Hi,this forum has rekindled(thanks to Darryl and the rest of you)my interest in revolvers.Something that concerns me is,it seems that new revolvers are having more reliability issues(I'm limiting it to S&W,Ruger and Colt)then one's made in the 70's-90's,that I had experience with.I realize that QC in so many things have suffered over the years.Has this been your experience also regarding new revolvers?Is there anything that can be done to mitigate the issues?
Mitigate? No. The reality is: making quality revolvers is expensive. S&W, Colt, and Kimber try to keep street to one side or the other of a grand, and A, people still complain that they’re too expensive and, B, they still need to go back all the time. In the last 18 months or so, I’ve bought at least 7 new wheelies (and some older used ones, heh!), and two of them needed return trips. One, an S&W, went back more than once and never got fixed. One, a Ruger, is still in process. And this doesn't even include the K6S that I traded on a 1911, because I couldn’t get the firing pin threads here out of my mind. Best new revolver I’ve bought is hands down my Night Cobra—it’s over 1k, and nothing’s broken so far. I’ve also had great luck with older guns. JMO.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
I think Sidheshooter nailed it. Good revolvers are difficult to make inexpensively, especially compared to polymer stiker fired auto pistols. I appreciate the LCR as an attempt to make wheelguns at a good price point, but my preference would be to pay a premium to get factory guns of higher quality made in a more traditional way. The problem is that I suspect that most manufacturers have correctly assumed that there are not enough people who would actually pony up that money for this to be a successful proposition right now.
Last edited by Scal; 07-06-2019 at 02:36 PM.
Also, ammo is not always done well for revolvers. I shot some Fiocchi .357 ammo and was getting a ton of light strikes. I thought it was a main spring problem, but the ammo wasn't crimped so it didn't seat in the chamber and the strike of the hammer had to seat the round in the cylinder.
Quick run through a crimp die fixed it.
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They all make lemons. I don’t know if the guns are really that much worse, or we have the means through technology to hear more of it. In the “old days” everybody thinks had no issues had plenty and S&W had service centers around the country that fixed a lot of problem guns. Those were the days when there was an issue you contacted the company to have it rectified rather than a Facebook update and hitting every forum before calling the factory.
Last edited by Dagga Boy; 07-06-2019 at 03:33 PM.
Just a Hairy Special Snowflake supply clerk with no field experience, shooting an Asymetric carbine as a Try Hard. Snarky and easily butt hurt. Favorite animal is the Cape Buffalo....likely indicative of a personality disorder.
"If I had a grandpa, he would look like Delbert Belton".
The impression that I have regarding Rugers is that the older Ruger GP100s (and their Security/Service/Speed Six predecessors) were a bit better in terms of manufacturing finishing details and QC attention, but that Ruger's Customer Support remains superb for any after-market issues. The Match Champions seem to be the recipients of more lavish attention prior to hitting the market stream, probably due to the additional work performed on them as part of the package.
Best, Jon
Through the mid-late '90's S&W also showed up at major competitions, where they would tune up revolvers for free.Originally Posted by Dagga Boy
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
I've bought revolvers aged 110 years old and those that were produced in the last 3 years.
The all had varying quality and fit and finish. The ones that are 110 years old are not necessarily made better than the ones today, just different.
The trick to buying any revolver, is to inspect in person, or know what you're buying.
The upsides to Rugers and Smiths produced today is that parts are available to tune and repair them, unlike the old guns.
I just sort of accept that it’s possible that any new gun I buy may have to go back. We all like to beat the drum that these are life saving tools and should be done 100% perfect because of that. I understand the sentiment, it I also work in a factory, so I understand that shit happens when you mass produce stuff.
What concerns me the most is I want a company that’ll stand behind their stuff and fix it if there is a problem. I recently sent in a Ruger LCRx 3” 22LR for light strikes. From the repair tag, it looks like they replaced everything but the frame, barrel, and grips. That said, when it came back, it works like it should and it was handled quickly. I can forgive the original issue because they made it right on their dime and in a timely manner.
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