked per my request. The guy stated about half of the S&W revolvers have been going back to them lately and even Ruger has been having some issues with new GP100's.

I did not accept this POS and was given an option to return or exchange. I haven't decided what to do yet. Grabagun says all guns ship directly from an offsite distributor so they cannot inspect unfortunately. I'm STRONGLY reconsidering a 442 or ANY S&W at the moment...

[blues]

That's damned disappointing. I wouldn't blame you for not taking another chance if you opt not to.

[1911Nut]

Based on personal experience with S&W revolvers ("N" frame, "L" frame, "K" frame, and "J" frame . . . . in caliber .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special, ..45 Colt, and .44 Magnum) dating back to the early 70's and up until the late 90's, color me complete, 100% unsurprised.

[azerious]

Based on personal experience with S&W revolvers ("N" frame, "L" frame, "K" frame, and "J" frame . . . . in caliber .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special, ..45 Colt, and .44 Magnum) dating back to the early 70's and up until the late 90's, color me complete, 100% unsurprised.

Man that’s unfortunate

Might be going with an LCR. Is the Colt Night cobra pocket carry or is it too big?

[ralph]

That's really sad..there was a time when buying a S&W ment you were buying a quality product..Anymore it seems that S&W is determined to go the same way as SIG..Made cheaply, and by cutting as many corners as possible..

[hufnagel]

that's just disgusting. how the hell does that leave the QC desk???
no wonder old guns have such a huge premium.

[RJ]

Wow that sounds unfortunate.

I’m extremely new to revolvers and looked at several J frames when I was looking for a small pocket pistol. My sense of the QA I saw across the few examples was...uneven.

I bought a LCR on the positive reviews here and elsewhere. I like the Ruger a lot.

[OlongJohnson]

A couple years back, I received an unserviceable 640 Pro from KYGunCo. They have on-premises smiths and were able to inspect their other inventory. The next two they looked at were the same. Then the sale they were having on that model was over. I assume all but a handful went back to S&W.

Fifty percent is higher than I would have guessed, but not surprising, given what I've observed. That level of return product is unsustainable. It's like S&W is trying to go bankrupt. "Lose money on every one, but make it up in volume."

[Pistol Pete 10]

Of the last 5 new S&W revolvers only 1 was actually right. I sent 2 back, living with 1, don't know what I'll do on the last one. All 5 would actually function but 4 not correctly. This being said, I've also had a Ruger replaced on warranty and had to send the replacement
back on warranty. I've had problems with Browning, Kimber, Citadel, Taurus, Beretta, DW with a blemish in the finish, I'm more surprised if I get a good gun. Pay your money and take your chances.
Right now manufacturers have the best materials they've ever had. They have the best machines they've ever had. The most accurate tooling they've ever had. they make a bunch of parts, pay assemblers to put the parts together. They do not have people who make sure the products are right before shipping. This is what puzzles me. Apparently it's cheaper to fix the guns that are returned to them than to make sure the product is good before they ship it. It's all about the money.
Sad.

[Totem Polar]

Is the Colt Night cobra pocket carry or is it too big?

The Night Cobra seems to be racking up great reviews for fit, finish, and performance—and I sure like mine. I have a king Cobra too, and had an original cobra; they’ve all been nice guns.

But the Cobra is big and heavy (think SP-101) for pocket carry. JMO.

I’m on my 3rd 642, and it works great... but it’s my 3rd one. I also had another recent j-frame that went back to S&W to fix defects twice. There won’t be a 3rd time on that one. It’s tough times these days trying to get a good recent j-frame out of S&W. Again, JMO.