Did you get it straightened out? Did it shoot close to point of aim?
Ages ago I had a Colt Trooper Mark-whatever 6 inch. It wouldnt zero, it was too far off windage-wise. I then realized the barrel wasnt indexed center. Took it to the friendly local gunsmith, he said "I dont know how far to turn it to get it to zero" I told him to just put it in the middle and id shoot it and and see how it was doing. He did, I set the rear sight center, shot a few rounds at 100 yards just to see where the windage was, it was right the heck on. Once in while they look off but shoot straight. No guarantees on any of this.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
S&W wasn't perfect in the 1970s and 1980s. I had an M19 which hammer spur broke off during dry fire, an M66 with really badly fit side plate, and an M34 .22 that flat would not eject empties without a pine 2x4 to hammer the ejector rod. Still, they all went "bang," but I could make them all shoot to the sights. Sold them all. I don't think I have the energy to do troubleshooting for S&W again, but I may look into an old M15.